The Washington critic., 1886-07-01
V vASiilNGTON CRITIC
TOPICS OF THE DAY.

suspect that she will tire of her bar
gain very soon. The proprietor of tho
periodical seems to be gentleman
largely addicted TO sensationalism, aud
we more than half believe that he has
occurred Miss Cloveland's services moro
for the purpose of advertising his en-.
terprise than for the purpose of Gle.
vating the tone OF his publication and
OF permanently improving It. LiierIry
Lire was started about three years ago
In Cleveland by Mr.. viii. A. Clemens,
an enterprislng newspaper reporter.
When he found that IL did not pay
Clemens moved 1t TO Chicago aud dis.
posed of 1t to Mr.. A. p. I. Elder, n
printer. Clemens went back East, and
is now at the head Of bureau which
furnishes newspapers with Original
poems by the best poets at % cents
per poem. Literary Life has been
conducted in n very slipshod, pro
vincinl way. Miss Cleveland will i'm
prove it. She viii give it II healthy
tuno and surround it with healthy
atmosphere. Whether she will do
more than this is question MT 50
much of probability US Of possibility"
~
A correspondent of the Philadelphia
BgilojiH questions an alldsion In that
paper to Judge David Davis rs "thc
largcs. man who ever occupied n seat
in the UDn,ri States Senate Dixon
II. Lewis, who represented Alabama
in the Senate from 1914 to 1853 was a
huge man and probably larger than
Davis was in his biggest days,
for he had lost much ilcsh in the
last few years Of his life.
Speaking of Lewis, the correspondent
gives an instance of his gallantry. I'm.
I'll about 1916 the United States mail
between Wilmington, n. c., and
Charleston, $. c., was carried by sea
steamers. One moonlight night the two
vessels, going in opposite directions, got
into collision, and it was soon found
that one was sinking. The mails and
passengers on board were transferred
to the other vessel, and the last man to
leave the sinking slip was the Hon.
Dixon III. Lewis, who waited till all
the others were saved for fear of capsiz.
ing the boat used in the transfer.
Nv
Says Crawford in the World: "Mr.
Reagan, the ex. Postmaster General of
the Confederacy, put an end to the
talk about Confederate money In Eu
rope when l asked him about 1t yes
terday. Every now and then there are
stories started here by claim agents
describing the large funds on deposit
in Europe to the credit of the former
Confederate Government. Mr.. Reagan
was Acting Secretary of the Treasury
during the last few days prior to the
arrest of Jefferson Davis. He says
that among the funds of the Confed.
crate Treasury then there were elS,-
Geo exchange on London. This was
captured by the United States. He
knew of no other fund to the credit of
the Confederate Government In Eu.
rope than this. When he took pos.
session of the treasury funds there was
left in his hands in round numbers
some $50, 900 in gold and about $40, 900
In silver coin and silver bullion. The
value of the silver had to be given to
the soldiers who were guarding it in
order TO protect the balance. The sol
diers claimed the silver coin and such
portion of the gold coin as would rep.
resent the value of the silver bullion.
There fell into the hands of the United
States Government something like
$50, 1000 worth of coin and bullion In
addition TO the London exchange. Mr..
Reagan had in his possession besides
his 800, 600 in new Confederate notes.
These he burned himself in an open
wood fire in Washington, Ga. He
knew that they had no value and felt
that unless they were destroyed they
might be used by some people at that
time to swindle and deceive"
~
According to Towlc Of the Boston
1rareliCr, Washington appears to be
the home of the pool seller. There are
at least a score of places where gam
bling upon horse races, baseball games
and all sorts Of sports are carried on
openly and unblushingly. Fol great
many years it was thought that the
law on the statute book prohibited the
selling of pools. One day sharp
young lawyer discovered that the law
was defective. A test case was made
up ard carried into the courts. The
young lawyer carried the day, and
since that time the pool rooms have
sprung up like mushrooms. One firm
here has cleared, on an average,
over thousand dollars day
since the racing season opened.
There are quite number of Congress
men who invest regularly upon the
races. One of them bets heavily, and
has won great many thousand dollars
within short time. His friends here
wonder why he Is so lucky, but there
is something more than luck in his sue
cess. He has in his employ u man in
whose judgment he has the most i'm
plicit faith. This man is upon the
track every day and is well-known
sport. The Congressman pays him n
salary of 800 n week for the furnish
ing of information relative to the
horses. The consequence is that the
investment has been very profitable
one for the Congressman. Among his
notable winnings this year was about
O,O00 upon Troubadour. The odds
given were seven to one. Occasionally
this Congressman lets out some of
his advance information to n
few intimate friends. Then there
is always rush to the pool
rooms. and many wagers are laid upon
his advice. An effort has been made
to break up this form of gambling at
the National Capital, and bill is now
pending in Congress which, If passed,
would cifectually prohibit the business
under heavy penalties, but the proba-
bilitcs are that 1t will not receive fur
ther consideration this session"