The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-01-02
WASHINGTON NOTES.
1t Was Not Real Christmas Day
at the Capital.
The Late Senator Plumb-A Story of IN Appeal
Made to Him for an Appropriation for
a Charity Hospital.
srecial to The MORNING CALI

banked or smothered enough to make the
house endurable. The two days before
| Christmas were quite as warm and damp,
and all theSworld went a-ShoppiDg. Such
crowds as swarmed the streets by day and
by night, packed the stores and jammed the
cars, there never were before. and IL was a
great Christmas commercially. Good times
and good crops even blessed the cities and
every one seems to have done more buying
and giving than usual. There was tree
for the little ones at the White House and
at the Vice Presidents home, and an even
ing newspaper that invited letters from the
poor children to Santa Claus, answered hun
dreds of pitiful, pathetic little scrawls
through gift bearing emissary, who found
ambitious little trees and twigs awaiting their
fruitage in the poorest novels. The ex-
| press wagons raced for two days far into
| the night to deliver the train-lOadS OF
| bundles and boxes, and if there was not
| Christmas IN the air INTERNATIONALLY there
| was Sentmentdly. And then when market
| and grocer'S wagons dashed back and forth
| with their precious freight, and caterers
wagons began to leave their mysterious
| boxes, who did not know Christmas dinners
| were on?
The family feast has passed and now
| Washington's interest centers in the New
| Year. The highest and the lowest celebrate
| It here with great zeal.
THE PRESIDENTS STATE RECEPTION
| And lie reception al the houses of the high
est officials on that day are the most import
| ant social functions OF the year. 10 the
colOred population New Years has almost
! more Zest than Christmas, because OF the
| church celebrations, and watch meeting"
is dearer TO the darkey's heart than any
other service OF the year. La former years
| both Christmas and New Years used To be
celebrated here as in the farther South,
| with fre-crackeTs, bell-rlnglng and bOnt1reS.
| Emancipation, police regulations and new
| fashions bave stilled the tre-crackerS, but
| the lin horn goes, and this year, when there
| was no danger of their mouths freezing last
| to the horn, the young negroes had nne
| time footing when no police were near.
Senator Plumbs death was most start
| ling to all who knew or had seen him. In
| appearance no other man In the Senate
| seemed so hale, hearty, sound and solid a
the rough finished Kansan. But the sud-
| dennesS of his death was no more startling
! than the haste with which his funeral Was
| conducted. At noon on Sunday he was
pronounced dead. and by next noon the
! fune.a services were in progress. Those
| who assumed charge of the remains did not
| wait to learn the wishes OF the family on
| the most important affairs, and the body
! was embalmed before Mrs. Plumb's instant
| telegram not to embalm could be received
| here His friends mourn him and much
/
| of Kansas is apparent TO all, aud with
| green, imp edged delegation OF Alliance and
reform statesmen In Congress. The State is
| worse than uDrepreseDted. Senator PIumO
had long been terror to all claimants
| aud applicants at the door OF Congress.
! Right or wrong he went * everything and
! every one in his wild, slejge-hammer style,
LAsHING HIMSELF INTO A FRENZY
| And ranting for quarter of an hour at
time. where quiet yes or no would have
| answered far mare etfectnally. lie was for
| many wears on the District Committee, and
to him the managers of local hospitals and
| charitable associations had 10 make their
| annual statements and requests Tor apprO-
| priatiOns. ii is only two or three thousand
| dollars at the most that the city pays Tor the
free wards of any such establishments, but
the ladies who went to place their petitions
! before Senator Plumb might as well have
| asked the sums for the orphans, the found
lingS, the incurabies from MS own pocket
| or even try to pick it from his pocket. Sew
eral times husbands of ladies who had
addressed MIN in behalf of these char
ities called the brusque kansan to
| task for the manner in which he had
| received such boards of managers, and
| he made rough amends for his rudeness. OF
| three ladies, who once met as a committee
/ to explain the need Of certain hospital,
| only one managed to finish sentence be-
! tore Senator Plumb went off on one of his
| tangential RACES ''All the people in Wash
| ington were beggars and wanted something
| from Congress they thought Congress only
| assembled to appropriate all the money in
| the treasury for Washington City; every
| year some new scheme was up some new
| dodge tried for getting more money appro-
| priated; too many hospitals now; let Wash
ington people put their hands in their own
| pockets" ETC., etc. The three were amazed
| and rather frightened with the fury of the
| onslaught, but the spokeswoman said "We
| knew we were to meet Senator and we
supposed it would be gentleman We
were mistaken. Good morning." and she
| went out, pushing her colleagues.
AHEAD OF HER.
/ The daughter Gf one of his old Western
i friends was interested in this hospital and
| heard the story. The first time she met him
| she took him by his horns boldly.
'SeDator Plumb, what made you act so
when the committee went to you about the
| appropriation for our hOspitalP L should
think you would be ashamed of yourself
! There isn't such worthy object in Wash
| ington as that hospital for -
"Oh! is that what they wanted it for? /
| didn't know what hospital they came FROM"
| mol They said you flew off the hooks
before they could tell what they had come
! for. You didn't wait TO hear the hospitals
| name before you pitched into it"
How much did they want, anyhow"
"Only f--f-t-e-e-n HUN d-T-e-d dol
l-a-r-s and you ought TO be made to give it
| yourself" said the young woman.
"Oh, if that's all, we will easily fix it.
| and without any more effort from the man
ager the Kansan rushed in, assured his col
| leagues that he personally knew that it was
a worthy object, and $1,000 was appro-
| priated tor the hospital that session.
THANK you very much, Senator Plumb"
| said the young woman when she next saw
| him; 'now we want your personal sub
| scrption." And he made out a check on
the spot, and whenever appealed to con-
| triIN, Tod ilyn and oil
| climax he even bought lot of tickets
I wheueyer some entertainment was given for
/ the benefit of
THE SAME WORTHY CHARITY.
| Although possessed of more than a mill
] ion, the Kansas Senator lodged, dressed
| and lived more plainly than half the Gov
eminent clerks He was ndiffe rent even
! hostile, to many of the delicacies and refine
ments of life. and was most rarely seen at
| official social gatherings. One subject was
| always a red az of effenSe to him, and that
the Ell itling of our diplomatic representa-
| tlves abroad as ambassadors in order 10
| secure their proper consideration and treat
| ment at court ceremonies where they are
| obliged TO take official part Having the
| United States Minister buried out from
many ceremonials at the Russian and other
! courts because the s0yereign's invitation
| list included none below the rank OF an
| EmhaSSador IS raspiug TO any patriot, and
| to see our Minister walking at the end of
| state professions, behind the representa-
| tves of Servia, Bulgaria, Herzegovina,
| Portugal and the Sandwich Islands is mole
| than truly loyal American can stand.
| And 1t has been so these later years, chiefly
| because Senator Plumb rose and ragged, har-
angued aud beat the air ABOUT the ''tom-
! foolery. flummery and gewgaws of courts"
| to which the simple American should not
| truekle, and so on, still further from the
| point. A clever woman, who talked to him
on this subject few months ago, and in
stanced the absurdity of Robert Lincoln
and the great United States coming after
| some obScurity from tu'penny country
the size of Kansas farm, brought him
around to agreeing with her. Il guess you
are right about it. I've changed my mind,
but won't change my vote" And even