The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-10-21

ter, Hetty, is the wife of Charles &. Bea
man, who was well known IN Washing
ton during his younger days as the pr
vate secretary Of Senator Charles Sum
ner. He is now member of his father
in-law's law firm in New York. Mis-
Mary Evarts lives with her father and
mother, and is quite popular in senate
rial circles. Helen is the wife of Charlie;
H. Tweed, one of the prominent lawyers
of the metropolis. Elizabeth is the wife
of Charles H. Perkins, one Of Boston's
most distinguished art writers, and
Laura married the accomplished son OF
ex-Representative Scudder. 1t will be
seen that the Evarts girls have taken a
strong liking to their fathers profession
Three of the FIVE sons are also lawyers.
Charles manages the patrimonial estate.
Prescott is an Episcopal clergyman,
while the other three, Allen, Sherman
and Maxwell, are in their fathers law
| firm.
had started out to write of Washing
ton street scenes, and here l am gossip
| ing about WaShington's big families.
As matter of fact the largest families
in Washington are and probably always
will be unknown to fame. They are At
rican. At the census Office it is said the
colored population Of the District of
Columbia is constantly gaining on the
white population, and no wonder. Take
a peep in some of the alleys of the Capt.
tai City, and see the myriads of pickanin-
MES running about therein. Where they
all come from, where they all sleep, who
cares for them, whence comes their food
and raiment, meager as these articles
are, combine TO form one of the myster-
les of life. A Washington policeman
told me he knew of one of these alleys in
which, in a single block, there were $50
children by actual count.
This seems incredible, but it must be
remembered that the building of alley
houses is one of the most profitable in
vestments capital can find in Washing
ton. The houses are little coops of brick,
about fifteen feet wide and generally
three stories high. Each story may
have as tenants an entire family, with
all the way from two to dozen children
in each family. Imagine the appear
ance of an alley flanked by two rows Of
tenant houses thus peopled, the thorough
fare itself being no more than twenty
feet wide. So great nuisance has this
business of peopling alleys with colored
families become in Washington that
western senator has introduced bill
forbidding the erection of houses in al
leys less than forty feet in width. 1t
will not be likely to pass, however, for
among the men who have invested money
in these houses, and who are getting
dividends of 10 to 90 per cent. a year
thereon, are a number Of United States
senators.
Speaking Of the colored people of
Washington reminds me of a novel sort
of contest that is constantly going on in
this city. On the street cars about one
half the passengers are colored and about
one-half white. The population of the
District Of Columbia is only One-third
colored, but the street railway people say
a colored man or woman will ride twice
as often as white man or woman.
Four out of five persons you see on
the sidewalks are white; on the street
cars fully one-half, and / think more,
are colored. Just why the colOred peo-
pie give up so much more Of their money
to the street railways than their white
neighbOrs no one appears to know, but
at a guess | should say 1t is because the
colored people have a constitutional an
tipathy to walking. At any rate, there
are so many passengers Of both colors
that the cars are nearly always crowded.
and the men have to get up and give
their seats to ladies. Here is where the
war of races comes in.
In Washington a white man will not
rise and give his seat 10 a colored wom-
an. In retaliation colored men refuse to
rise and give their seats to white wom-
en-. Thus it often happens that one will
see all the seats in a car occupied by
white women and black men. In all my
experience in Washington l have never
seen but three white men rise and give
seats TO colored women, and in one Of
these cases the woman was very old and
infirm. and in the other two cases they
were young and pretty and stylishly
dressed. If all the colored women in
Washington were Of the working class it
would not be such delicate matter, but
many Of them are well bred, handsome
ly dressed, live in fine houses. and are
IN every way as much worthy OF respect
and courtesy as white women
But what is one 70 DO: As 10 women
Of his own color he makes no discumi-
nation. He rises To give 6 seat 70 any
white woman, young or old, rich or
poor. But il is obvious that he does not |
want to DO this as 10 colored women
There are few white men who VIII carry |
gailsntry so far as 10 give their places 20 |
black washerwonen and kitchen maids |
One feels tempted 10 show more courtesy |
TO the colored women who are evidently |
well bred and Of good station, but dis |
examinations are always dangerous and |
bOthersOme. and the white men conclude, |
therefore, that they viii not discrimi-
nate. but viii sit while colored women
stand
The husbands and brothers Of the col
ored women resent this holly, and claim
that a gentleman who VIII dlscrlmlnst.-
against a lady simply because she Is
dark Or black Is not a gentleman az all.
In retaliation therefore. these col0red
men doggeLly SIT while white ladies' are
and scenes Of this description
lead 10 trouhie, especially
when 4 southern senator or congressman
IS unable 70 find seats fo- the ladies whom
"a i a-.---a--.-- W. utS