Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-06-12
ARIsT0CRAT BLAINE!
His Rise and Fall In Washing
ton.
HIS BLICAN CoUR7
The ScaIy Manner in Which Blaine Has
Acquired Wealth Fully Explained---
He Forms Schemet to Start
An Aristocracy.

were to be forever subject, at intervals OF
four years, 10 what is known in Washington
as Blaineophobia Within the ten square
miles of the District ef Columbia Mr.. Blaine
is perfectly well known, but apparently
nowhere else in this great and glorious land
do people have the remoteSt idea otwhat the
historian ofthe Kenncbec really is. Here
we have seen his rise and his fall, and his
kicking and struggling to get up again.
He has been under the observation of Wash
ington since the Thirty-ninth Congress,
when. without dollar except his pay as
Congressman, he lived in plain boarding
house on + street near Sec0nd-au un-
fashionable locality-until now, when he
owns mansion that commands the high
est rent of anv house ever left in Wash
inqton. Mr.. Letter pays Sll 1000 apd the
taxes on the property for the Blaine man
sion-and it is worth it too. Mr.. Elaine
emerged bv degrees from his chrysaI's o.
boarding house stage OF existence
His First Swell House.
The first really swell house he had was on
Fifteenth street, in the same row with Gen
Sherman. cx-Gov. Swain, Fernando Wood,
and other rich men. The peculiarly dis,
ccrnibIe in the ownership of his new palace
also existed as to his Fifteenth street house
nobody knew exactly to whom the prop,
ertv belonged-it figured among the assets
of Jay Cooke, the commander-ln-chlet OF the
District ring. Most of the members ol the
ring have lit out from Washington, The
ground on which the present Blaine house
IS built is in the name Of William Walter
Phelps the statesman whose poStOtfice ad-
dress is Engiewood, NJ. The house was
originally supposed TO cost $4,000
but it cost considerably over SlOO,-
600 before Mr.. Blaine got inio it.
The pictures and such furnishings as Mr.
Blaine put in it cost perhaps $4,000. DE
bought pictures extensively and gave high
prices for them and he has an admirable
taste in bric-a-hrac. At one time he Speat
a GOOD deal of his time prowling around
bric-a brac shops here. where many cXpen-
sive things that have belonged TO diplomats,
Senators and Cabinet officers find their
way. The result is extremely handsome
and effective. On entering the house, by
the grand carriage drive one is uShercd into
a splendid hall. There are immense rooms
on the ground Aoor which is especially
adapted to entertaining on a splendid scale,
for this house was originally intended to
play great part in the history Of the coun-
try.
4 Gigantic scheme.
II was portion of the most gigantic
social scheme ever evolved from the brain
of anAmerican citizen. It is queer in all
that has been written of Mr. Blaine, that no
light has ever been let in on certain phases
ofhis ambition. No man living has more
inordinate desire for social distinction than
Mr.. Blaine Nor did he want social success
in the usual contracted sense in which it is
used. His ambition lowered above every
thing vet conceived, and he asplrcd AT the
formation of nothing less than a Republican
court, of which he and Mrs. Blaine were to
be the centre. Mrs Blaine, a stout person
with a propensity to wear diamonds strung
around her neck like a Christmas tur-
kew. is woman of the hau"htioSt
spirit. The world had treated
her rudelv, and she meant 10 be revenged.
To show the revolution which they pro-
posed to inaugurate, it is only necessary to
mention one innovation which they adopted
during Mr.. BlaineS brief incumbency as
Secretary of State, the etiquette of o'li-
cial life here has been established since the
davS of Washington. 1t is simple, and car
rics out truly the definition of etiquette rs
common sense applied to small things. One
invariable point never departed trom is the
wife Of the President, shall be excused from
returning visits paid her. The reason Is
obviOus-she cannot possibly return all the
visits paid her, and she can make no dis
tinctions. This privilege does not apply to
anv member of the Presidents family who
may be presiding temporarily over his
househOld-for example
The Republican "Court."
Mrs. Blaine at Mr.. Blaine instigation
assumed the position of the lady OF the
White House, and announced that she
would return no visits. The first step in
the great social enterprise proved disas-
trous-the people here almost laughed
themselves to death, and simply left Oft Wis
iting at Mr.. Blaine's house. This didn't
appear very funny 10 Mr. blaine. though it
was matter of tremendous importance.
In the winter of lSS0'Sl the Republican
court project began TO take shape in Mr..
Blaine's mind, and he took the house fever
about the same time. 1t became plain that
the leader Of Che Republican court couldn't
exist in a block Of houses where everyday
Representatives and Senators were liable to
get betwixt the wind and his nobil-
ity-hc must have q big house
and rorte cochere. So the big
house was begun. The plans for the social
revolution were matured before brick was
laid The distinction to be made was this:
Those who were ready to beat the drum in
the Blaine procession were to be in society;
those that were not were to be cast mo
outer darkness. There was TO be q weed
ing out So sure a. one time was Mr.. Blaine
of. carving out his magnificent project
that when the editor of a great newspaper,
who had placed Mr.. Blaine under personal
obligations to him. came to Washington to
ask for a consulate for his nephew, Mr..
Blaine told him that the first thing TO be
settled between them was the dismissal Of a
certain staff correspondent of the paper,
who had animadverted severely on the
Blaine methods. The editor declined to
continue the conversation, took his hat and
levanted. He hasu't been Blaine man
since.
He Squeezed In.
Ii is known in Washington that instead
of Mr. Blaine's triumphant entry into the
Garfield Cabinet he had considerable diff
Guilty getting in at all That WAS irving
time for Mr. Blaine, but at last he tri-
umphed 1t was a delicious sight 1t did
not last long, but it made all the corpses in
the cemetery laugh. 1t would be disresPect-
ful to say that Mr.. Blaine had the big head,
but he did, though. His monetary affairs
were prospering The poor but honest
Blaines got rich-very rich Then all at
once came the Guiteau horror. Mr. Blaine
never saw the President but once after the
first day or two. He and Mrs. Blaine at
that time established themselves as nurses
IN Gar6eld's bedroom. The doctors
turned them out for talking too much
10 the patient The collapse the fol-
loxing winter WAS dreadful The building