The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-10-05
FORGET -ME-NOTS.


Maj George a. Armes, the man who pulled
Governor Beavers nose in the lobby of the
Riggs House, is not man to fool with. ANY
one who does him an injury is likely sooner or
later to suffer for it. He never forgives and
never forgets. Twenty years ago Lewis Mer-
rill, then captain in the Second Cavalry, did
serious injury to Maj. Armes who was then
serving in the same regiment and had incurred
the envy of some of his brother officers by re-
ceiving promotion to the rank of captain when
he was only twenty-one years old. The pro-
motion was reward for his bravery in fight
ing Indians. His envious brother officers. led
by Merrill had him court-martialed on n charge
which some say was false. Merrill was Judge
advocate, and Armes was convicted and
dismissed from the Army. But Congress, dis
approving of the work of the court-martial
promptly restored the young officer to the
service, and he served in the Tenth Cavalry
until 1888, when he was retired as senior cap
tain.
In 1856 Merrill, then a major in the Seventh
Cavalry, was nominated by President Cleveland
for promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
but Armes was after his old enemy. He pre-
sented such a picture of him to President
Cleveland that the President withdrew the
nomination, and Merrill was retired as a major
That was not the end of it, however. Merrill
is Pennsylvania and a great politician it
seems. He was able to get Congress to pass
bill authorizing the President to make lieu
tenant colonel of him and to have the promo
ton date from January Q, 1886. The Presi-
dent accordingly sent to the Senate at its late
session the nomination of Mai. Lewis Merrill
to be lieutenant colonel of cavalry, but the
Senate, strange to say refused to confirm the
nomination.
Major Armes called upon the Senate Commit
tee on Military Affairs and proved among other
things that Merrill while acting as Judge advo-
cate in certain court. martial, made bargain
with the officer on trial to acqut him in con-
sideration of present of $500. In view of this
record the committee thought Merrill was
hardly man to be promoted and so his nomi-
nation was one of the twelve which the Senate
at its late session refused to confirm 1t is re-
markable instance of the mutability of human
affairs that the Senate should pass bill author
lzing the President to nominate man for pro-
motion and then refuse to confirm the nomina-
ton Maj. Armes is happy. 81 have been try
ing for over twenty years." he said yesterday,
''to get even with that fellow, and now | think
| am even. Revenge is sweet" He added that
Maj. Merrill was lucky to be outside the peni-
tentary because it is penitentiary offense for
judge advocate to accept bribe.
Now Congress has gone and Washington is
dull town in consequence. Those Washing
tonians who during the sessions of Congress
are continually protesting their weariness of
the legislators on the Hill surely cannot mean
it, No, Messieurs Senators and Representa-
tives feel quite certain the people of Washing
ton love you, and if they are not proud of you
all they are heartily glad to have you here [
speak not of the hotelkeepers alone but of the
whole city. | am sure speak for ninety-nine
out Of one hundred Washingtonians when |
say that we heartily enjoy your presence,
we sincerely regret your absence, and
we sorely miss you when you are gone.
When you are here you make Washington
one of the most interesting cities III the world:
when you go away you leave it one of the dullest.
What difference between the day before the
meeting of Congress and the day after adjourn
ment When grumbling people say they are
glad to get rid of Congress they don't repre-
sent the sentiment of this city. [ feel sure that
any one who really may have such a feeling
when Congress is here soon gets rid of it when
the statesmen go away. We don't know how
we love you till we lose you Come back and
all will be forgiven.
X X
Cleveland was a great veto artist. He used
to veto about 10 per cent. of all the bills which
Congress sent to the White House. None of
his predecessors could compare with him. He
vetoed more bills than all the previous Presi-
dents put together. In fact he vetoed in a
single session of Congress as many bills as had
previously been vetoed by all the Presidents of
a century. Grant stands second as veto art
ist. During his two terms he vetoed
forty-two bills Harrison bids fair to
equal Grants record, even if he should
only have a single Presidential term
in which to do it, He has ALREADY
vetoed dozen bills and pocketed eleven
more. That is to say, he has killed about per
cent OF the bills presented for his approval
That is not bad beginning, although it can't
compare with the record of the first session of
Congress after Mr.. Cleveland came to the White
House During that single session Mr. Cleve-
land vetoed no less than 113 bills Since the
beginning of this Government there have been
some four or five hundred Presidential vetoes
What a contrast there is in this respect between
days OF Queen Anne, now almost two centuries
ago, no English sovereign has dared to veto any
bill passed by the British Parliament
A discussion of the various forms of capital
punishment and of the easiest ways of dying
led the other night to the suggestion that If
the State of New York should think of super
seding the electric chair an experiment should
be made with champagne. To be drowned in
representative of big champagne house has
pledged himself, in case of the adoption of
such law to furnish champagne enough to
drown half a dozen criminals. 1t would take
about $4,000 worth to make decent pool, but
what an ad. it would be Mumm wouldn't be in
it after that.