The Washington critic., 1888-01-03

travelled on free passes. Under such
circumstances the allowance of
mileage money TO n Member, whose
pockets bhlged with dead-head paper,
was q. sham Of the worst Sort Itwgs
deadlbeating both the railroads and
the Government at the same time
But when they passed the Interstate
bill, the Members did away with
their free rides. Nearly all of
them came to town this winter on
regular. tickets. In the California
delegation, for instance, Leland Stan
ford is the only man who did not pay
his fafeion the trip TO Washington.
Last winter there was only single
Member Of this delegation that paid
his way. Senator Stanford, being a
railroad official, is privileged under
the law to have his FIAT chaiked. He
really had his whole palace car
chalked. Still, the extras" involved
in n journey made in such fashion
costs the Senator larger sum than
the total travelling expenses of all his
colleagues in the delegation. Further
more he does not pocket his mileage,
He turns that. neat little sum in with
his 5000 salary and $2,5 olerkship
and gives the entire pot to his private
secretary, q bright newspaper man
whom he found in Washington. The
rate of mileage is 20 cents mile for
the distance, by the nearest route,
between the Members home and
Washington at the opening of each
session and back to his home again
after adjournment. Under the usual
ordero of things, when no extra session
Is called, mileage is allowed for a
round trip each year. The Senators
and Representatives from California
and Oregon and the delegates from
Washington Territory each receives
about 81 300 year for mileage. They
never make more than q round trip,
but with this sum every one of them
could make three round trips with as
much comfort as possible and without
spending q cent Of his regular salary.
! A Congressman from the neighbor-
hood of Boston draws about S1S5 in
mileage for coming and going once.
He could afford to make the round trip
four or five times on this allowance,
and he generally does this very thing.
A member from Baltimore draws
about $16.S0, sum large enough to
carry him back and forth half q dozen
times. But in spite of these figures the
allowance Of twenty cents mile is no
more than fair to q member who
travels on ticket, for most of the
Congressman do not come alone, and
a majority of them find it necessary
to make at least one extra trip be-
tween times. The Senators draw q
total mileage of $4,000 every year,
and the Representatives and Delegates
$4,000.
Wv
When Colonel Piatt was here, a
week or two ago, says Fred. Mussey in
the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, he
called upon his old friend, the At
torney-General, and as he handed his
card to the colored messenger, that
gentleman of African descent observed
volume under the arm of helearned
author. "Hab ye q book to sell ?" he
queried, turning at the closed door.
81 have" responded the Colonel.
Den ye can'tsee er Torney- -GeneftfS'
"Why not P' "Kase he glib order}4 u "a
no pussen haben book to sell 4, lsiA:
or female, especially female, wal TO Be
omitted to his presence. "C4found
you, I'm not book, agent Pm the
author" "Can't help dat, Sab; 'er
order isipositive--no person got q book
to sell, male or female, especially fe-
males, is to be omitted.T 'Took
here, my man, the Hon. Angus
.tus ii. Garland Attorney Cen
eral, is this moment waiting inn
patiently to see me. He will be mad
as hornet if there is II delay of a
minute. Take in my card and see. ."
"Yaw, yaw, yaw," laughed the coll
ored guardian. 'I'sel up to all dem
tricks. Can't fool me. Use hearn dat
story afore. For de lawd, We ought
to hear dem book agents tell, specially
de female agents. Why, one hear las
week, a nifty purity little heifer she
was, too, said she was de sistah oh
President Cleveland himself. / let
her in, cuss her, an nearly lost my
place. De 'Torney-General called me
a damned ole fool, an said / cost him
twenty dollass." The perplexed au-
thor was about to knock the colored
gentleman down with his great work,
when an official fortunately acquaint-
ed with him cut the knot of trouble
by an immediate admittance.
! ~
| Speaking of the 'Dixie Cotillion"
Club, Mr. Mussey furnishes the fol-
lowing interesting gossip to the Gin
cinnati Commercials -Gazette: 1t was
proposed by the organization to hold
their reunions, to which no Northern
girls were to be invited, in the Red
Parlor of the Ebbitt, upstairs. All
the hops heretofore in the Ebbitt
House have been given on the ground
floor in the parlors devoted to that
purpose, and they have been reck-
oned among the pleasantest things of
that sortin Washington. The propo4
sition to go into the exclusion of the
Red Parlor met with an obstacle in
the shape of an objection from Mr..
Willard, who said that any such en-
tertainment given III his house must
be given for the benefit of all
his guests. Mr.. Willard refused tc
draw sectional lines in his hotel and
he would apply them as strictly in
the case of the North as of the South.
This decision has had rather par
alyzing effect upon the Dixie Club of
young ladies. must do the Southern
young ladies the justice, however, to
say that four pretty young ladies from
Columbus, Ohio, who, with theil
mothers, are. living at the Ebbitt, were
invited to be present at the first
cotillion. This may come from the
fact that the four pretty young ladies
were attracting to themselves 50
many eligible young gentlemen of the
North, and the young Southern girl
has keen eye out for the Northern
gentleman, because the Southern gen.
tleman is not rich as rule, and the
Northern gentleman is. But, how.