The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-24

phaeton and the other is big open
carriage that has seats for six persons.
The latter is seldom used. Mr.. Lamont
will have two or three carriages and four
or five horses of his own here as soon as
his family gets settled in the house which
he has hired opposite Lafayette square
next TO CorCoran house, in which Senator
Brice resides.
Most Of the assistant secretaries in the
various departments are provided with
official turnouts, which are maintained u
the expense of the government. horse
and carriage, plain and respectable, are
furnished for each Of the three assistant
secretaries of the Treasury. The same IS
the case with the assistant secretary OF
agriculture and the assistant secretary OF
the navy. But mono OF the three assistant
secretaries Of state has the use Of an equl-
page. There seems to be no good reason
why some of them should be thus favored
while others are left out. 1t is a matter
of custom and appropriation by congress
apparently. Young Mr.. Carlisle, chief
clerk Of the treasury. has conveyance
at the cost of Uncle Sam His father uses
IL every day for riding home for his lunch
to his house at 1926 x street and BACK
again.
The official vehicles Of the departments
are mainly used for private purp poses by
the wives and families of the caplneJ
officers. The latter employ them hardly
at all on government service, except to
go to the white house on the days when
the Presidents advisers meet in council.
The maintenance of all these eqUipages by
Uncle Sam is unnecessary and amounts
to an abuse Men bers of the cabinet
have frequently declared it to be such,
but for one of them to protest against it
trvp111d no 70 a Gbo1iar than tl0lID
attitude that would be disagreeable, and
it is partly on this account that the pr3c-
tice has been. continued. At the opening
of the Harrison administration Secretary
Rusk purchased for. his department the
finest pair of horses in Washington and
brand-new carriage, in which the ladies'
of his family made the social rounds.
Nothing was thought of that, because IL
is the custom. II is only just to say that
the position Of a cabinet officer imposes
certain official duties of a social nature
which ought not TO be an expense to
secretary whose pay of $1,000 year is
woefully insufficient for keeping up the
appearances requisite.
MR.. MoRToN's TURNOUT.
During the last administration Levi P,
Morton had the finest turnout in Wash
ington. He drove pair of large and very
high stepping chestnuts. All the APP.
pOlubueulS were SuCu DIS WQull SdliSIy
the eXaCting taste of an English lord.
His daughters had pair of beautiful
ponies and phaeton, out Of which one Of
them was thrown in a runaway and badly
hurt Among the members Of HarrlsOn'S
cabinet the handsOmeSt equipage was
that of Mr.. Wanamaker, who kept sta
BILE full of horses. During the earlier
Cleveland regime Mr. Whitney outshOne
all rivals in the magnihcence of his carri-
ar nd in Ia - fnl N ION nh mi
mails paved golden straw. His luxury in
every way was revelation to Washing
ton, which never saw anything like it
before At his feasts terrapin was
served by the barrel and no regard for
expense in any form was shown. 1t was
said of the then Secretary of the Navy
that he had no regard whatever for dol
lars. He literally scattered Them broad
cast.
The government provides no congress
men with carriages, except for their fun
erals, Senators Brice, Allison and Nor
rill always come to the white house in
their private vehicles, but most members
of both houses walk. 1t is reckoned that
one-half of the senator's and one-fourth of
the representatives maintain equipages.
BY no means all of these, however, own
the conveynnces they are driven in In
Washington the SWEETEST possible turn
outs can be hired by the month, with
coachman, footman, liveries and every
thing complete, in the tip-topmost accent
uation of the very latest fashion. For
$500 a month one can have three or four
carriages at his disposal, everything being
furnished. This saves much trouble, pnr-
ticularly as horses brought from else
where are quickly knocked up by the as
phaltum pavements.
The Russian minister last winter bought
pair of high steppers for 81, 600 and sold
them six months later for 500. In recent
years the most striking vehicle seen on
the streets here has been driven by Sec
rotary GrCgor of the same legation-a
black and yellow droschky with three
horses and a huge arched yoke. When
snow was on the ground the. same style
was used with a sleigh. The new Chinese
minister drives in a gorgeous landau with
colored coachman and footman, but the
team is ''jobbed" from a livery stable
on l. street. The equipage of the
Japanese minister is a closed carriage
with red wheels for four persons. One
day recently he was driving along Penn
sylvania avenue with his secretary, when
one person in group on the sidewalk
pointed to them and said: "Those are
Chinese; they eat dead rats" This
struck the minister so humOrously that
he wrote it up and sent it home for publi-
cation in n Japanese newspaper as an IL
lustratioh of American intelligence. The
Japanese now and then get tired of being
confused with the Chinese by people in
this country. They say it is just about
as if the japanese should point to Rus
sian Hebrews and remark, 'Thooe are
Americans"
THE DIPLOMATS.
The street cars are used, to a great eX-
tent, for conveyances by diplomats from
South America, whose salaries are small
and uncertain. The livery stable on L
street above referred to was badly beaten
on one occasion by a secretary of legation
from d South American republic, who
hired toumout for the season. Nothing
was too good for him. He got the swell
est vehicles and the finest horses that
could be had For q couple of months he
cut quite dash, but when ii came to pay
ing the bill he blithely stood his creditor
OF. OF course, the latter could do moth
ing. If he had attempted to enforce the