National Republican., 1884-04-11
ON TIIE AVENUE.
Small Talk About Men and SIeaou

State the Avenue Man published little talk
with the new congressman upon national
republican politics. Mr.. Rockwell being of
stalwart proclivities, and accustomed to speak
his convictions, the interview created some-
thing of n stir among Massachusetts, republi-
cans of different way of thinking. Soon
after Mr.. Rockwell wrote letter to the
chairman of tho Massachusetts, state
central committee resigning his position
as member of that body. lie
wrote that it would be better for somebody
else TO take his place "under the circum-
stances" but did not explain what the
circumstances were although he undoubtedly
meant that owing to his necessary absence
from the state while in congress he could not
so we'll attend to his duties rs a committee
man as some one who was at homo. Unfor-
tunately, he closed his letter by an allusion
to the fact that men of both parties had
voted for him. A Boston correspondent to
whom Mr. Rockwell showed the letter before
it was sent, misapprehcndcd his meaning
and at once telegraphed homo that the new
member had quit the republican party.
Added to the interview this was enough to
raise terrible tempest. Massachusetts,
newspapers were full of it for few days, and
Mr.. Rockwell, who, coming to congress
rather late in the year, was trying
hard to catch up with the procession, aud
putting in extra work in the committee rooms
for that purpose, suddenly found himself
made a democrat without his knowledge or
consent He didn't like it, and his friends
didn't like it, so they simply published the
letter, and that put an end to the discussion,
although at least five willing mon in his
district, which Is republican, assuming that
he was out of the party, had already prepared
to step into his congressional shoes as soon
as his time had expired. Editors and other
mon who had no good will for Mr.. Rockwell
and who had been swelling the cry against
him, suddenly found themselves in most
ridiculous position. So they fell back upon
the interview. In his talk Mr.. Rockwell
had used, in an illustration, the phrase "a
pious little man sitting on a rock" without
referring TO any individual. In boiling the
interview down for the printer, the Avenue
man had put this phrase in so
close proximity to Senator Edmunds's
name that it seemed to refer to him, although
Mr.. Rockwell had not done so. At the pres
ent time the Massachusetts, papers are read
ing Mr.. Rockwell long lectures about the i'm
propriety of calling q great and good man
like Senator Edmunds "a pious little man
sitting on rock" The two mistakes have
made the young member about the most
widely known of the entire Massachusetts
delegation.
a"a
"Is there any truth in tho statement that
Comptroller Knox intends to resign?" asked
the Avenue Man of u friend of that gentle
man.
II should not be surprised" was the reply.
} There has been rantankerous Scotch-Irish
man here by the name of Best, who has been
making fight upon the Comptroller, and
besides that imagine he is getting tired OF
the hard work of his office"
l "Who is this man BestP"
l "Well, he is strange character. This is
due, no doubt, to the mixed blood that circu,
atss in his veins. On the fathers side he .o i
t the latter he gets the dash and fearless i'm
e petuosity for which the Irish are noted the
world over. He is generous to fault
socially, but in business he is cool and calculat
ing, displaying all the traits of the Canny
, Scot. 1t is said that he never forget.
! face, fact a name, or date
and friend or an enemy
I know him we'll, and think he is man
u who cannot be kept down, no matter what
reverSes should befall him, and regard him
s as man whom ii is much safer TO cultivate
than to antagonize. Knox, unfortunately,
5 called him q house painter, and now Best il
: on his trail with broad AK"
q We
There was a strange procession that moved
InYu, n, T..
building yesterday afternoon toward the LOT
upon which is to be erected the Washington
Light Infantry armory and opera house. Al
its head walked Col. w. G. Moore and Billy
Roose, the others strung out behind by twos
and threes Col. Moore carried garden
trowel, Mr. Roose had water bucket filed
with broken ice, and the remainder ofthe party
D were armed with picks and shovels, except
Lieut.. Newmeyer, who had a two-gallon dem.
John very imperfectly disguised in a flour
sack Mayor Melvin, of Cape May, N. j..
Joined the party at the telegraph office, with
four china mugs in each hand, which he had
| borrowed from Wards dairy lunch room. Dan
, McCarty drove a ssd-eyed mule, attached tc
q new dump.cart, down the middle of the
street, keeping abreast ofthe procession When
, the party reached the lot % halt was called
and Col. Moore announced that the pur-
pose of the gathering was to break ground for
!, the new armory and opera house, and John
, Cowie undertook to take the mule by the bit
and back the cart in beyond the building
line. The animal resented this sudden
familiarity on the part of total stranger
and bit off a liberal mouthful of Cowie's rcd
whiskers and stood quietly chewing upon
l the same until Tarbell Dyer climbed
in TO the cart and coaxed the beast with
the tailboard until the vehicle was in posi-
: tion. Col. Moore scooped up two trowel.
fuls of earth and tossed them into the cart
, and as the pebbles and sand ratified on the
| bottom of the vehicle George f. Timms, who
had Just returned from funeral and was
: still In q sofnbre frame of mind, involuntarily
! took of his hat and fixed his eyes on the
ground. Then Capt. John Miller, Col. Amos
Webster, and ex-Assistant District Attorney
Charles Moore each took pick spat on their
hands. and went to digging with n will, while
: Billy Dickson and the other members of the
party took shovels. About square yard Of
earth had been loosened up when Miller,
, with en- awkward twist of his elbow. knocked
r of Charlie Moore's new spring hat, which foil
} in front of COL Webster, who drove his pick
through il with an energetic "ugh," such as