Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-03
THE TOPICAL TALKER,

Ihe Odors OF WashtnEton-Sone Sweet
Some Otherwise "A Corean Experiment
With GarIic-Roses Mt ArlinR,ou-Tbe
Smelling Committee and Other Scents.
IFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
WAsHINGNToN, D. C., May 2-society here
always makes pets of some legation.
and this season the Coreans have come in
for extraordinary attentions. The jolly little
men from out-of-the-way Corea met society
half way. They made no secret of their desire
for intercourse with the people among whom
they expected to stay some time. OF course
when they arrived they could not speak word
of English, but they attacked the language
whenever they got a chance: buying their own
supplies in the markets, chatting with the
venders of vegetables, picking up all the time
stray words Of the new tongue. To-day they
have a consid cradle, if somewhat peculiar,
knowledge of English. Their vocabulary
is large enough to carry them safely
through the shadows of society. Like
the bright lexicon of youth, their vocabu-
larry contains no such word as fail.
Wherever one went during the season now in
the jaws of death one was sure to meet these
Corean diplomates encircled by crowds of the
prettiest women in Washington. They have
not been spoiled by their social triumphs, and
they have not grown tired of what must be an
heathens.
AT a reception at Senator Quays not long
since the Coreans created quite a sensa-
ton. They wore the curious costume of their
country, of which the most remarkable feature
is the high hat-not unlike our hideous "stove-
pipe" They wear this headdress all the time,
indoors and out; their women, on the other
hand, beng generally innocent of any
thing resembling hat or bonnet. But at
the Quay reception neither the Coreans' cos
tunes nor their conversation in pigeon English
was responsible for the sensation their presence
produced.
AS the rooms in Mr.. Quays pretty house on
street filled up with guests more than one per-
son whispered to another that there was GER
tainly gas escaping. There was certainly
pungent and peculiar odor in the air, an odor
which overpowered the delicious scent of the
flowers that as at all Washington receptions,
abounded everywhere. 1t was a newspaper
correspondent who discovered the origin of the
alarming odor. He traced it to the gentlemen
of the Corean legation, who had arrived early
and captured a corner, where they were hold
ing court. More than this journalist with
nose for more than news identified the odor.
The Corean noblemen had simply gorged
themselves with garlic. Perhaps Corean
noses are as badly offended at the Eau
de Cologne and Florida water of civ
ilization as ours are at onions or garlic. 1t is
purely a matter of taste, congenetal or ac-
quired. To this day the Coreans have no dis
turbing doubts about the propriety of eating
garlic at wholesale.
TALKING of odors, the smelling" committee
of the Senate, which started out to locate
the leaks in that venerable body. by which Sc
cret sessions had come to be rather more pub
lie than the open ones, accomplished some
good. In the face of the fact that the commit
tee wasted lots of time, talked very big and ac-
exactly nothing. this statement
may seem incredible. The benefciaries of the
smelling committee are the newspaper corre-
spondents. who were called upon to reveal what
the Senators themselves particu-
larly, was concerned in having them conceal,
namely, the sources of their inform alton as to
the executive sessions of the Senate. These
were actually before the COM
mittee for 2 days only, but having been kept
under subpoena 81 days, they were entitled to
sl53 a piece, or compensation for being
shadowed by the awful subpoena at the rate of
s3 day. The warrants for these witness fees
were issued this week, and the lucky corre-
spondents have been having high old time on
the strength of the wipdfall.
The smelling committees tomfoolery has
cost the nation about So, 2,0OO-still, what is
couple of thousand dollars when you only have
to spend it?
KEEPING while we may to the subject of
odors, sweet and otherwise it is worth re-
that Washington, always famous for
its floral displays, is more than ever flower
Smitten and flower-crowned this year. On the
occasion Of the last public reception OF Presi-
dent and Mrs Harrison the White House was
a huge conservatory. The display Of roses was
the grand feature; and indeed, 1 never remem-
Der seeing more superb bouquets and banks of
roses than glimpse within few Washington
homes has shown me- The markets are full of
flowers, wild as well as the more delicate
products of the hot house.
Driving out to Arlington Heights yesterday
we were beset at every turn of the yellow road
among the whispering trees by small colored
ads and lasses who bore armsful of violets,
Dlushing wild azaleas and buttercups brighter
han any golden coin of mortal mint. There
was no doubt of these flowers freshness. The
lew still sparkled on them, and the moist
sweet smell of their growing place, moss-car-
oeted between the new-leafed trees mingled
with their own perfume. A great bunch of
.hese lovely first born of spring for cents!
And the sight of the child, girl of as black
Is night, with loose petticoat-her mothers
around her neck, and again at
he waist drawn in with bits of common string
her feet and shiny ankles bare ard brown with
lust, her curly hair uncovered and unkempt, and
N her little arms glowing heap of buttercups
and violets-yiolets with white eyes-and a
ruddy bunch or two of azaleas-these last, her
choicest treasure, nearly all gone-surely the
picture was worth another nickel.
NJ OF the least suggestive of Flora. or of any,
thing sweeter than stale cigar smoke,
warm humanity, and Illuminating gas is the
odor which fills the House of Representatives
and particularly assaIls the nostrils of the un-
fortunate occupants of the various galleries.
The ventilation of the House is abominable;
Or. to be more exact, ventilation does net exist
1T all. 1t is extraordinary that Congress has
not moved in this matter until now. Every
tells you that the bad air In the ]
House is affecting his health. Five minutes in
one of the galleries are enough to convince one
Of the pressing need of better ventilation. But
it is one of those things that is everybody's
business and so nobody's.
HEPBURN JOHNS.
THE YOUNGSTOWN CARPENTERS
NJ olrP N Pluin Statement of Thnir Sjde of rho