Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-03-30

III 10 Politics., Runss aad cusfsnf hissesy
are All Cisen se1.

WASHINGTON. Mar. ~ - mere - M Pse~s~
anter place in Washington to pass an even
ing and probably none in which one may
listen to more politics. humor ana cuf.ens
history than the north end OF the SO caieo
arcade in the Metropolitan hotel, meaning
the smoking parlor, or gentlemens emf OF
the hall leading from thu dining room 10
the ladies' parlor. In the large room below
it one may see all sorts and condltions OF
men, especially southerners-iean ana iathy
stock ranchcrs from Texas, swartny pisatr
ers from the delta region OF Mississippi, en-
thusiastic promoters from Florida, and
especially protesting and indignant sugar
growers from Louisiana.
Best Lawyer In Texas.
But in the parior above is grouped Sc
lect body of huInorists, statesmen and good
listeners, the last as important as any ele-
ment in making up truly congenial par
". At one moment the chairs are all drawn
close together in group, in the next the
party breaks up into half dozen little
groups as each member is called aside to
talk with an anxious constituent, and then
the larger group gathers again, the cigars
are relighted, and stories of the war. COM
ments on the days doings in congress, ar
guments about this or that phase of the
tariff, and somewhat personal pleasantries
follow each other in rapid and delightful
succession. The great pressure is to get
near the chair occupied by Judge Culber-
son of Texas, chairman of the house judi
ciary committee and walking encyclopedia
of Texas legal history. He says little, but
that little contains so much law and sense,
enlivened by dry sarcastic humor, that
it is we'll worth hearing.
Bill Sterrett, the universal Texas news
paper man, describes him in this pithy
manner: BEST lawyer in our state, sir.
Never loses case Why, sir, he has &c
Quilted over 80 of our most distinguished
murderers!'' 1t is the solemn. truth, and
to hear Judge Culberson give an account
of the famous Rothschilds case-the Gin
cinnati Israelte, who was tried for the
murder of Diamond Bessie" on Jefferson
bayou--is as good as a first class play while
it lasts. Next comes Senator Berry, who
says much less than Judge Culberson, but
is a universal favorite among the habitues
of the hotel. Judge Culberson is familiar
~ known in the house and about the hotels
as the Tycoon" and when you ask the
average member what he means by that
he says: "Oh, the Tycoon? Yes. he was
that fellow in Japan or Tartary. or out
there somewhere, who was supposed to be
doing the will of the emperor when the
emperor and all the empire were really do
ing his will, and they never found it out
till it was too late. That's Judge Culber-
sons way"
The House Sanballat.
Conspicuous in the group is Constantine
Buckley Kilgore, who usually comes in
with the music-that is to say, about $50
p. NJ, when the street band strikes up in
the big room below. He is sometimes called
the "Big Director" and is jocularly known
as the Sanballat of the house Having a
vague idea that had read of Sanballat in
some ancient history, asked one Of bis col
leagues what that meant, and he replied:
"Oh, Sanballat was that fellow who bucked
against Nehemiah. He first laughed at
Nehemiah's attempt to build the wall OF
Jerusalem and told him that everybody
else was laughing at him. Finding that a
failure, he proposed joint debate, ard that
failing he tried bulldozing." So far the
member, but whether this is correct de-
scription of Kilgore have my doubts.
Another prominent man in the group
both for size and solidity of statement is
Sam Robertson of Louisiana, but he is far
from humorous at present. His district is
one vast sugar plantation, with ricefields
and other crops here and there, and is dot
ted all over with new villages built and oc-
cupied entirely by northern men, most of
them from Ohio, Indiana and illinois.
There are postofiices where three fourths Of
the mail are received from the last twp
states.
Conspicuous Figures.
a. &c ho ov,.1 1Nnxy
sh face Of Stnllings of the Second district
of Alabama, who good naturally says th;,t
there is ut leaSt one surprising thing about
this congress, and that is that he is in il.
He isn't really very young man, as he
was born in 1856, but at 30 he had acquired
a brilliant reputation as a lawyer, and at
SO, though no: looking more than 26. was
elected to this congress. Still another very
young looking man is the amiable Hugh
Dinsmore of Arkansas, who was minister
to Korea during the first administration of
Cleveland. and. in the language of II col
league, "bencs in his proper person all the
most attractive features of oriental and oc-
cdeptal society" He is, in truth. quite
society man, is 43 years old and looks ~.
The neat AID scholarly looking John ii.
Bankhead OF Alabama is one of the best
tlSGe1leFS I'll Tue place anu IL, IL IL Ue ib0
lite to say so, u sort of fraud in this that
he looks like very great scholar, but is in
fact business man of but average etluca-
lion. He has become noted for his prac-
teal common sense. A parsonage to at
tract attention for Underlined peculiarties
h the Hon. William Terry of Little Rock,
who looks as if he had Il grievance, never
laughs or speaks loud and very rarely
smiles, but has a remarkable reputation for
getting everything he really wants. Cen
trail in the regular evening group is Colonel
fernando de Soto Money, who is good
lawyer and strong in argument, but makes
no pretensions to social humor.
Drop In Occasionally.
Occasional members are Colonel Hender
son of North Carolina, chairman of the
committee on postofiices and post roads;
Messrs. Alexander and Woodland of the
same state, Cooper of Texas, Schell of South
Carolina and Marshall of Virginia, the last
famiiiarly known as Cyclone Jim" from
his manner of speaking. He is big and
ruddy mountaineer and represents the
mountainous district of southwestern Nir
ginia, is quite 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.