Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-07

exeitante tnat Dr1ng rs up above the common
measure u the bruse-wine and oa-slsvste
ms and enable as to seize great facts. inspire
tons which once possessed are ours forever,
and those who never 60 beyond the mere
beastly means Of animal support never live in
high planes Of Life and never achieve them"
right, but cannot afford to say so.''
NE WILSON'S REPLY.
Mr.. Wilson in reply said he was content 10
have the bill passed in the form he had offered
it He said: II understand there are two shops
for the sale Of whisky in the Capitol now, but
not ct this end Of 1t. think IL il bad enough
to have liquor here In any form, whether il
comes into the committee rooms or comes in
the form suggested by the Senator from Oregon
(Mr. Nesmith), when he spoke OF some persons
who had great capacity TO throw themselves on
DIR. President, that in our day old bourbon has
about as much inspiration as gin had in the
days of Byron. am content for one
that We should not have the mighty inspiration
OF old bourbon or gin or wine or any OF those
be content to legislate as plain, practical pub
lie business men and leave the inspiration to
others
The bill passed with but two votes irr the neg
ative-the Hon. Garrett Davis and Gen. Nc
Dougall.
SENATOR NEsMrrH's WIT.
The mention by Mr.. Wilson Of the Senator
from Oregon, Mr.. Nesmith, will recall to many
Of your readers an able and faithful representa-
tive in the Senate and man of infinite humor,
and one who, while his hearers were convulsed
with laughter, never smiled. His wit was
distinguishing trait in his character and many q
time has he caused the august body of which
he was a member to forget its dignity in shouts
of laughter. An instance come across in this
depository Of wit well as dullness, the Con-
gressioadl Globe, is forgotten. The influx of
negroes at the close of the war into Washing
ton was really alarming. Their suffering and
the number of them precluded any in
dividual effort to aid them, and Congress
passed resolution appropriating $4,000
for their relief and while on it's passage Mr..
Salisbury offered an amendment appropriating
n like sum for the destitute white people Of the
District and debate on it was rather extended
and amendments were offered and among them
one authorizing the employment by the Dis
trict authorities Of able-bodied black or colored
people and appropriating 5000 additional for
this purpose. Mr.. Kirkwood moved to amend
by striking out the words ''black or colored,"
and said: Il do not see why white man should
not have work rs wen as black man." The
amendment was accepted and several other
amendments were offered, when Senator Ne
smith rose and said II move to amend the
amendment by inserting after the words able
bodied people the words excluding members
of Congress-" The roars of laughter which
followed the reading of this amendment may be
imagined.
SENATOR KIRKwo0D wAsHINdToNIAN.
How few among the readers of The STAR re-
member that Senator and Governor Samuel J.
Kirkwood Of Iowa was a Washingtonian. l re-
member him as one Of the kindest-hearted
young men to us bows when he was a clerk in
his brother Wallace Kirkwoods drug store cor
ner OF 18th street, where now The STAR Office
rears its commodious building. 1t was then
little yellow frame One-story house and many
q stick OF hcorice root has he given me and the
was very popular. met him while in the Sem
ate and found him the same genial, kind
hearted man knew in my boyhood.
1 have digressed from what intended to
write upon, the changes in the Senate and
House of Representatives. The change SO OBJ
servable to us. whose memory Of the past weds
US to the long ago. is in some measure-in-
deed. in a great Observation-Disclosures to the
progress of the last decade or two.
HEAVY CRAFTSMANSHIP? GONE BY.
The heavy style of craftsmanship has gone
out of existence. while the dignity which sup
ported it and formed 90 conspicuous part of
it is supplanted by what more faithfully repre-
sents the tendencies of the age. There is more
light, there are less somber shades in official
life at Washington. where elevation is not
weighted by age. The present style Of states
more notably n the Senate. ia the outgrowth of
the advance OF the country in all its material
wealth and marvellous prosperity, which have
brought with them all the evidences and ten
denotes OF this age Of progress The sunny side
of life is turned to view. and unless grave maj
ters come before the Senate and the House
OF Representatives the sessions are enlivened
by repartee and Jest, not unbecoming thos sa-
cred precints Those who now find seats
among the rulers OF the nation at oil times
,l.r HI ~1a .-lxA II IA
responsibility which those who trod the halls
OF Congress in the past were in some measure
relieved from by the absence Of those whose
refining influence is SO potent. II there are
any OF the heavy drinkers left over from that
age, when heavy drinking was the rule they
indulge In the sacred recesses of their own
rooms and do not offend the propriety of the
present, which. while il NAV be an a1fectati on
is surely commendable. Allowance is to be
made when we consider the disadvantages
under which the predecessors of our present
rulers lived. The advance in all the essentials
OF life In itself would explain and excuse what
might now be regarded as fearful infringe
ments of the social order Of the present day,
but comparisons fail in the material as in the
personal changes wrought by time and adj
vancement and the undreamed of wealth of
this period.
VEST AND BENTON COMPARED.
Take, for instance, the present Senator from
Missouri, Mr.. Vest, and his predecessor, Col.
Benton. Who doubts but Mr.. Vest is as truly
representative Of Missouri of the presen. as
Col. Benton was OF the past Mr. Butler from
South Carolina as his relative and honorable
namesake. or Mr.. Mcpherson az Mr.. Dayton,
and Mr.. German aud Mr.. Pearce or the elo-
quent Blackburn and his illustriOus predecessor,
Mr.. Clay. These are the men of the present
age, and as truly represent it as their prede-
cessors represented their age. There is really
no room nowadays for the ponderous states
Inanshlp OF the past, as Bob Acres said. "D-ns
have had their day. and we who date
from that period have had ours. and We mus t
be content and CEASE to lament the inevitable.
How few OF those of whom l am writ ing are
alive today. The survivors can be counted on
my fingers. Mr.. Sherman. Mr.. Doolittle, Mr..
Irumbuil, Mr.. Sprague. Mr.. kirkwood, MIR. Hem
derson, Mr.. Edmunds and Mr.. Creswell are
about all the Senators san recall of the Thirty
ninth Congress-. A quarter of century makes
SD havoc with the human race.
EX-SENATOR HENDERsoN's rSDEpExDENcE.
The period was a stormy one in which they
were conspicuous actors, and none more con-
spicuous than ex-senator Henderson. who is
now an honored resident Of our beautiful city.
His Independence and appreciation of the hon
ored position he occupied as United States SEN
ator from Missouri cannot be too frequently re-
called. During the impeachment trial the lie gis-
iature OF Missouri instructed him 70 vote for
the impeachment OF President Andrew John
son: His reply deserves to be engraven on the
walls of the Senate chamber. He spurned the
resolution OF instruction and said he acknowl-
ys IA -