Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1890-04-10
Washington Letter.

Iron our regular correspondent
WASHINGTON d. c. April 18th 1890.
One Of the most time honored Gus
tens in Washington is that of egg roll
ing on Easter Monday, an anniversary
strictly observed by the juveniles. For
two hours this morning regiment OF
mothers, and battalion of IRISH, Ger
man and colored nurses, wearing the in
evitable French caps, marshalled an
army Of pretty infantry toward the
White House grounds. The adjacent
streets we're thronged. On the field of
battle the struggle for eggs was fierce
and prolonged, and when the camp fol-
lowers were left alone with the spolls,
thousands Of eggs strewed the sward.
The children who come to the egg
breaking constitute an essentially DEM
ocratic mob. No children are too dain
ty, none too humble and none too young
to enjoy the sport. Between Baby
Mckee. who is of course entitled to
the first place among society infants
during the present administration, and
the half clad colored youngsters from
unknown back alleys, is social dis
tinction as difficult of comprehension as
the distance from the most remote star
to the earth, and yet for few hours
they are part of the same picture. In
fact the ebony youth has the better OF
most of the Weather children, for he
is learned in the art Of breaking eggs,
and generally winds up with his pockets
and stomache alike full. | saw one
colored boy being attended by friend
ly policeman, who stated that the lad
claimed to have eaten forty eggs, and
ehoked on the forty first.
A history of White House children
would make an Interesting volume,
there have been SO many generations of
them IN that building. The most inter
esting one l recall was little Tad Lin
coin who had full officers outfit and
who used to make war all by him
self in the noiseiest way, and whose
death, in this house, was a sore trial to
his lion hearted father. The Hayes
children were peculiarly prim crew.
There was only short season of spring
playing for the Garfield children before
their sorrow came upon them, bringing
the longest season of silence the White
House ever knew. There were no more
children in the White House until the
present administration, when the Har-
rison family brought enough and to
spare. And the one warm spot in Pres
ident Harrison's otherwise cold nature,
SO aver his enemies, is, his love for the
babies of his household.
NJ, Stone, of Missouri, had the un.
comfortable experience Oh Friday, of
feeling the wrath Of bis friends as we'll
as his enemies. The question before
the house referred to certain private
pension bills, favorably reported, but
Mr.. Stone spoke on the pension prob
lem in general. He said that he was in
favor of calling halt ''in this extrava-
CANT waste of public funds. He believ-
ed the government had done enough,
and that everything that was now done
was for mere political effect-a use of
the treasury for campaign purposes.
His speech was vehemently denoupc-
ed by democrats and republicans alike.
More especially democratic members
representing constituencies with large
soldier element. The feeling against
Mr.. Stone was so evident that he clos
ed with but mild protest against fur
Their pension legislation.
Whether Mr.. Stone be right or wrong
Congress owes it to all claimants to
make provision for the speedy adjudi
cation of pension cases. The Bureau,
as it exists, whether for want of clerks
or want of management, is wofully be-
hind with work. A letter written in a
case is answered perhaps never, per
haps in a year. Testimony is some
times considered after years delay.
In cases that have once been rejected,
re-hearing on pertinent evidence is
well nigh unobtainable. The appeal
board in the Interior department is now
twenty nine months behind with its
work. The claimants are not all de
serving, but the greater number are
certainly old and poor and it would be
mercy to decide their claimes as early
as possible one way or the other.
s--@~