The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-02-16

tral in the regular evening group1s Colonel
fernando de Soto Money, who is a good
lawyer and strong in argument, but makes
no pretensiops to social humor.
Drop In Occasionally.
Occasional members are Colonel Hender-
son of North Carolina, chairman of the
committee on postofices and post roads;
Messrs. Alexander and Woodard of the
same state, Cooper of Texas, Schell of South
Carolina and Marshall of Virginia, the last
familiarly known as Cyclone Jim" from
his manner of speaking. He is big and
ruddy moiintaineer and represents the
mountainous district of southwestern Vir-
ginia, is quite a primitive specimen, but
has, his colleagues say, a bushel of horse
sense. Schell of South Carolina is at pres
ent famous for having been threatened with
extreme personal violence by Senator Irby.
The two very quiet men of the group are
Pendleton and Cooper of Texas. But for
some time past the talking member has
been the venerable Judge John T. Harris,
only an ex-congressman, but famous for his
career in congress in the olden times when
the secession movement began.
An occasional visitor is Colonel Josiah
Patterson, sometimes called the Bronze
Lion" of Tennessee Democracy, an orator
of the ardent, ford, southwestern type and
an unfaltering supporter of the administra-
tion. He has stood by Cleveland unflinch-
ingly during all the recent storms, when,
at one time anyhow, the stress of political
weather was SO great that the most the ad-
ministration men could or would do was to
ask for postpCnement of judgment.
Speaker Crisp Is Boarder.
There is only one Republican member in
the hotel-namely, Thaddeus NJ Malone
of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania look
ing over the register recently 1 observed
that of the A arrivals in one day only four
were from places north of Mason and Dixon.
Speaker Crisp boards in the house, but has
recently been rather secluded by reason of
the great pressure of his labors. Another
occasional member of the group is the ven
cradle Senator Ransom of North Carolina,
who has been here now % years continu-
ously and had previously had long expe-
rience in the legislature of North Carolina
and an uncommonly lively one in the Con-
federate army.
Among all these statesmen the somewhat
eccentric Bill Sterrett, the Galveston jour
nalist, is privileged character and never
fails to have an anecdote with a very point
ed application to any Democratic member
who is not voting with his party-as, for
instance, this one in reply to Sam Robert
sons complaint: Sam, you remind me of a
little boy / used to know who was his
mothers pet. She always took his side in
quarrels with the other children and would
say: Now, children, Eddie is the best ma
tured child in the world if you just treat
him right. But you're always a-startin
him. Well, Eddie soon understood the sit
uation, so he'd go out and raise the very
mischief with the other children, and when
any of them resented it he would whine
out, Ma, the cbildren's a-startin men
Now, Robertson, that's just the way with
you. The western Democrats are a-startin
you, but you're altogether too easily start
ed" The sarcasm was thrown away, for
the four sugar members of Louisiana voted
against the Wilson bill.
Judge Harris Story.
have never heard more interesting rem
iniscences of the winter of 1901 than are
those of Judge Harris. who in that troubled
time and for some time before represented
the Harrisonburg district in the Shenan-
doah valley, substantially the same district
as that recently represented by OFerrall.
Judge Harris was an ardent advocate Of
the Union and fought secession till the war
began, and his prediction of the results of
the war, published just before its begin
ming, has been pretty nearly fulfilled. He
says:
"A day or two after Lincoln got here a
of the Virginia convention came
TO see me-the same convention which at
first refused to secede, but afterward did
and he and 1 together called on Mr.. Lin
coin, who said: Judge, there will be no
any rate, none of my making. But
| must have the revenue. We will collect
it by vessels stationed on the coasts Said
l. Mr. Lincoln, l earnestly hope you will
not do so, for it will be certain to bring on
q conflict Well he replied, with a pc
culiar smile, If they cut off my supplies I
can't keep house There was no more
to be said That exhausted the sub
ject 1 left convinced that an armed
conflict was inevitable. I went then
to meeting of the Virginia members
with some visiting statesmen from various