Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-01-31

| AutcFeStA0& RefSOnaA MenulOms
Ex-Governor, Cprtis, Of the House, is, perhaps,
one of the best aer- dipuer speakers in the coun-
try. He is esperiau y,lelightful when he drifts,
as he usually does sintoreminiscences of the hate
war, in which he was so conspicuous an actor as
governor of Pennsylyania. Not long ago he
was guest at the menthly dinner of the Clover
Club, in PhiIadelphia,n This is an organization
OF Journalists, literary men. actors. artists. dc.
&c, and their ,sEmpasiums are very enjoyable.
In due course Of dtime, Mr.. Curtin was got upon
his feet to respond to a toast, which sentiment
| he gave but a 'cnrsory consideration and then
plunged headlong into his war stories. Ameag
others, John A. McCaul the comic opera man.
| ager. oil New York, was at the table. sitting
! directly opposite the governor. McCaull, al
though native of Scotland, was living i'm Vir-
glnia when the war broke out. and served in the
! confederate army. He Is peculiarly sensitive to
the respect due the lost cause aud Is quite COM
oatiSe III MAINTAINING IT, So
-. n.'
Somehow, and Certainly without intending It.,
Governor Curtin trod on McCaulrs confederate
corn, so TO speak, by some remark or other,
| (Which by the way, was not at all offensive to
Senator Morgan, of Alabama, who sat near by
and who was gallant confederate soldier, }
| whereupon the comic opera manager vocifeE-
| ously bawled ont, with an air of the utmost i'm
pOrtance. Il object. object, sir" The MEM
bers OF the club were paralyzed with mortifica-
| ton, hnt they did not need to worry themselves.
Inc old governor was equal to the emergency.
Fishing around for a moment for his eyeglasses
| ne adjusted them on his nose, and leaning over
! the table asked of McCauil, in a tone of bland
but very sincere interest, ''Will you please give
me your name ~
| Good manners compelled those present to
| swallow the roar Of applause that came to their
teeIh. ana the proceedings went calmly on.
While McCaull sat dazed and uncomfortable not
knowing exactly what had happened to him.
-.
| "The impression has got abroad In some way
| that If we ratify the Nicaraguan treaty we will
involve ourselves seriously by that clause which
| guarantees protection Of the neutrality of the
| route" observed a Senator day or two ago
land see that some member of the Senate has
indicated that as one OF the grounds of his dis
| satisfaction. in an interview with The STAR re-
| Gently. The fact Is that we assume no new obli-
CATION in this respect. By the treaty of 1867
| with Nicaragua, which Is still in force. we
pledged the same degree of protection to any
| route OF transit across Nicaragua. And we are
| still bound by that pledge, and will not be re.
| leased from it until in due form that treaty is
| terminated" 90
| bill the other day to Increase the pension being
paid to the widow of General George H. Thomas
| from thirty dollars month to two thousand dol.
lars year, it was received with great surprise
There was very general impression that Mrs.
Thomas was in receipt of larger pension
| There is a list of the widows of bureau generals
and small fry warriors who have political friends
| itst.almost as long as the debate on interstate
commerce., who are receiving pensions much in
excess OF that paid to Mrs. Thomas. Admiral
| faEragut $ widow very properly receives two
thousand per annpu. She would not be over
paid II she received twice as much.
},r ~.
The widows of Presidents Polk, Tyler and Gar.
| field each receive. five thousand dollars per an.
mum. And yet the .'habitue takes the respon-
sibllity OF saying the services to the country oil
Polk, Tyler and Garfield all put together do not
equal In Importance and valuable results those
OF George ii. Thomas.
| After the war General Thomas was offered a
house and purse Of fifty thousand dollars, Sc.
cured by private subscription among citizens
who wished in this mahuer to testify their ap-
probation of his distinguished and patriotic ser
vices. In letter which does the highest honor
| to the greatest soldier the American army has
| gifts, as he uniformly did all gifts saving that
his salary provided for his wants at the moment,
| and when he got old he could live on his retired
pay he had merely fulfilled his contract i'm doing
his duty and he had received the stipulated pay
| tie concluded by saying that the generous men
who had subscribed the money could not give
! him greater pleasure than by devOting it to the
| relief of the widows and orphans of the common
soldiers who had died in defense of their country
! General Thomas died very suddenly and his
widow has lived all these years in straitened cir
| cumstances. But she has never obtruded her
condition upon the public. She was fifty mated
to the simple, modest, unselfsh. heroic man
whose pane she bears. The state of her private
| means was suspected and then quietly and DELI
! cately ascertained by some of her friends, and
| the bill was introduced without her knowledge
or request. Senator Miller was warm and Inti-
| mate. personal friend of General Thomas and
| his effort will be labor Of love.
| The Senators who have been reelected ha We
| almost all received hearty and warm congratu-
lations from their Old associates. There is really
a great deal of genuine good-fellowship among
these men, who wrange like lawyers in public.
| and differ as widely as the poles in politics.
Nobody has more friends than Senator Vance
ne is Us caIeIeoS Il ilItter, pOiitcS,
| of them, and has no thought or concern as to
! whom he hurts; but he does it all with such a
good-humored, wholesome. stubborn and hope
lessly bigoted way that the sting does not
amount to much. There were probably not a
/ half dozen members OF the Senate who did not
| congratulate Vance, and mean it, too and feel
| really happy that he was to return for six years
! longer.
| 1t is difficult to keep Vance quiet; he fairly
| efferyesces with good nature and good humor;
and he races mp and down. intellectually, like a
young colt, kicking up his heels-he doesn t
know nor want to know why-J1ust because he
must He tells great many funny stories in a
| quiet way, and usually puts the joke on him.
self rather than hurt his neighbors' fe elings He
comes OF the Scotch-irish ancestry that has done
| so much for America He will settle down COM
| fortably, when he is at leisure and say, in his
| broad southern dialect: The immediate pro-
| genitor of the American Vance family, sir, was
| a Scotch Covenauter preacher. He was driven
| about by the Claverhouse dragons for a time,
| and finally took refuge in the north of Ireland,
where he built houses, planted trees. and begat
| children" Then, after a pause, he will add,
with twinkle Of the eye: ''And have observed
| that these characteristics distinguish his pos
terity, except, perhaps in the matter of building
houses and planting trees"
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