Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1892-08-18

being done. The carpeIS noNo Ooon
taken up and aired, the furniture com
pletely hidden with white nnen' ano
over the huge chandeliers ioios OF neVClne
hang to protect them during uhe no'
weather. At the War Department, AS
sistant Secretary Grant presided at the
head of the department, Secretary
Flkins having gone to Deer Park to Visit
his family. The affairs or the navy are
likewise looked after by the Assistant
Secretary in the absence OF secretary
Tracy, who is north, while Attorney
General Miller, Postmaster General
Wanamaker, Secretary Noble, ana sec
retary Rusk are all away. The warm
weather has had the effect OF causing
the different departments to be closed an
hour earlier than usual, and altogether
the withdrawal of Congress-, the Presl-
dent and his Cabinet has caused the city
to assume an air OF dullness 80 lar as
concerns official business.
statesmen IN their Cups.
Washington was all stirred up over tne
charges made by Mr.. Watson shortly
before the adjournment OF Congress-
and. although the report OF the investl-
eating committee brought out nothlng'
the allegations made continue 10 lurhlsn
subject matter for gossip.
A hundred years ago man woulu
have got merrily laughed at for stag
gering into Congress and MAKING
maudlin effort at oratory, and a Few
would have considered it really disrep-
utable, but no newspaper would nave
thought it worth mentioning and nc
committee would have investigated IT,
When half of the men in the land oc'
casionally or frequently got drunk
sporadic case of tipsiness caused ne
comment.
The fuss that is made over transien
and doubtful lapse from temperance OF
the part of three or four members Is {
very high tribute to the general sobrietN
of this Congress- Since the close OF the
war for the Union drunkenness has De-
come. for the first time in the history o.
the human race, thoroughly disreputa'
bile. not only in Congress but in all pub
lie bodies and in society everywhere
Has there been scandalous exhibition
of drunkenness in Washington in yea
by any well-known manr
AS late as when Kossuth was In thl
city inebriety was common. Ihe pan
uuet in his honor was held at the Ma
tional Hotel; speeches were made %.
Cass. Webster, Shields, Seward an
others, and several prominent guest
cot into such condition that they ha'
to be helped away from the table. Tn
great Magyar and his suite were carrie'
back to the Metropolitan (only six door
distantl in carriages, but one was 8
helpless that he tumbled into the "brida
bed" with his boots on. and refused I
be disturbed till morning.
There was more intemperance In tn
Senate in 1904 than there is to-day, bu
it brought to the bar and tried 70
-habitual drunkenness and profanity o
the bench" one of the United State
Judges, and the man was convicted
The city was a dreary mudhole then
full OF ague and monotonous misery
and there is no reason to marvel tina
Congressmen, when they left their un
finished quarters, drank deeply, be
heavily, and amused themselves wit
dog fights and cock fights. There wa
not only bad rum in those days, bu
there was plenty OF rough-and-tumbl
prize fiuhtinL, in which men lost the
ewes and noses A tall gallows apprc
priately stood at the foot of Capitol Hill
IL WAS Different Then.
We have fallen on different times, In
deed, when a man cannot get drunk
public or be seen emerging from
gambling saloon without injury to n
reputation and credit. Different, II
deed, was it in the good old heyday
Bllnl ana DldCh ucOIBCg - W
dleton kept open his palace OF fortune
on the avenue and presided at sum-
tuous dinner every day at In full dret
and surrounded by twenty or thir'
members OF the House and Senat
cabinet ministers, generals, diploma
and judges, attracted by the pleasur
of the duplex table, the faro table II
mediately succee ling tho dinner tabl
The cuisine was presided over by
artist. The wines were bought at gu
ton when bankrupt German dukes ga
rificed their cellars. Everything w
luxurious and scores of distinguish
pamesters chased the ivory chips arou
the green baize till the morning car
In with it's glow. Humphrey Marsha
being appointed Minister to China
1852. dropped into Pendleton's the mig
before he started to play "one farew
game" and he lost all the money he pc
sessed, his entire outfit, and six montl
nav In advance-and then Pendlet
lent him money enough to carry him
the iowery kingdom, where he doul
less taught the funny game to the
mond-eyed celest.als. And when
good Pendleton died the Mayor
Washington and Senators and memb'
bore his pail, and President Buchan
wept at his funeral. And there was
scandal about II, and no report
watched, as they now would, to see v
went in and out at Pendleton's.