The Washington critic., 1888-03-10
TOPICS OF THE DAY.
The National Capital as an Orderly
and Well.GOverned City,
OLD EXECUTIVE MESSAGES,
Religious Men in washington-Thc
Wits OF Congress, Etc.

Gazette has TO say OF the Natlonal
Capital as well-behaved, well.gov.
erned city: 1t is curious to see what
an interest the people of the country
at large seem to take in the matter of
whisky drinking in the city of Wash
ington, and the petitions in favor of
total prohibition in the District Of Co.
lumbia would probably measure about
a cord or cord and a-half IL stacked
up appropriately. There is one fact
about Washington that should be
noted-there is no other city in the
country which is so widely, so thor
oughly advertised and commented
upon. Here are two hundred corre-
spondents watching everything, com.
menting upon everything, and Wash
ington Is more closely watched in
newspaper way than any other city
of the country Yet it is true that
there is no better behaved city
in the country than Washington.
There is no city in the country in
which the laws are more strictly OBJ
served and the Police Court reports of
Washington will bear out the state
ment that there is no better regulated
city than this. On account of the
general publicity given to every little
occurrence in Washington out of the
ordinary line. and the exaggeration
of events through partisan corre-
spondents, an idea obtains that Wash.
ington is very bad city, and that
there is a great deal Of wrong doing.
At the same time it is true that the
local government of Washington is as
good as that of any other city in the
country, and in no other city are the
laws better enforced or better OBJ
served. The only people who break
the laws are people who are sent
here by constituencies in districts re-
mote from the Capital of the
Nation. Yesterday long peti-
ton came in from citizens of Cincin-
natl praying for total prohibition
in the District of Columbia. This Pc
tition came from town in which Sun
day is celebrated as holiday, with all
the theatres open, o matinee perform
ance given in the afternoon, evening
performances, baseball games and so
on. This seems to come with poor
grace to city in which Sunday is OBJ
served rs religiously as it is in any
other city in the country. Sunday in
Washington is day of absolute quiet
and rest. Not public resort of any
description is open to the people
on q Sunday in Washington except
the churches and the hotels, and it is
only until recently that the people in
the hotels have been allowed to order
anything to drink at their dinners
aside from the regular beverages,
such as tea, coffee, milk and Potomac
water, and, as to the latter, proba.
bly, a good, strait specimen of
whisky might be preferable. The
Ohio River water consumed by the
people of Cincinnati is bad enough,
but the Potomac River water is worse
than that. Another peculiar phase of
the interest felt by the Nation at large
in the welfare of Washington and the
District of Columbia is shown in the
- piles of petitions that come in from
various parts of the country, espec-
tally New York and New Jersey,
praying for the enactment of some
laws "to protect young women in the
District of Columbia" Now, if
there is any place in the world
that young women do not need pro-
lection it is in the city of Wash
ington, and the petitioners from New
York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago,
Cincinnati st. Louis, San Francisco,
New Orleans, and other great cities of
the country Mould do we'll to confine
their missionary work to their own
cities. There are thousands of women
in the employment of the Govern
ment in this city, and this situation
has endured for years, and out of il
not dozen scandals have ever grown
and there is nothing in the history OF
the policy of employing woman in
the Government Departments that
does not rebound to the credit o.
American women.
~
Macfarland in the Philadelphia
Record Representative John M. AL
len of Mississippi says some very
quaint things. Apropos Of following
your leader on the tariff question, HI
said the other day: "Well, I'm gooC
deal like old Jake in my town. Jak,
was q good deal of a drinker, drunl
most of the time, in fact, and tn,
temperance folks kept their eye ol
him. One time, when they wer
particularly active, they got Jake int
one of their meetings. But they
couldn't get him to sign the pledge
NO. he said, 'no--not yet We'll
why not p said they at last. Well
said Jake, my old ColonePs comm,
to town to talk temperance Monday
night, and I'd rather wait for him.
followed my Colonel four years il
the war, and he never took me int
any danger, and I'd rather follow hin
now So they let him wait for tn
Colonel who had never taken hin
into any danger during the four year
of the war"
~
There are number of religious mel
inthe Senate, says Washington lette
to the Philadelphia Times. Mr.. Blai
is an active member of the Congrega
tional Church. Mr.. Brown and MI
Colquitt are Methodists, and the latte
often occupies the pulpit, both whe
he is at home in Georgia and Will
he is in Washington, although he ha
never been ordained preacher. MI
Chace isl Quaker, and attends regu
larly the little chapel of the Societ
of Friends on | street. Mr.. Camera
has pew in the New York Avenu
PRESBYTERIAN Church, and attend
service there regularly. Mr.. Morri
of Aermont, Mr.. Chandler of Ne'
Hampshire, and Mr. Hoar q
Massachusetts are active member
of the Unitarian Church, and ca
always be found in their pews o
Sunday. Mr. Cullom and his co
league, Mr.. Farwell, are Presby
tcrians, and have sittings in the ne
Church of the Covenant, on Connect
clli nYenne Mr. Unle of Maine an