The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-03-29
A COLUMN OF WASHINGTON TOPICS.
How Secretary Allen Met a Friend of
Many Years Ago.
pronIos Of congress-Ex-cov. Per
ham Once Was One.
AFeature of the Wyoming Debate
In Cabinet Circles.
Especial to the Press.l


plorable fire at the Tracy mansion and the
bereavement in the family of Secretary
Blaine, the weekly dinners in Cabinet circles
have been suspended. Last evening they
were resumed at the spacious mansion of
Secretary Noble on K street, between 18th
and 14th streets. The dinner was given by
Secretary and Mrs. Noble to President Har-
rison, who was present with Mrs. Harrison.
The other guests were Secretary Rusk and
his wife, Attorney General Miller and wife,
Vice President Morton and wife, Secretary
Window and wife, the Speaker of the House
and Mrs. Reed and Secretaries Proctor and
Wanamaker. Secretaries Blaine and Tracy
were not present on account Of their recent
afiictions. With the exception of the great
dinner given at the Wanamaker mansion
just before the Tracy fire, when twenty-eight
guests were invited, a cabinet dinner does
not usually include many guests besides
cabinet members and their families, with
the President and his family. When they
are all present they make up as large COM
pany as the cabinet houses can ordinarily
entertain easily. Secretary Mobiles house is
one of the most spacious and his hospitality
last evening was worthy the occasion.
In this great whirlpool of political life here
in Washington there are not few pleasant
and interesting reunions of old-time COM
rades who have been separated many years.
sometimes since the days of boyhood, and
who now come together for the first time when
they are called to Washington in the service
of Uncle Sam. The observer will under
stand that reunion of this sort is going on
whenever Mr. Harrison's attorney general
and Speaker Reeds private secretary meet
In the year 1854 young Amos Allen, of
WATERFORD. Me-. boy of seventeen, went
out to Whitestown, N. Y, and there entered
preparatory school. Among his school
mates were two brothers named Miller. One
OF them was we'll along in life and widower
who had come to Whitestown to school after
his wife's death to fit himself for the minis
try. The younger brother was square
faced, determined and brusque young fellow
of about seventeen years. 1t was in the
days when the Republican party was form
ing and the young men in the school were
all red hot Republicans. In school of 125
boys there was but one who was an avowed
Democrat Young Allen and the Miller
boys were among the most earnest Ropub
licans, the elder brother was something of a
politician and went about the country con-
!ican candidates, The younger, who re-
joiced in the famous name of William Henry
Harrison, was not old enough to take the
stump, but he was always more than ready
in the school together two or three
years, and then they parted The two
Miller boys went to Hamilton College and
Young Allen. went to BowdOin College,
where he fell in with some bright fellow
land named Thomas B. Reed. In course Of
time young Allen graduated from Bowdoin,
studied law, became prominent in York
county affairs, and soon was widely known
as the Hon. Amos L. Allen, of Alfred. The
the country received in 1888. was the means
OF bringing the old school mates to Washing
ton. Thomas B. Reed became Speaker Of
the House and his BnYdnin .classmata cams I'M.
Speaker. Before this William Henry Harri- |
son Miller had been made attorney general |
of the United States by the President; and |
he was not long in finding out the Speakers
begun in Whitestown Academy. The elder
Miller boy, who used to. be such an ardent |
politician in those old days Is now noted for
his devotion to his duties as a Presbyterian
younger men, whose hearts he used to fire
with some of his own enthusiasm for Free
mont and Freedom, are as interested In
politics as ever.
Whitestown was then as now in the Utica
Congressional district of New York; and
Roscoe Conkling, then very young man
but already the idol of the district, was one
of the political orators whom the young men
of the seminary most delighted to hear. One
day young Allen and the Millers were pres
ent at meeting addressed by Conkling at
place near the seminary. 1t was very hot
day, and Conkling's linen collar, being very
tight fitting, was fretting its owner consider
ably. Finally, when Conkling arose to ad-
dress the audience the first thing he did was
to clutch the collar and exclaim with all the
dramatic accompaniments for which he was
even then conspicuous, Il feel as though a
border rufian had me by the throat" OF
course the free soil audience raised great
shout, which impressed the extraordinary
declaration upon the minds of every hearer,
to be remembered as long as Roscoe Conk-
ling should be remembered.
Old members of the House say that in
nearly every Congress there are two Dromios,
men who look so nearly alike that they can
hardly be recognized apart. In this Congress
the Dromies are the Hon. F. T. Greenhalge,
of Massachusetts,, and a New Jersey men,
ber who rejoices in the name of Jacob
Augustus Geissenhain er. One of them is
Republican and the other Democrat. which
does not prevent them dining together oc-
casionally in the C0ngr essional restaurant
On such occasions they look so much alike
that the waiter can hardly make up his
mind to charge them for two dinners.
Ex-Governor Perham, of Maine, recalls
that he also was Dromio when he was in
Congress, a quarter of a century ago or so.
And it is little interesting that his double
is member of this Congress also. He is
Hon. j. FL. Ketcham, Of New York, one of
the veterans of Congress. Difference in the
styles Of wearing their boards and the hand
of time have contributed to diminish the re-
semblance; but it still exists.
The debate upon the admission of Wyom-
ing has been interesting and remarkable for
several reasons. In the first place it has
shown how much of sincerity there is in the
professions of Springer and some other
mates and boatswains on the Democratic
craft. They are continually complaining
that the Speaker is an autocrat who aims
to shut the minority off without what they
consider the proper chance to talk. When
it came time to decide the conditions of the
debate on Wyoming the Speaker was anxious
to have fair amount of time allowed, but
would not consent that the boatswains
should have any time for whistling their
crew up for dilatory foolishness. So it was
fixed that the Wyoming bill should be de-
bated all Wednesday afternoon until $50,
and then on Thursday an hour in the Iore-
noon and in the afternoon until one. The
boatswains professed to think that this was
very cruel arrangement, which would give
them very scant time to consider such an i'm