The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-12-02
WASHINGTON IS ll1ll.
This Il Because Congress Il sct
in Session.
Sketches OF life ia capttsi .tsy
Boarding Bosse-Insixnihe2nes
Of the Ordinary Member"
gasalnxtoa Irtfer.

The capital Is enjoying one OF Us
periods of dizziness. There II no lazier
town In America than Washington
when congress il not here. Society =
stagnaut, business dFoops, resident
officials and department people are
sleeper than ever. shop-keepers open
their stores late In the morning. close
early at night and lounge about most
OF the day, restaurants discharge most
of their cooks and walters, and even
the hotels become vast, vacant
caverns. Congress IS the life OF wash
ipgton. and II congress would only sii
The wear round Washington would
think itseli a paradise. These PERI
odicaI bat temporary withuraN2is
OF the life impulse oil the Town
fall more heavily upon the ooafalng-
house keeper than on anyooay else
These useful members Of society are
nog fun Of lamentations and searn-
ing. with their rents 20 meet and
precious few boarders- The capital j.
one vast clearinghouse. All over
the city, even in the most aftstoeFaiie
quarters, sou see the piaeards ont.
People keep boarders or rent rooms
here who would have scorned to en-
gage in such business n the cities
whence they came, for tt seems as u
everybody here has come from some
other place. You don't ilnd anybody
here who lays claim to being native;
The FIRST and most natural topic OF
conversation at the clearinghouse J.
the locality you have come from. You
are asked that que ton over The soup,
and by the time dessert u reached
and il does not take long 70
reach the dessert in most OF these
boarding house yoa know all
about your neighb0rs, and they
know all about you. II they don't II
l. not q cir fault. Washington Is the
most national city because u - con
stantly swallowing up restless souls
from al the states and territories; and
the Washington clearinghouse table
is a show place OF all the national
characteristics. Ny fat, smooth
shaven yis-a-vis al table j. a Southern
man, who IS still talking OF the elee-
ton. A large msjority Of the Wash
ington residents are similarly troubled
The boarding house specimen who -
not employed by government II the
exception rather than the rule, and
those government employees who
are Republicans fear they will have
their heads cut of before the ith OF
March. while those who are Democrats
fear their turn viii come after that
eventual day. So they can't get over
the election
"Why, says my Wis avis, she news
OF the election struck me about as the
news Of the emancipation proclamation
struck me a quarter OF a century ago.
I had li6oacres OF land and IS negroes.
was then = years OF age, and had
never known what il was To work. |
had never known what ii was to have
a wish that could not be gratiiied. All !
we had an ideal life up 10 that time.
We kept open house from January
TO January. | never saw day
when stranger could step in
inside our house from 6 O'Clock in the
morning tol2 o clock at night and fail 10
find n good warm meal ready for him.
We lived on Wild ducks stuffed with
oysters and terrzpin. We had all our
negroes well trained, every one had
been taught trade, and We had the
best servants in the country. -Four OF
them we're worth 5000 apiece, six 5000
apiece, and so on down. In a minute
they we're all taken from me. In n
few months an Endorsement which |
had made for friend, took my land
away. and with gfip-sack in my
hand and 81 80 IN my pocket ! started
out 10 make living. | had been
trained to- spend money but not to
earn IT, For . years now ! have been
working hard and am not much better
off than when | started. And this
electionI am afraid it viii throw me
out on The world again.
| give this as a sample OF the bursts
OF confidence yoa1l hear a dozen times
a day in the Washington boarding
houses. The election was tragedy to
many of these people, Republicans as
well as Democrats. Let the lady on
my left, who works in the patent
office. tell another life story.
There came into our department a
week ago" said she, "a tail gaunt
man from Southern Virginia He,
too. once owned q plantation and
many slaves. The war Impoverished
him. He didn't know how to work
had never lifted his hand, aud con
cluded he was too old bird to learn
new tricks. So he drlfted along, barely
keeping body and sotd together Just
as many OF the old aristocrats In that
section have done ever since the war.
Finally his congressman secured him
a place here and induced him 10 &C
Cept ID on the representation that
there was not much TO do bat
draw his salary. The place was such
a one as Is usually held hy colored
man, a janitor, IN fact, and his duties
were the making OF fires, sweeping
and keeping things Ia order. You
ought b. have seen the look OF disgust
on that mans face when lac founa
what the work was.
why. sab, said he, 4 never mad,
a fire in NV life. ! never swept a Ito,
never learned how to work. sab q
and saw the bitterness Caminl
into his face, heard II IN his tone n,
was about TO throw UP the Job, Thei
one OF our typewriter operators,
youuk woman from New England
spoke up There was 4 kindly look II
her eve. mellow sympathy IN he
voice. But She cut straight 10 ID
core OF the matter.
'Iuok here she exclaimed. le
me tell you something. | say d 70
your oWn good You ought To kuoy
that the world has gone past You
We. and she pointed to the BUS
CLERKS ia the room. don't bF8g q
what we can't do. but OF what We cal
do
"Wen. that was a center shot /
reused the man He stood silent aS {
he was living all his life over again
Thea he approached she CRATE as i {,
make the FIRE but he didn't know
how TO 20 az 70, and was abou
10 turn away IN despair, When n,
Young woman from New Enzlan,
stepped forward,
let nc show YOU she sabi 10 !
80 easy, when you know how
The up,hOt Of it allH Why Ia
tail. espnt NirEiuiaH lass hrcowe ON
of the best ianitors ia onr building
And the strsnFcst thiug about il !
that he likes the work lie sayS "a
has wasted twenty-five wears % his Isle
that he IS man again
And Is be worried about the eleg
ton Does he fear lor his place
mo He half hopes ho Viii lose th
rob and have 20 seek employment
elsewhere You see. all the dormant
rusty energy OF the maU has bee,
awakened. and in his new life an,
ambition hc feels equal 10 anything
The boarding house krepevsi hav
been Worrying about the electiop too
More than half uf The couETr-> mel
boarl while az the capitol The cen
He...- 49, ss.- l. -.