National Republican., 1884-03-04
ON THE AVENUE.
mali Talk About Men and rIea.nres

| NdTIlslc pulu DlEs hhHucy u ulRh COul-
pliment near tho close of the last congress by
telling him to his face that he considered him
the ablest lawyer on the republican side of tho
house. Mr.. Ranney having for some time
regarded Mr.. Carlisle as the most distin-
gished lawyer among tho democratic men,
bers, was able to cordially return the compii-
ment then and there. A few minutes after
ward they were seated together in the house
restaurant partaking Of cold tea.
a%s
The simplest patent on record at the
patent office originated in this way. Some
one conceived the idea of pasting q
piece of thread under the inclosing flap of
an envelope. the object being that the recip-
ent Of letter, by taking hold of the end Of
the thread, could tear tho envelope open
neatly and in an instant This plan did not
meet with much success, as the end Of the
thread was generally twisted out of place aud
hard:to find. which fact led some genius to
tie a knot in the end of tho thread and to
patent the knot.
Representative Ward, of Indiana, is now a
warm opponent of that bloated monopoly
known as the Western Union Telegraph COM
pany. The other night tho Indiana states
man went into the main office, corner Of Fif-
teepth and II stranta- and handed in a mes
sage to the receiving clerk. After counting
| the words this minion of q monopoly
informed the statesman that the charge for
its transmission would be so cents.
But" explained the Indianian, II want it
to 60 at press rates-three-quarter of cent
a word"
The clerk appeared to be somewhat discon.
certed, and after frmbling over his tariff,
slipped over to side desk, and picked up a
Congressional Directory" and took look at
the printed list of tho house committee on
postofices and postroads, Mr.. Wards name
did not appear there, and he turned back to
the window and blandly stated that he could
not tako the telegram for less than half q
dollar. The Hoosier representative waxed
wroth and shook the dust from his feet.as
he departed carrying his message with him.
"How much would that have cost at press
rates ?" asked the Avenue Man.
about cents" answered the clerk, as he
commenced to figure up how big hole a
ten-word cable would make in u SEQ note.
."s
Col. Gilbert A. Pierce, the well-knowu poet
and musician of Chicago, arrived here yes
terday morning as q delegate to the National
Woman Suffrage convention. The pro-
gramme which had been arranged will be
altered 80 as to permit Col. Pierce to read his
poem on "The Temptation in Eden," and
the citizens Of Washington as well as the
delegates are promised a rare treat. Col
Pierce has been conspicuous figure at suf-
frage conventions for years, and his devotion
to the cause has given him national celeb
rity.
Charley Foster is here again." said Old
Statistics, "and he has been mousing around
the senate all day, and having quiet chats
with two or three of the solons of that body
who feel some personal interest in the result
of the republican convention at Chicago. !
met him out here in tho corridor, and asked
him if he had things all fixed up for a big
pull in Ohio. He winked one eye
and said, "Well, should smile" Then l
asked him If he had changed his mind about
the prospect of tho administration in his
state He shut his mouth with a snap and
then punched up his eyebrows until they
looked like whitewash brush. Finally he
said, "No, sir. had carefully diagnosed the
condition Of things in Ohio before made that
statement and have not heard or seen any
thing to change my opinion on that subject.
Good day, SIR"