Mohave County miner., 1889-01-05
- --As-r--Hh
WASHINGTON LETTER
traoM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT. ]

| Inc Capitoi is deserted. To-day mo-
more than dozen Congressman were
there. The watchman--the man who
sells you photographs Of General Har
rison, that make him look like sexton
and half dozen tourists have the build
ing to themselves. The statesmen viii
not be at work again until January 2
and nearly all have gone home. Even
Mr.. Reed, of Maine, has dared 10 60
home and leave his Speakership fight ta
take care of itself The other candidates
with more caution, remain on their
guard.
Christmas is not in any sense the i'm.
portant event in Washington that IL IL in
New York. But Washington remains
steadfast TO New Years in everything. /,
is the beginning of its social season
proper, and no other day reaches its i'm
portance. The giving OF presents TO gen.
eral acquaintances as well as to your
''dear ones" has not ye. become Gus
tom here, and so Christmas, if deprived
OF some Of its charms, is no less deprived
Of its terrors. In the gay days that fol-
low the Presidents New Year reception.
even Georgetown wakes up and the
ghosts OF its dead and gone society stalk
through its streets. On every Wednes-
day each Cabinet officers wife has left
her couple OF thousand cards, and won
ders il 1t can be true that Mrs. Hamilton
Fish was able to return all the calls made
upon her.
The dread OF the social season was
probably in the Presidents mind when
he wrote to Buffalo friend last week, ~
look forward longingly, counting the days
until the 4th Of March, when l shall be
free" The demands OF society are &C.
we're enough upon an idle man, and are
sufficient to exhaust busy one. Wash
ington society is fast following European
fashionable excesses, without regard to
the fact that with all the millionaires who
come here for the winter, there is, un-
like in European Capitols, no absolutely
idle class OF men. The nearest approach
to an unoccupied class are the members
Of the foreign legations stationed here,
who do nothing but attend society's de-
mands, and do that most successfully.
To-morrow's work has no terrors for
them.
The tariff debate in the Senate is far
more dignifed affair than was the House
debate on the same subject. All the
noise and shaking of fists and pounding
OF desks Is missing. In measured periods
the Senators cali each other liars; they
do not come out broadly with it, of
course. Senator Edmunds leads the de-
bates, az the first Democratic speaker on
the tariff. Senator Beck is i'll. Senators
Vest, Vance and Reagan do their best to
make up for his absence, but three quick
tempered men have but sorry time
handling sharp Vermont icicle.
Mr.. Edmunds thoroughly enjoys il, and
meets everything with his formal protest.
The Democrat who will come out OF the
debate with most honor, ] fancy, will be
Mr.. Reagan, who is rapidly gaining
ground In the Senate.
Without reference to the merits OF the
case, one cannot but admire the slashing
retort to Senator Edmunds made by Sem
ator Coke on Friday. II was in response
TO Mr.. Edmunds' picture Of the prosperous
American workingman. Mr.. Coke de-
scribed mule spinner of Fall River,
Mass, living on $50 per year, with two
pounds Of pork and no other meat in a
month, picking up driit wood for winter
fires and hunting along the shore on Sun
day for shell fish to eat. The Senator
from Texas concluded by remarking that
| he did not know what was the matter,
what was wrong, but he would not be
surprised il it were the tariff. The bill
gent over until after the holidays. Mr..
Coke asked the yexed question In his
tariff speech, touched the chord Victor
Hugo made Jean ValIean sound when he
said "There is something wrong in a
country when able and willing men are
without work." And yet the wisest leg
islation cannot make all men wealthy.
There is in Washington a winter nights
lodging house. No person ID allowed
there who is drunk or chronic pauper
or vermin ridden. Last evening score
shiyeringly awaited the opening OF the
door, and in all seventy-eight slept there.
II the people of Washington are, as Is
proven, more prosperous than those Of
any European city, what must be the
poverty OF London.
The most perennially ambitious man
in Washington to-day is Commissioner Of
Pensions Black. Across the desert waste
of the next four years, he sees the fair
promise OF '92 glowing in the morning
light Of his imagination. He fondly hoped
that IL would be Cleveland and Black at
st. Louis, and now ne dreams OF a ticket
to be Hill and Black. He alone Of all the
leading Democratic Departmental officials
has not for a time laid aside political
schemes. His dream il unbroken. He
u busy patching up old breaches between
himself and many of the Democratic
leaders who had opposed his ambition to
the Vice-Presidency, or had disagreed