Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-12-25
CREAM OF THE WASHINGTON
SPECIALS.
What the Correspondents are SaYiI
About Men and Things.

what the Correspondents are Saying
About Men and Things.
The report Of Capt. Green, of the Life
Saving Service. in regard to the appear
ance of a sea serpent off Long Branch a
few weeks ago, was referred to Professor
Baird. of the Smithsonian Institution,
who has written to Mr.. Kimball, General
Superintendent of the Life Saving Service,
on the subject as follows: son carefully
considering this matter l have no diff
Guilty in identifying the object referred to
as the devil fish of South Carolina or
mauta of Spanish America. This is a
huge sting ray, a fish with projections on
each side of the snOut, by means of which
il sometimes picks up the anchor of a
good sized boat and carries it off, towing
the boat at high rate of speed out to sea,
very much to the alarm of the crew. In
the old Peale Museum, famous in Phila-
delphia forty years ago, there was
stuffed skin of one, taken in the Delaware
river, that measured p feet across the
flappers. Its length was somewhat less
than this. 1t is not likely that the animal
seen by the men of the life saving station
was rs large as they said. they being
probably deceived by suppOsing it to be
much further off than was really the case.
The blow holes were the gill openings on
each side of the neck some distance from
the snOut.'
1t is plain that Mr.. Warren j. Keifer is
unthroned The Republicans were will
ing to place him upon the throne as lead
er: but they have taken the sceptre from
him. There could be no more impotent
conclusion to the farce of giving him the
s.complimentaryv vote for Speaker, and of
placing him in position where he could
with prOpriety lay claim to the leadership
of the minority. The Republicans, who
had not the courage to declare against
him. although they knew that their votes
would be miscOnstrued both by the cOun-
try and by Mr. keifer, have chosen to
humiliate him. 1t does not matter on
what technical point in an election case
they chose to declare that, if Keifer, with
persistent audaclty. saw fit to place him
self in the front rank as leader, he could
nos command a following. He was warned
that he had misconstrued the action OF the
Republicans in voting for him for Speak
er. and that a man could not be a leader
without followers. He disregarded all
warnings, and, although in the lottery for
seats he drew one in the rear tier, the
catapult of his vanity threw him at every
possible opportunity to the front. The
Republicans resented this. They took adj
vantage of the first practicable OppOr-
tunity to accentuate their resentment. He
sneered at warnings, and yesterday was
most signally Inundated.
In Washington the discussion is con-
tinually going on as to whether Chandler
really can hOOdwink the President or not.
His Florida excursion with the President
last spring surprised everybody; but per-
haps the President and the Secretary
we're just a little more surprised than
ANYBODY else. Chandler is always at the
Presidents elbow. his tongue going like a
threshing machine. The President lis
tens.
Senator Pendleton is here, and so is Mr.
Washington Mclean. Presently there
will be music from the band. Mr.. Nc
lean and Mr.. Blaine live in the same
block now. but they are not so intimate
as formerly, because Mr.. Blaine is out OF
Dolitics and does not care for anything now
but pictures. Shakespeare, and the mu-
steal glasses. and is only ambitious to be
classed among ''them literary tellers."
Besides his own book, he is going over
senator LOgan's play for the printers,
substituting ''yOu be blown" for you De
blowed.~ sslmmediately'' for 'tO wunst,"
and the vernacular for English-as-she-is-
smoke by the long-haiTed Senator from
illinois. Senator LOgan's private rooms
are said to be a museum of Indian
iavelins. spears, arrows, blankets, and so
an and when he wraps his tall form in
red blanket. and pOises cleaning Ratchet
i'm his hand, shaking his wild locks, the
commissioner of Indian Affairs trembles
in mis- shoes, and is afraid to pass by a
wooden Indian in front of tobacco store:
The officials of the War Department
have had paragraph printed in all the
local papers to the effect that they are not
70 blame for not recapturing Capt. HOW
cate. as he was in the custody OF civil
officers at the time of his escape, and the
civil officers ought to find him. Capt
Howgate Is a deserter and a defaulter;
The government employs large force OF
detectives. from which the War Depart
ment could any day get men to discover
cant Howgate, who is accessible TO the lax
Collector. Let the War Department ind out
where he is. and in half an hour the civil
reauisition for him can be hatt ms
simple expedient never seems to have oc-
CURED to the War Department ofnclais,
but it occurred TO everybody else VINO
read the absurd statement. III capt.
HOwgate were found perhaps two or three
other men would skip-and the depart
ment has indicated very plainly that 1t
does net want TO find Capt. Howgate. NO,
the day that Howgate Is recaptured will
be very uRpleasantda for the War De-
partment.