Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-05
THE BUSY PYTHIANS
Progress of the Preparations for
the Great Encampment.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO fHECITIZENS FUND
What Was Done at the Executive
Committee Meeting.
THE RAILROAD RATE S

THE RAILROAD RATES
Inere Is no abatement of interest in the
coming of the Pythians. The committee
on which rests the responsibility for this
nearing event is full OF hope and hustle.
Money was the thing most talked OF at
headquarters this morning The duty OF
gathering in the funds is in charge of Mr..
Frank j. Donnelly and Mr.. John NJ. Nc
Chntock, and they are making strenuous
efforts to have the people of Washington
subscribe greater citizens fund than was
ptedged for the Grand Army encampment.
This Is possible, but hardly probable, as
| Tor the last named celebration the people
OF washington put up s5l 900 In cash and
paic In taxes the s9O.VOU which Congress APP
propriated. These canvassers have already
secured over x2OOOO; the canvass is by no
means complete and nearly three months
are yet TO elapse before the Pythian in
vasion is due.
1his Is an encouraging prospect. They
report at headquarters that they contem-
plate having no trouble In swelling the
| citizens fund to at least $4,000 This the
! committee think will be sufficient for the
| great enterprise with the addition of sew
eial thousands which this jurisdiction of
| the knights OF Pythias will chip in. Messrs.
Donnely and McClintock entertained sew
| eral members Of the committee this morn
| ing with stories of the methods employ ed
to reach the pockets Of Washington's peo-
| pie. They have different ways of striking"
| different men, and some of their tales are
funny, some pathetic. and some tragic.
Altogether, they say. the people OF Wash
ington are responding to the call for money
with about the usual degree OF alacrity and
| spontaneity. Each man before he planks
! down his check wants to know how much
| the city is to be benefited by the outlay.
| and the fact that several hundreds Of
Washington's most solid business folks have
! pledged TO swell the fund shows how strong
is the belief in business circles that the
Pythian convention and encampment Is to
| succeed.
Registering of Boarding Places.
The business of the public comfort COM
mittee of which Mr.. John III. Mitchell is
the chairman. is progressing at a salts
factory pace. The principal work which IT
] has to do just now is the registering of
accommodations for the advancing legions.
! The housek sepers of the city are sending
| in their addresses at goodly rate, and all
| the hotels are on the books, but many
available places of abode in Washington
J are yet unaccounted for. They will all
come in due time, but il is to the interest
of those who wish to help to entertain the
city's guests that they send in their names
| and numbers at as early date as possible.
1 One of the things around headquarters at
which laugh can be INDUCED in is the
| logged persistence of some Washington
landladies. There are several of these
| ladies, very few of whom are young. who
| visit headquarters two ar three times daily
! TO make inquiries TO how the land lays,
and what the outlook Is.
| Representatives of this class will pull up
| a chair by the side of Secretary Percy G.
| Smith. no matter how hard he happens to
/ be working and proceed to bore him with
| a biographical sketch, giving all details as
I IN for reduced
cumstances, and all unnecessary informa-
| ton about the neighbors on the next square.
| Several of these ladies have brought dia-
| grams of their premises and placed them on
| file On one chart is indicated the loca-
| ton of the cots. which are numbered and
| can be reserved like an orchestra chair al
] the theater Some landladies have filed
specimens of their bills of fare which. II
| true will compel many of the visiting
knights to unbutton their waistfronts and
| take an anti-fat prescription. All day Sec
| rotary Smith sits and talks to the ladies,
and writes opens letters and answers them.
| Talk mt Headquarters.
Secretary McNabb of the camp and camp
grounds committee is one Of the most con-
slant callers at headquarters. He has taken
N, his residence there and is laboring for
the good of the cause. The work Of his
committee is well advanced and the pros
poets all that the most enthusiastic Pyth-
ian could wish.
Mr. T. b. Crown. a member Of the execu-
tive committee. has rendered his resignation
because of the stress of private business.
He is heartily in accord with the work of
the committee. and is with them like
brother knight. but the duties of the place
assigned him on the committee could not
be faithfully filled without neglect to his
private interests. The resignation has been
accepted.
There is a slight misunderstanding in
| the ranks of the subcommittee on music,
which will be Strengthened out at the next
Of he oxa fx-n had
| its origin in the fact that the subcom-
mfttee misunderstood its instructions and
entered into a contract with the Fourth
Artillery Band which was repudiated by
| the central committee. The matter was
! fully set forth In The Star one week ago
The contract read that the musicians were
| TO be paid at the rate Of 81 per day, with
$l5 for the leader. aud that eight hours was
was unsatisfactory because the committee
! must have band subject to cali at any
time of the night or day for escort duty
to incoming knights, and desire TO make
q contract for a lump sum. 1t is stated
that some designations from the music
committee have been threatened, but they
will not be accepted. because Of the GER
tafnty of an adjustment of the matter.
As to Railroad Rates.
Nothing definite has been heard today re-
garding railroad rates. Mr.. Hege of the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad talks more TO
the point than any other railroader thus
far and states that his company will an
| nounce the encampment tariff within a few
days. The exact figure is still in doubt
but IT is accepted on all sides as a certainty
that the fare will be reduced one-half ana
| II is believed by many that lower rate
than this, even, may be agreed to, Several
communications were received TODAY by
Gen. John E. Smith, secretary to the trans
portatlon committee, but although they are
full OF promises of good behavior on the
| part OF the railroads toward the couven-
ton and encampment, no rates have as Vet
| been agreed on between the various traffic
associations.
brief meeting of the executive eo-,,
mittee was held last night. with Chairman
Richard Goodha-t at the head. There were
present Messrs. George W. Heisley A r
Meiford. J. III. Mitchell. J. r. Conner. 4
/ ". Carter. T. II. Gladmcn. N Bunch, Not
| ley Anderson. j. W. Crcute. j. NJ Kline
and f. w. Hefbig. The minutes OF the
previous meeting were disposed of Secre-
ttry Medford read a communication f-o,.,
| Col. John NJ. Wilson. commissioner of
public buildings and grounds. approving
the plan of the camp which had been sub
| mttad to him, agreeing 10 the use of the
White OF for dress parade and inspection
and granting the use Of the g5-foot 6ap
pole, not now set, for service during the
encampment. The committee applaudod
all these courtcsies- which Col. Wilson had
EXTENDED. Tho work of making cuts cf
| the camp grounds AMI circulating diagrams