Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1888-06-14
BILL kYE SEES THE CAPITAL.
The RIr6er Shop sHd C.Lorsd AAsiaiLrto,'
StdtssaeA

| While sat in the chair ! heard
man who seemed to be in about tn,
third chair from me. saying that Ger
tain bill numbered 90 and so had beer
referred TO certain committee and
would undoubtedly be reported favor
ably. II so it would in its regular
order come up for discussion and reach
vote so and SO. I was charmed with
the mans knowledge OF the condition
OF both houses and the exact status Of
all threatened legislation, because
always have to stop and think a good
while before ! can tell whether bill
originates on the floor Of the house or
in the rotunda.
could not see him, but I Judged
that he was Senator or Sergeant.
alarms. He talked for sometime
( about the condition of national affairs
and finally some one said something
about evolution. I was perfectly
wrapped up il what he was saying,
and remember distinctly how he re-.
ferred to Herbert Spencers definition
OF evolution as change from indefi.
mite, incohereut homogeneity TO def
mite, coherent heterogeneity through
continuous ditferentiations and inte.
grations.
When | arose from my chair and
looked over that way | saw that the
gentleman who had been talking on
the condition Of Congressional legisla-
tion was a colored hotel porter of
Washington. who was getting shaved
in the third chair, and the man who
was discussing the merits of evolution
was the colored man who was shaving
him.
Here in Washington the colored
man has the air of one who is holding
up one corner of the great national
structure. Whether IL - opsniug
your soft-boiled eggs for you in the
morning, or putting bay rum on your
nose, or checking your umbrella, OF
brushing you with a wilted whisk
broom, his thoughts are mostly upon
national affairs. He is naturally an
imitator wherever he goes, and this
old resident Of Washington has watch.
ed and studied the air aud language
OF eminent statesmen so carefully that
when he goes forth in the morning
with his whitewashing portfolio on his
arm, he walks unconsiously like Sem
ator Evarts or John James Ingalls,.
| saw colored man taking a perren-
dicular lunch at the depot recently
and evidently the veteran Georgia
Senator is his model, for he cut his
custard pie into large rectangular
hunks and pushed it back behind his
glottis with a case-knife, after which
he drew in a saucerful Of tea with
loud and violent Ways-and.Me
Committee report which reminded me
Of the noise made by an unwearied
cyclone trying to suck a cistern dry.
| think that the colored man exagger-
ated the imitation somewhat, but he
was evidently striving to assume the
table manners of Senator Brown, of
Georgia.
For this reason il no other, members
OF the Cabinet, Senators, Representa-
tives, Judges and heads of departments
cannot be too careful in their daily
walk and conversation. Unconsciously
they are moulding the customs, the
manners and the styles of dress which
are to become the customs, the man.
ners and dress OF a whole race. If
could to-day take our statesmen all
apart, not so much for the purpose of
examining their works but so that We
could be alone and talk this matter
over by ourselves, l would strive in my
poor, weak faltering way to impress
them with the awful responsibility rest.
ing upon them not only as polite and
fluent conversationalists, classical and
courteous debaters, speaking pieces for
the benefit Of future conventions or re.
ferring to each other as liars, traitors,
thieves, deserters, bummers, beats and
great moral Assesses on the body pol
itic; rehearsing campaign speeches in
Congress at an expense Of $50 per day
each, and meantime obstructing whole
some tariff legislation, but as the con-
servators of etiquette, craftsmanship
and mo. ality for race Of people the
great responsibility for whose welfare
still rests upon Us as a nation.
Only the day before yesterday I saw
thin. why and colored gentleman
paving around in an ash barrel for
something and I waited to see what
he was after. He resurrected sad
and detected plug hat, and though il