The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-01-21
UUR WASHINGTON LETTRR.

a good company to keep out of.
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UUR WASHINGTON LETTRR.
WAsH1SGroN, d. c., Jan. II, 1856.
We are literally frozen up and showed
in" in this beautiful. city of marble
buildings. The sparkling of the snow
crystals + the light of the moon, and
the looming up of the beautiful propor-
tions of the Capitol ON its high eleva-
ton, and the other public buildings Of
marble and granite imparts a fairy like
scene to the city. The jinrling Of sleigh
bells and merry laugh OF excited drivers
add greatly to the gay scenes of the
otherwise unusually gay season. Such
continued extreme cold and so much
snow has not been seen iu Washington
for ten years. Sleighs that have been in
stock for seven years have all been sold,
and just now one is not to be had for
love or money. Last Wednesday there
was carnival on Pennsylvania Avenue
from the Capitol to the White House,
and although the Avenue is 100 feet
wide it was hardly wide enough for the
s!eighs on it. The police laws appear to
have been set aside for the t %, and
racing on the finest thoroughfare in the
world was engaged in to the hearts con-
tent. The 65 miles Of asphalt pavement
that Washington boasts of when covered
with even light snow affords the finest
sleighing in the world, and whenever we
have the rare treat of good snow all
the cutters of the livery stablemen as
in active demand day and night at the
chilling price of $500 an hour, and are
hard to get at even that figure.
There seems to be no doubt now but
that Congress will be called on to con-
tribute some part OF the 81 100000 to
be expended in erecting monument to
Gen. Grant in Riverside Park, N. Y.
This ought not to be. II the wish of the
people of the whole country had been
respected by making the Nations Capi.
tai the burial site, everybody would have
voiced the appropriation of the whole
81, 100000. But since New York City
pushed its claims and insisted on having
the honored dead with her, and promised
the grand monument, now let her wealthy
magnates make good tLeir promise. In
this connection it may be stated that it
:, not believed here that the bill will
pass Congress which was introduced in
the Senate last week, appropriating
100000 year for ten years for each of
two monuments similar to the Washing
ton Monument to be erected to the MEM
ory of Lincoln and Grant.
The decision of Secretary Lamar in
recommending the institution of a suit
to test the validity of the Bell Telephone
patent was not surprise to the we'll in
formed in patent matters. The Bell
people had an intimation of what the
decision would be nearly week before
it was announced, and endeavored to
change it by having Ex-senator McDon-
aid make an argument On the Secretary's
return from his recent trip home, but
political influence availed nothing. The
only surprise is that the Secretary recon-
mends the suit to be prosecuted at the
expense of the United States. This
ought not to be done, because the people
of the United States are not pecuniarily
in the result, but only rival
who want to break down the
patent that they may use the invention
without the consent of the Bell Compa.
ny. The United States, after a careful
examination and investigation, granted
the patent, and should not now bear the
expense of a costly law suit to defeat its
own grant when it does not even admit
that the patent was wrongfully granted.
Word has been received at headquar.
ters that some Western fraud, having the
same name as Prof. Baird of the Fish
Commission, has been sending circulars
to farmers in the East offering 10 stock
their ponds and streams with fish on the
receipt of one dollar. The fraud has
realized a great deal of money in this
way, aud farmers should be on the look
out for him. The Fish Commission
furnish fish to farmers when their ap.
plications are endorsed by the Member
of Congress from that district, and the
fish can be obtained in no other way.
1t the Presidents State dinner on
Thursday evening there were thirty
guests present, including the Cabinet
officers and their ladies. All the deco.
rations were more elaborate than those
on New Years day. The center of the
table was lined with a mirror encircled
by heavy border of the most rare cut
flowers, and the central floral piece was
The "Ship of State," carrying as freight
La France roses and camelias. The
mantels we're all banked with moss and
cut flowers. 1t would fill column to
describe fully all the decorations.
The japanese Patent Commissioner
has just visited the Patent Office, and
had long interview with Commissioner
and some of the other
officials, with the view of getting a better
insight into our patent system, after
which the japanese system is modelled.
Our system is being gradually adopted
10 all European Countries, and whenever
changes are made in Foreign Patent