The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-16
ALL VERY MUCH ALIKE.

There Are Few Eccentricities About
the Public Men at Washington.
Washington Letter to Quincy Wing.
Life in the American capital is becoming
oppressively conventional Every one acts,
looks and dresses like every one else. In all
the town there is now no such thing as a
character who stands out unique and pict-
uresque above the others. Year after year
life In Washington has been approaching
nearer and nearer the strictly conventional,
and at last it appears TO have reached the
dead level Of the commonplace No public
man now wears costume not in accord
with what Is known as good form. Even
the new congressman from the small dis
tricts have their evening suits, to the last
man Of them, and not one is good enough
to break the monOtony by wearing IL in the
House or at an afternoon reception.
No man rides a horse to the capitol or
wears long hair, or does anything else to
make q character out OF himself. Even the
drunken statesman has gone, and the
gambling senator's have disappeared. The
wicked female lobbyist, who snares states
men in her gilded trap. is a tradition of the
past. not living reality. There are lobby
lists in these days. but they are az common
place as the statesmen on whom they prey.
Our modern orators are tame and conveu-
tionsl. Our military figures are gone. We
have fifty big dinners in a night, but every
one Is like every other, as every guest is
like ell his neighbors. At the white house
and in scores of other houses we have re-
ceptons galore but see one, you have seen
all. So far as being picturesque is con-
cerned, everything is dull, fiat and uninter-
esting.
The approach to this dead level OF con-
ventionality has been gradual In the last
congress we had Richard Vaux Of Phila-
delphia, who wore long hair. patent leather
slippers and no overcoat even in winter.
He is gone A year or two ago we had
Senator Evart's old hat and Edmunds'
twidlling thumbs. Both have disappeared
from the scene. Not long ago Judge
Poland Of Vermont wore a swallow-tail
coat in the House. Now we think we have
something sufficiently out Of the rut to be
worth comment when Baby Bailey of
Texas comes on the floor with a ruffled
shirt and an unruffled white tie. In these DAYS
of the painfully conventional weare forced to
note a man who wears ready-made cloth
ing as being unique, and legislator who is
good enough to wear q slOuch hat on the
side Of his head is hailed as public bene.
fector.
When this congress came in with its
large number of new men, we looked in
vain for character, for something pictur-
esque. OF Jerry Simpson, the alleged
sockless, we had strong hopes. but he
reaches the capital aud streightway APP
pears in fine tailor-made suit with silk
stockings and gold eyeglasses. The MEM
bers IN whose hair we had hoped to find
bushels Of hayseed turn on, to be for the
most part college graduates, polished men,
well dressed and as like the banker or law
yer by whose side they sit as one pea is like
another. Even the mining camp and cow
boy states aud territories send us men who
are as conventional as mild manners, strict
regard for the proprieties and expensive
tailoring can make them. 1t is all very
disappointing.