Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-05-17

The passage of the btu remittIng the taxes of
Mrs Eliza Patterson 1t the expense OF the other
taxpayers OF the DIST let was urged In the House,
on the ground OF the Iign social standing OF Mrs.
Patterson and the puOic SeTYl Ices OF her husband,
the late Carlisle Patterson. Some sharp criticism
made by the press upon this sort OF plea for
fav0rtism In legislation. ami now that the Patter
son bill comes To III the Senate. its advocates
think In prudent 10 put forward other reasons Why
II should pass. These are that 1t viii Offset the
claims Mrs. Patterson has Tor damages done her
property by union soldiers; damages by street
grading; and dalnagc- frOTn the absorption by the
United States government Of water rights owned
by MIS- PatterSon's f,tsT.-for the supply OF water
TO the Capitol building CD These arguments for
the relief bin VIII strike the public as even more
frivolous than those urged in the House.
Why In She name OF all that is right
and just should the taxpayers OF Washington
be compelled TO pay the Offset claims OF Mrs Pat
tersOn for damages 10 her property by government
troops. or for the water-mil rights OF spring
owned By her great great grandfather and s. alb
sorbedr sometime In the mythical past for the use
OF Congress? IL there is anything valid In these
claims why should not Congress pass upon their
merits and pay them OF instead Of dumping thein
upon the District tax payers on these wretched
pretexts? The plain facts are that this gross ACT
Of favoritsm has been lObbied through Congress by
social influence just az the similar act OF injustice
70 District taxpayers, the bill relieving Mrs Kate
Chase Sprague from the payment of taxes. was
worked through. The widow Jones. Smith, or
Brown wouldn't stand ghost of a chance OF get
ting consideration for a damage claim Of the kind.
The late Mr.. ARENAS Ward once observed that
Shakespeare, thor.h great man. lacked the
requisite fancy ami imagination that would qualify
him for Washington correspondent But this
nchly endowed type OF man pales his Intellectual
M lEsfnr he XEAII Of
operator as illustrated by Mr.. Ferdinand Ward,
who indirectly adrnitted yesterday that the "real
nature OF his business consisted In discountng the
fanclful prospects OF imaginary profits to be de-
rived from fictitious contracts founded on the
ufacture OF loans and artificial contributions of
altogether imaginary money Brokers and men
about-tOwn have hot been classed heretofore with
poets but Mr. Wards notes, checks bonds and
other fiscal operations may fairly rank master
pieces OF imaginative writing with Paradise Lost
Robinson CTlsoe, Frankenstein or the Culprit Fay
And II may be added that the profits from this
branch OF literature. If properly conducted exceed
those TO be derived from any other, even II the
writer be endowed with the industry and sy stem OF
aTrollope.
The New York legislature adjourned yesterday
after session memorable for the reforms 1t has
made IN the government OF New York city Two or
three Of the most important bills failed. to be sre
which cannot fail TO better the situation. The
Broadway Arcade railroad bill was vetoed, and. It
Is said for good reasons that the experiment Of
underground transit in New York Is postponed
Cen Butler, In accepting the nomination for the
presidency from the antimonopOlists enlightens
them and the people generally as to what he calls
his condition OF nind,' which is evidently recep-
I'VE 10 an eminent degree. In brief Ii is, that Ii
anybody wishes 10 vote for him for any place he
VIII gladly take whatever is o1ered.-following St
Pauls instructions to eat whatever Is sold in the
enambes "aSking no questions for conscience sake
III Is plainly hard season just for Ohio muir
oererS The Cincinnati riots have logged the court
machinery wonderfully In this direction and the
1als are being thinned out while the gallows trees
are loaded with unsavory fruit Two murderers
were hanged at Ashland, Ohio, yesterday. ard
although the law was ''tak1ng its course with all
Que speed, the outside mob were so impatient for
tne ehd that IL was only by prompt action that the
jail officials were able to finish their lob The. Gus
temary edifying speeches OF the departing We're,
therefore. omitted, and the mmderero were swung
on without ceremony
The low-.artn democrats think. upon reflection.
that their ban OF accommodations against Randall
ana MS band OF forty traitors had better be post
poned Till the convention, and meantime they Will
content themselves with courses, not loud. but
deep"
Inc steamship 1l!yTian, OF the LeyIand line. be-
tween Liverpool and Boston. IS the latest addition
ID The list on marine disasters OF the season There
was nothing exceptional in this wreck, the shin
gong GA the rocks OF the Irish coast Ia O. fog In
quite conventional style. Fortunately. there was
no loss Of life; but, II this sort OF thing goes on
there VIII soon be considerable loss of confidence