Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-06

|
is considered worth noticing or recording
THE VIRTUE OF THE FATHERS.
A hundred years ago. man would have got
merrily laughed at for staggering into Congress
| and making maudin effort Mt oratorv, and a
| few would have considered il really disreputa-
Bile, but no newspaper would have thought it
worth mentioning and no committee would
| have investigated it. When half of the men in
| the land occasionally frequently got drunk
| sporadic case of tipsiness caused no comment.
The fuss that is made over a transient and
| doubtful lapse from temperance on the part of
| three or four members Is u very high tribute to
the general sobriety Of this Congress. Since
| the close of the for the Union drunken
| ness has become. for the first time in the his
tofy OF the human race. thoroughly disreputn-
| BILE, not only in Congress. but in all public
| bodies and in society everywhere. Has there
been scandalous exhibition of drunkenness in
Washington in year by any well-known man?
As late as when kossuth was in this city
| lnebriety was common. The banquet in his
| honor was held at the National Hotel: speeches
| were made by Cass, Webster, Shields. Seward
and others, and several prominent guests got
| into such condition that they had to be
| helped away from the table. The great Magyar
| and his suite were carried back to the Metro
| politan (only six doors distant) in carriages,
but one was so helpless that he tumbled into
the bridal bed" with his boots on, and re-
fused to be disturbed till morning.
CURIOUS TINES THESE
There was more intemperance in the Senate
in 1904 than there is today, but it brought to
the bar and tired for .'habitual drunkenness
and profanity the bench" one of the United
States Judges. and the man was convicted. The
city was a dreary mudhole then. full of ague
and monotOnous misery, and there il no reason
to marvel that Congressman. when they left
their unfinished quarters, drank deeply, bet
heavily and amused themselves with dog fights
| and cock fights. There was not only bad rum
in those days, but there was plenty of rough
and-tumble prize fighting. in which men lost
their eyes and noses. tall gallows appropri-
ately stood at the foot Of Capitol Hill
IT WAS DIFFERENT THEN.
We have fallen on different times. indeed.
when a man cannot get drunk in public or be
seen emerging from "A gambling saloon without
injury to his reputation and credit. Different
| indeed. was it in the good old heyday OF "Blifl
and Black George" when Pendleton kept open
his palace Of fortune on the avenue and pre-
sided at sumptuous dinner every day at 5 in
full dress and surrounded by twenty or thirty
members Of the House and Senate. cabinet min
listers, generals. diplomats aud Judges attracted
by the pleasures of the duplex table. the faro
! table Immediately succeeding the dinner table.
| The cuisine was presided over by an artist.
| The wines were bought at auction when bank
| rupt German dukes sacrificed their cellars
|
gnished gamesters chased the ivory chips
around the green baize till the morning came
| In with its glow. Humphrey Marshall
| being appointed minister to China in 1852
dropped into Pendleton's the night before he
started to play lone farewell game" and he
| lost all the money he possessed, his entire out
| tit and six months pay in advance-and then
Pendleton lent him money enough to carry him
| to the hOwery kingdom. where he doubtless
| taught the funny game to the almond-eyed
celestials. And when the good Pendleton died
the mayor of Washington and Senators and
| members bore his pail and President Buchanan
wept at his funeral. And there was no scandal
| about it. and no reporters watched. a. they now
| would, to see who went in and out at Pendle-
| tons. All. Times have changed.
THE STYLE n FIELDIxG's TIME.
But even that day was visiby more circum-
spect than society in England hundred years
earlier, for then it seems to have been the
| fashion for every man to get drunk at evers
dinner or ceremony he attended. for servants
| We're on hand whose business it was to loosen
stiff cravats of gentlemen when they slipped or
| rolled under the table, so that they would not
choke to death.
SOME SHARP CONTRASTS
In this Congress there are probably some
scores of men who take drink occasionally
but there is not confirmed drunkard in either
| House. Even the half dozen who sometimes
drink too much have not lost their self-rcspect,
| and they pay to temperance the tribute of con-
cealing their weakness. There is no man in
| either House so unconscious of the disgrace of
drunkenness as McDOugall Tom Marshall
| used to be. II will be remembered how a GER
| tain man Of prominence made his way into the
| Senate one day about a month after he had
ceased to be member of it, and, being inter-
| ested in the bill under consideration leaned
| on a convenient desk, and. addressing the Vice
| President, said he would like to offer few
| reasons in favor of its passage. The Vice Presi-
| dent kindly recognized him; his late colleagues
| forebore to call him to order: but after he had
| been talking minute or two member took
him by the hand and whispered word in his
| ear. and retired with him to the cloak room.
There were four other men of irregular habits
| In the Senate about the close of the war-three
| of them from border states. But. like the one
| mentioned. they were gentlemen even in their
| tipsness. and careful not to make an exhibition
| Of their infirmity that would be publicly inju-
riOus.
FORGOT WHERE HE WAS GOING.
But absent mindedness hath its victories no
less renowned than King Alcohols. A curious
| incident occurred to member of the cabinet
not more than twenty years ago. which at
tribute to the first mentioned of these mischief
| makers.
very well, said the President at the close of
|
| go to Gettysburg tomorrow by special train.
Let us meet at the Baltimore and Ohio depot at
| 8 O'Clock IN the mornings exactly"
1t was agreed. When that hour came all were
present except one-a very conspicuous Secre-
| tary. They waited an hour and then the special
| train went off without him.
And he? Well. he got on a car at his house
and the next he knew he was at the navy yard
Didn't you know any better than to bring
me down here?" he Indignantly demanded of
| the conductor.
mo, sir, you didn't tell me nothing. didn',
know where you wanted to co. answered that
official.
SO the Secretary climbed angrily out and
took car back. Again his brain went wool
gathering and he woke to Consciousness al
Georgetown.
At this point he was too mad to speak to the
conductor. but he got out and took a carriage
back, arriving at the depot long after the Presi-
dents train had gone. He took the first regular
train up and at last arrived at Gettysburg.
Passing through the depot he found his official
comrades, who greeted him with ''Hurrah! You
| are just in time to 60 home with u.s. Our train
starts in three minutes" Rather bewildered
and chagrined he ''fell in" and came back, but
his frankness and simplicity Of character in
duced him to town up" and tell just how ii
| happened. And his plea of Observation-Disclosures
was believed by everybody.
SOME INCIDENTS IN POINT.
| Many will remember remarkable scene in