National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-02-14
ON TIE AVENUE.
Small Talh About Men aud Measures.

huoub tnS capltol LOT many years. Inls IL Jhe
first session that have not seen Mrs. John
son hero. In the way of affection, anduot of
disrcspectful familiarity, everybody called
her Mother Johnson She was lovely old
lady, with white hair aRd O handsome face
and figure. was always glad TO SEQ her, but
l never knew whether she was mild crank
or whether she really did have
genuine claim for compensation from
the government. She said that she
had nursed union soldiers during the war,
and IL was for this service that she demanded
pay. She used TO linger around the doors of
the house until her bill was introduced and
referred to the committee on claims, aud
then she would haunt the corridor leading to
that committee room and ask everybody who
came out If they had agreed to report upon
her bill. They never did report it. Most
people thought there was nothing in her
claim, but the flno face of the old lady and
her plausible story won more than one
well known statesman to her side.
Hers was the only claim in which
Judge Holman was ever known to take
any interest. ''Blue Jeans Williams, Of In
DIANA was the most devoted of her friends,
and she used to take great pride in walking
about the corridors of the capitol with hor
arm locked in his. They were q striking
looking couple Judge Poland was also an
admirer Of the old lady, and his blue dress
coat and brass buttons frequently shone out
in her vicinity. Poor Mother johnson!
hear that her money is all COMO and that
some charitable friends are caring for her
and will keep her in safe and genteel retire.
ment during her remaining years"
a"s
| A week ago there came to Washington
sailor, named Patrick O'Brien, from New
York, with letter of introduction from Mr..
Jerome Buck to Congressman John J. Adams.
Tho sailor had a strange story to tell, and a
peculiar claim for relief to make. He said
that he had beon engaged in the rag picking
industry in New York for several years. but
last June, for some reason he shipped aboard
a United States man of-war. The ship had
been at sea for fourteen days when tho in
specting officer told him to bring his luggage
out on deck. He brought up his little bundle
of clothing, and then tho officer sent him
away upon some duty. When he returned
the bundle of clothing was gone, and
the officer told him that, the
clothing being filthy, he had heaved
it overheard, and the sea had
swallowed it. The sailors great misfortune
was not in the loss of his little bundle of
dirty clothing, but in the inside pocket of
what he called his dress coat was a package
ofgreenbacks amounting to $4,000, the savings
of his years of rag picking. The sailor could
get no satisfaction from tho officers of his
=. - l.. Ill a T..
again he csmo, by the advice of his attorney,
to ask congress to pay him his $4,000. No
cross-examination could shake his story, and
it bears every evidence of truth He was
advised to 60 back to New York and bring o
suit at law against the officer who 80 uncere-
moniously washed his dirty clothing. For
several days the sailor haunted the galleries,
and wanted to sleep on the benches. 1t is
believed that he has gone away recently, and
that no invested what little money he had
left in o pistol with which to shoot tho
captain of the ship if no does not get his
l'money.
| A considerable number of Louisiana polit-
! clans arrived in Washington on Tuesday, and
the purpose of their coming is to convince
Mr.. Morrison and the other statesmen whom
he is pushing on toward free trade that the
present duty on sugar ought to be retained.
The Louisiana men will also mako some ut
tempt to have the reciprocity treaty with
the Sandwich islands repealed, and thereby
deprive Claus Spreckes of remune-
rative monopoly. One of the western
protectionists said yesterday, in relation to
the duty on sugar; at is the most burden
some tax which the American people have to
pay, and the protection which it affords is
not worth what it costs. 1t is tax of $40 a
year on every family in this country, and it
falls on the poor man not much less heavily
than on the rich. We use $100,oO0oO0 worth
Of sugar every year. OF this amount, count
ing in molasses and syrup, our own sugar
plantations produce little over
$l0OO0,000 worth. The other $780,
100000 worth is imported and
we have to pay q tariff equal to about SO pei
cent. of its value. 1t amounts to this, that
We pay tax of $5O000,000 to protect q
$4,000, 900 industry. We could better afford
to board every sugar planter and all theii
laborers at the Fifth Avenue hotel Never
theless, we are bound to protect them, fol
they spent their money in improving Their
plantations and erecting their sugar manu-
factories under an implied agreement thai
the country would protect them, but it would
certainly be much cheaper to pay them {
bounty equal to the tariff on theit production
than to pay tho tremendous tax on all thu
imported sugar."
Ne
Republican congressman complain that they
connot get single favor from any of the
democratic employees Of the house, and par
ticularly is this true with new mombers.
They like old members. arc flooded with re-
quests for public documents, snd, not possess
ing any they buy them to accommodae their
friends aud they say, Rotwithstrdinl
Col. Brownlow turned over rpry
voluminous list of documents to Y
successor, these new republican
members cannot obNn Ohe Of them from u
hSS9s 49, s% yIs Whine b going to the 81
pioSleaniers' 10y .re accommodate
in almost every lus....Le. CompiaIurfa-.a
also made against tine arrangement of tn
house postofice and folding departments
One member week ago delivered to mai
messenger of the house bundle Q
packages containing campaign document
for the congressional election pending
in Kansas. These packages required postag
, and tho member gave them to the messenger
, with instructions TO have them taken to tn