Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-25
AFTER AUTOGRAPHS.
HOW PAGES AT THE CAPITOL
EMPLOY THEIR TIME.

Some Statesmen's Signatures Frank
Hurd Makes a ScrawI Like a Hen
Track, and Morrison's is Crooked as
His Tariff Bill.
A favOrite occupation, says the Wash
ingtOn correspondent of the TimeS-Star,
among the pages at the House end of the
/ capitol during the quiet which succeeds
/ the tariff agony, is that of procuring au-
! tOgraphs. Perhaps it might better be
said, however, that it is a favOrite bust
ness, for these little fellows make a bust
ness Of it. You can see them any hour
/ before the opening of the session, or imme-
/ diately after it's close, when members are
/ still in their seats, rushing about, auto
/ graph album in hands, asking members
for their signatures.
"YOu see," explained one of them, as he
/ stopped TO catch his breath after dashing
/ here and there among the assembled solons
/ just before the fall Of the Speakers gavel
4 ''you see we get from So to $40 for getting
/ these albums filled, and it is worth while
making the effort"
/ ''WhOse are these albums ?"
/ "Oh! people in and out Of WashingtOn
/ a good many Of them belong to families of
/ members, especially from the rural dis
! tricts; some are from Washington people
and others from outside the city"
care there many requests of this kind"
! Yes, good many; nearly every fellow
/ among us pages has an album or two, and
/ sometimes three and four during a ses-
/ sion, to get filled. There are hundred or
/ two filed a session."
do you have much trouble in getting
! these autographs from membersY'
! "Not very often. There are a few cranks
/ who won't Oivn fhnm n he fThara 10 Pol
mont, Of New York, for instance. Suppose
/ he is afraid somebody might forge his
! signature; he is rich, you know. He
| never will give a fellow his autograph.
/ Lots Of fellows have tried him, but he
/ won't do it. There are some others who
/ do not like it much, but if you catch them
! when they are in a good humOr you al
most always get Them but Belmont won't
/ under any circumstances"
They are curious study-these albums
/ filled with the autographs Of the laW-mak-
/ ers of the country, running from the Presi-
/ dent down; for your autograph collector
/ usually begins at the White House down
/ through Cabinet officers, Justices Of the
Supreme Court, Senators and Representa-
/ tives. Ofcourse the Presidents autograph
where one album is to contain the entire
lot afOre mentioned, is the first and
1 queer one IL is. Chester A. Arthur" it
/ says, all written with scarcely raising
the pen from The paper. The letters lean
way over toward the right chasing each
other in hen-track way over the paper,
sometimes uphill, sometimes down.
There is character and yigOr in the
signature, but 1t is neither graceful nor
/ business-like. 1t is a great, hurried
scraWl. Mr.. Waite Chief Justice Of the
Supreme Court, signs himself IN. r..
Waite, Chief Justice, United States," the
letters chasing each other up hill in
somewhat digniiied, ambitious sort Of
way. Mr.. Justice Miller SIGNS himself
''Sam. f. Miller, Justice Of the Supreme
| Court, U. S." but the signature might as
well be ''Sal an Julia" so far as its legi-
bility is concerned, for it looks more like
those two feminine appellatioRs than that
Of a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Judge Reagan, of Texas, the eX-POstmas-
ter General Of the C0nfederacY, signs with
a very unsteady. scramblY sort of hand.
that looks as though it had been written
by railroad labOTer rather than an eX-
Postmaster General of the COnfederacy.
Congressman Singleton, of Mississippi,
who was a member Of the Confederate
Congress, writes a very pretty, neat
| hand, straight as though written upon
lines, characteristic of this tail, slender,
neatly attired old man of seventy.
Barkesdale, of Mississippi, who was
! also a member of the Confederate Con-
gress, writes as though he was writing
for a deaf man, with characters very
large and high and broad. His name
stretches clear across the page of the
album, and with his post office address
reaches down and covers One-third Of its
length.
Carlisle, the Speaker, signs.in most
ridiculous school boy hand-'J. G. Car
Isle, KY" 1t is a curious signature,
weak and devoted of character. The j
is more like an o than a j, and the
average reader would probably make
'1CarOline' out of the Carlisle.
Hill, of Illinois, who is a college
graduate and a gentleman of large eX-
perience, makes a signature as large as
his experience, stretching it across the
full sheet and occupying nearly half
page with the signature and address.
Murray, of Ohio, writes respectfully
and then follows with a lot of marks
which looks as though he had been test
ing a very bad pen. 1t may spell out ''R.
NJ. Murray" but no living man would
ever suspect it of being that. There are
some curious contradictions among these
signatures, for the man in the whole
House from whom you would have ex-
pected the worst signature, writes the
best This is Kleiner, of Indiana. His
signature is, as the boys putSit, like copy
book writing, and yet he writes it with
lightning-like rapidity, as is the case in
ali Of his writing.
BelfOrd of Colorado, who would not DO
expected to write decipherable sigma |
ture, signs with very plain, business !
like hand. Budd. Of California, who dis /
tinguished himself in his campaign for
Congress by going about his district paint |
ing the words on every rock and tree, |
s.VOte for Budd," now signs in a modest. |
plain, hand "Yours truly, James Ii. |
Budd, Stockton, Cal" One of the oldest |
signatures in the House is that of McCOid, |
. ,fx.h ffrlaf hn I,AAo
that gentleman would make the effort, |
for he is a person of intelligence and con- !
siderable ability. John b. Raymond, of |
Dakota, the five thousand acre farmer, !
writes very neat, business-like hand.
The signature which looks like rs. |
Sloan, New York. turns out to be, on ex-
animation, IS. S. Cox" Joe Blackburn !
signs himself in a school boy style "JOe |
c. S. Blackburn, Kentucky" Dick Towns !
bend signs Truly yours, r. w. Towns |
bend. Shawnee Town, Ill.," in large, /
high. rough characters, as though he were !
shouting ''MraSpeaker'' at the top of his |
voice, as he does daily. Pettibone, who
from his looks, would be expected to |
write a wretched hand, signs in good, /
clear, round characters. John d. Whites |
signature is much like his voice, loud /
and pitched very high. Mr.. Turner, of |
Kentucky. whose district is termed the |
Democratic Gibralter, of that State, !
signs - ours, oscar turner, GlDfalter /
county, Kentucky" Chace, the Rhode
Island Quaker, signs "Forty- eight Con-
gress, first session, Jonathan Chace, r. l."
Deuster, of Wisconsin, signs himself in
a hand which you instinctiyely recognize
as that of foreigner.
A curious hen track. sort of scrawl,
with the words, ''Toledo, Ohio,'' follow
ing it are found, on an examination of the
directory, to be "Frank II. Hurd," for
Hurd is the only man from Toledo, Ohio.
Beach, of New YorH, who CHANGED to
sign on April l, preceded his signature
with the quotation, "What fools we NOR
tails be-" and then, after his signature, he
writes, "All-fOols Day." Ochiltree signs,
'sTom Ochiltree, Galveston, Texas" in 2
very bad hand. Phelps, of New Jersey,
signs, "Wm. Walter Phelps" in very
esthetic hand, the WIS swelling out at the
bottom like double Jersey onions. Sprin-
ger spreads himself over the page as he
does over the House, signing himself
with a very characteristic remark, Il am
very truly yours, w. NJ. Springer, Spring
field, III, May the Sd, 'S4."
BlOunt, of Georgia, signs in Irregular
lady's hand" as the boys putt. Randall
signs ''Sam. J. Randall, Penn, !" in a very
plain business-like hand. Rosecrans
/ writes 'sW. 5. Rosecrans, NJ. - in a
ricketty hand like that Of a man suffer-