The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-10
HARRIS0N'S PARSLMONY.
ECCENTRICITIEs WHICH AsrONIsH
his FRIEND.

HALA Alt4ldl bJDL4- II a 9SDAS pc
Penur!ousin His Dress and in Family
Expenditures.
From the Netu York World.
The impression is growing day By day
that Ben Harrison, who was elected Presi-
dent of the United States last fall, is frugal
and econ mical to very extraordinary
degree. Indeed, some people who have had
personal relations with MIN 90 50 far as TO
intimate that he is "A pre- ty mean man.
And this kind of testimony doesn't come
from democrats, either. 1t cones from
way-back republicans, dyed ii tbs WOOL
and a yard wide, who worked for Ha~ri
sons election, spent their ii ne aud their
energy and heir money like water and had
abundant opportunity to reach fairly
accurate conclusions concerning the per
sOnal characteristics of the man from
Indianapolis.
And what they say is cordially Endorsed
and confirmed by Gen. Harrisous oid-timn
c)mpanio IS IN arms. These old soldiers
know him, of course, in the sd jwn to the
ground fashion that mel know man wit
whom they have lived in camp, a 1d they
all tax FRANKLY OF how cold bloOded and
INV I'5ltl lOIS nc W "a " W, % ia INV III
popular he was In consequence The poll
ticianS and tradespeople OF indianapolis tell
countless stOrie tie ding to confirm and es
Ia Il h this rather unfavora le estimate of
Mr.. Harrison's p rsoaality. and Washing
ton abounds with similar anecdotes, al
though the President has only cen living
there for few months As for Now YOra,
the TWO or three visits re has made us since
he Inauguration have furnished material
for 10 a L.
statesmen, all tending to establish Mr. Har
risou's reputation for pcture'que parsi-
mony on a firm and lasting foundation.
50 far as this sort of thing is concerned,
New York, Washington and Indianapolis
are thoroughly in acc >rd. Tney may differ
alb ut base ball matters, and the President
by the way, IS an admirer of the national
game. and New York may dowl Washing
ton a ID indianapolis and keep them a, the
tail nd of the list, but 81 far as fu nishing
evidence in demonstration Of Mr.. Har-
rison's niggar1ly caaract ristics the three
towns are all enthusiastlca ly together W til
the tall-endo in the League contest, h w
ever, leading New York by several lengths
and very large percentage. Indeed, le
English language has been exhausted long
ago in repeat d attempts at I'd
equate Characterization. A Was T.
ingtOn paper sa lies into the Scotch
NOCdDuldIJ anu ltltIS 10 Iub THtlQBuG as
near" Another journal intImates that nc
is ''close," but after all he is more generally
desc bed as mean. Those in Washington
WAC deal in the charlotte russo aud the bon
bons of the dictionary speak OF him as
penurious or niggarlly or parSi moni us
But, after carefully reviewing all express
Sous of opinion, the conclusio is reached
that tho great MAORI y of people, who re
Train from going 10 the len eth of charac-
terlzlng Mr.. Harrison as mean man, adj
nit that he is sungy. And after having
made this co lfession they 20 on to tell
st ries about Mr. Harrison which go to
show that solely on account Of his con-
Spicuous talents for saving he is clearly en-
Titled to position am ny poll icians and
statesmen somewhat similar 10 the one &C.
cupied among financiers by Russell Sage
PECULIARIT1Es EXHIBITED IN NEW YORK.
Tho first time New orh was given any
intimaton of Mr.. Harrison's economical
tendencies was when he came on here
during May, and was rendered public re-
ception at the Brooklyn Club A crowd Of
notable men across the river gathered a.
the handsome club house to welcome him
and d. him honor. There was good deal
Of hand-slaklng and champ ugn dri4lng,
and finally the chairman of the house g M
mlttee began pass around boxes of Per
fecto cigars. They pas cd from one man to
another, each gentleman helping himself to
81 gle cigar, of course, until
they finally reached the hands of the mead
of the NATION. Now Mr.. Harrisons taste
if the testimony of his cigar dealer in In
diauapo!is is to be trusted, is for small
cigars, aud his cigar dealer described with
great particularly TO a World correspond
eat last summer the kind of small 16-cent
cigars when Mr. Harrison is In
the habit of SIN king. The Perfectos
which wero passed around at tn,
Brooklyn Club we're not small cigars and
therefore presumably not to Mr.. Harris 1n',
taste, bur evidently under certain circum-
stances Mr.. Harrlson's taste is rather an
elastic affair because apparently to his own
great satisfaction and the mild as.onise-
ment of everybody in the negAborhood the
republican Preside t thru t his orel hand
into the cigar box, when the box finally
came ms way, and when his hand was wi h
drawn 1t was seeu to be full OF fragra 1T
weeds, which collection he verv s1eed ly
ira sterred 20 both his upper YES pocxe $.
Or course the story of Mr. Harrisou's
unique cigar grab Immediately found Wi .e
circulation, both in Brookly and New
Y DIRK and those who knew of Mr.. Harrisou's
taste i'll c.gars came naturally to the conclu
sion thai his taste was never INDUCED at
the expense of his propensity of saving, and
that he only liked small cigars when he
paid for them, and that wuen he secured
theu for nothing larger cigars suited his
pu pose perfectly well.
New Hork's attention having been called
to Mr.. HarrIson'S financial pecularities
after this somewhat unexpected and inter
estiag fashion, the experience of other
cities with the chief magistrate i'm
medlately became of greater interest than
they had been, and newspaper paragraphs,
which before that had teen passed as of
trihing consequence, began to take on g
deeper and more picturesque Significance
Rumors from Washington concerning the
shabbineSs of the white house and how
American servants had been discharged and
English ser rants taken III their pa e, be-
cause of the saving III wages thus secured,
Were regarded with more interest by poll
ticians in New ork and people VINO heard
the Brooklyn Club story than they would
have been If that story had never gained
any currency. Curiosity concerning MIR.
HarrlSon'S personality in the direction here
indicated was stimulated; ques ions were
asked of Washi gtol people and Indian
apolls people, and gradually the estimates
OF MIR. HarrlSon'S character were adjusted
in accordance with the new information
obtained.
MEANNESS IN WASHINGTON.
In Washington 1T must be sal that they
knew Mr.. Ha riSon pretty we'll before he
came there as President of the Unite
States. He had served as q senator, a ii
during the years of his previous residence
had succeeded admirably in giving his
habits OF grasping penurlousaess an adver-
tiSe ne ut OF the widest and IN st exhaust We