The Washington critic., 1886-07-19
TOPICS OF THE DAY.

tnc lfol ffWfts ma lcltcr inc Otner
day from friend in Chicago, In which
he ssysi. Il trust you are enough Of
talamandcr TO stand o Washington
July" suppose tho "retort cour-
icous" would be- "I trust you are
enough Of polar bear TO stand Chi
oago January" At all events, II the
Western capital ia as comfortable In
mldwinicr As the National Capital is
This year in midsummer, II Is greatly
bclicd by its reputation. More charm
ing weather than we have thus far had
here Il would be impossible 10 find
anywhere. am surprised at the num-
her Of visitors who come here In the
summer. believe Il Is the fashion now
for all cities 10 claim that they arc
the most desirable summer resorts In
existence. While modcstly not claim.
ing that for Washington, Il Is still a
delightful point from which TO make
cheap and charming excursions.
have friend who has come here for
many summers, making this his head.
quarters using the Congressional II.
brnry visiting scenes Of the war not
far distant, and he considers II an ideal
vacation. Washington ought 10 be,
and probably Is, the best governed city
In the country. Congress controls
everything through board of three
commissioners. There are no "practi.
cal politics" In the District. aud the
only obstacle TO an ideal municipality
Is the absorption OF Congress In
practical politics" 10 the neglect,
often, OF District affairs. Still, we
enjoy an admirable administration, on
the whole. There Il general exodus
Of wealth and fashion from July TO
October 1 but the current saying that
everybody Is out Of town" is far
enough from true. Here a. everywhere
the mass of the people cannot afford TO
go, either TO leave their business or 10
meet the expense Of travel. And they
can be very comfortable indeed at
home.
Among the "Odd Bits OF Chat In
yesterdays New York Tribune Is the
following: hear that big Benjtmin
Lefevre, the Ohio Member of Congress,
has decided 10 follow President Clcve.
lands example and get married. His
bride Is said 10 be n wealthy young
woman Of New York who has just
sailed abroad for the summer. A story
Is told OF her response TO the Generals
wooing. II seems that they had been
acquainted for n number OF years, the
handsome bachelor in the meantime
being elected once or twice 10 Congress
When he finally pressed his suit
short time ago he was met with the
lady's reply that she would like to be
Congressman's wife. 80 you will
be-" was Bens gallant reply. why,
no." said she, II could not think Of
marrying before fall. and the session
will then be over and you will be just
going out Of office. You ought to have
asked me before. Now TO punish you
for your dalliance, II you come to me
re elected for the next term you may
set the day" The general has an offer
OF fine position as manager OF rail
road line at $40 900 a year, and has
been feeling for several years that he
was wasting his time In Washington.
Now he is In quandary what to do.
-.
1t Is curious, says the Washington
correspondent Of the Nashville Union,
how suspicious wealthy men become
the moment they enter political life.
When they remain In private life they
are constantly on the lookout for
chances for money. making. But bring
them TO Washington aud put them into
the House or Senate, and they get an
idea that once there they are the target
for every schemer In the country. One
very wealthy man who came here re.
Gently as a Senator instituted Il search
as soon rs he arrived for some man as
private secretary who was especially
familiar with all the cranks and
schemers of all sorts, saying frankly
to his friends that he wanted man TO
protect him from schemers of this
class. He had always heretofore proved
himself quite competent TO take care
of his own business, and had been able
to accumulate a magnificent fortune
through the exercise of his own judg-
ment, but the moment he arrived
in Washington to take position as
senator he concluded he needed pro
tector Another Senator, who Is a mil.
lionaire gives very freely OF his for.
tune, but is especially careful to ask
those who become aware Of 1t to keep
the matter quiet. He recently told the
writer of this correspondence that he
had tried during the past year TO keep
his charities down to 81 900 per month.
II would have succeeded In 1t, too,
he said with apparent glee, "but for
the fact that gave 500 extra In u
direction that | did not count upon
when began my years work In this
line" Another Senator who is re-
puted very wealthy Is in constant
state Of terror lest he be made the vie
tim of some sort of speculation. lie
has been here n long time trying IA
screw his courage up TO the point OF
making certain real estate investment
in the city, but has not been abl,
to make up his mind about
it. Meantime others with much
less capital and not half The
opportunity to get on The inside in
these transactions have invested In tn,
very locality and thousands of dollari
have been made. The very piece oI
ground over which he has been heslta
ting so long has been sold over anC
over again within the past few years
and thousands of dollars realized bl
those who bought and sold ii. Mean
time he has driven past II frequently
hesitating in the fear that he was 90
ing to permit himself to be swindle,
in some way. Seeing the property sol,
out from under his nose and othe
people reaping the golden harvest
he was waiting to see If anybody wa
really trying to swindle him.
~
Says the New York TriJuae' Gen
eral George A. Sheridan, politician
aud nraInr lnliynrnl the EnurIh N