Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-03-30


next Tuesday" or next Thursday" there
was always one place where hilarity reigned.
This was the little smoking room back of
the reporters gallery of the house.
Visitors looking from any other gallery
see only the desks and seats rising in the
gallery above the speaker and do not know
that behind the doors through which they
see the reporters come and go there is a
very large and commodious room, with tel
ephones, telegraph, long tables and every
convenience for writing. East of this room
is a cozy little den, with easy chairs and a
big, old fashioned fireplace, where in cool
weather fire of hard wood gives an amaz-
ing air of comfort-and Uncle Sam pays for
the wood.
Waiting For Something to BE Done.
Here is where we take our ease, and dur
ing the dull days aforesaid there was really
nothing to be done and no chance of any
fellow getting a scoop" on any other, and
so, as aforesaid, hilarity regned. The great
pressure was to get near the chair occupied
by Bill Sterrett of the Dallas and Calves
ton News-Sterrett the inimitable, the pc
culiar and INDISPENSABLE character of the
press gang. The group was complete when
AL Lewis of the Chicago Times sat on one
side of him and II. l.. Merrick of the Wash
ington Post on the other, punctuating his
stories WIN humorous comment.
Sterrett has been here many years, and
yet to those who have known him longest
he is fresh in interest ever. He is lit
orally full of quaint conceits, and if he could
write as he talks, or, to put it in more COM
plimentary phrase, if he could convey his
general manner and tone in printed words,
he would be the funniest of all humorous
writers. With this he untes characteris-
tics seldom found with quaint humor. He
has the perfect confidence of all the leaders
of his party, and every Texas politician
places great reliance upon his Judgment.
He is also great lover of open air sports, a
leading member of the South Mountain
Fishing club and welcome fellow on all
excursions.
Interesting Characters.
Another interesting character, though
one would hardly suspect it who sees him
at work, is Alfred j. Stofer of the Rich
mond Dispatch, who came here from St.
Louis. He seems to know the whole gamut
of American negro character by instinct
and his songs and stories in darby dialect
are irresistibly funny. He plays the banjo
is member of the Gridiron club and is al
ways in demand. Incidentally it may be
added that he took a tolerably prominent
part in the so called Hill movement in Vir
ginia as against the administration, but
smoking room aforesaid.
Mr.. Lewis, above mentioned, although
humorous in private, is as rule quite the
reverse in his writing and is unapproach
able in his line. 1t is scarcely an eXaggera-
ton to say that he deals out blood and Wit
riol in the columns of The Times. His
comparisons are at once Outre and fitting,
and his description of congressional scenes
is, as country editors say, alone worth the
l.
lieve, from Kansas City. At any rate, when
he wants to illustrate by what we do at
home" his scenes are generally laid in that
neighborhood.
Partial to Dominos.
Soon after congress adjourns every after
noon there is a scene of quite a different
kind at 1347 Pennsylvania avenue or as
we say, lust around the corner from News
paper rOw'-that is, at the Press club.
Many. of the boys-in fact, all those who
have no home ties-take their dinner there
and then the regular evening begins, and,
strange to say, the big game is dominos.
Whether it is because this game makes SO
little draft upon the intellect, and is there
fore a rest, or for some other cause, l know
not, but every table has its domino group,
prominent among them John Miller of the
Washington Star, president of the Press
club, and J. Durham, clerk of the commit
tee.
Another prominent writer sometimes seen
at the domino tables is Colonel W. T.. Hin
man, author of what many of the boys call
the best story of the war, entitled Corporal
ST klegg and His Pard." When there is
regular evening at the club, Fanciulli takes
his seat at the piano, and any one who may
be called upon joins with vocal music. Fan
ciulli, leader of the Marine band, is an as
hn. of Z hn o1,,lN
other artists of Washington, several con-
gressmen, Sergeant-at-arms Bright and
other officials. One of the best singers, if
not the best in the club, is Jim Allison of
the New York World who is, in the broad
est and best sense of the word, an all around
man i'll every respect-socially, musically
and reportorially, to coin word. He has
fine tenor voice, is rather modest and re-
firing until called out, can write on any
current subject and do it we'll, but is par
ticularly well posted on foreign affairs.
just at present, however, he is devoting
most of his labor to tariff and finance-in
fact, there really is not much else to do
All Are Not JOcular.
Another marked character and truly all
around man is Major Seldom N. Clark of
the New York Tribune, who has won dis
tinction in many lines. He served under
General (now Secretary Gresham and won
his title by the hardest kind of hard knocks.
In journalism he is best known a writer
on political and economic subjects, n warm
friend of the late Sam Randall a student of
congressional history and full of ready prec-
edents. But in the club he is known as a
dry humorist, with an immense reserve
force of social vivacity, good story teller
and a genial, approachable gentleman. l
think he can come as near talking easily on
any subject, from the siege of Atlanta to
the variationsi in the wool tariff, as any man
IN Washington.
Another quaint character is O'Brien
Moore of the St. Louis Republic, of whom
the country has recently heard a great deal,
and there are many Others only not quite
SO noted. But it must not be supposed
that all Washington journalists are of
jocular sort. There is as much variety OF
character among newspaper men as others,
If not more. And we have among us re
igious leaders, men very successful in bust
ness and others of that class which every
one can recognize and no one can describe
the class who seem to have been bowed
down and their original nature completely
changed by some great sorrow or long run
of adverse fortune.
Prominent In Many Ways.
One of the incest men in Washington
yes, one of the very incest men in the
worlds ii. B. F. mcfarland of the Bos
ton Herald and Philadelphia Record, who
Is the son of an old correspondent of war
shines aud was educated for the law, but
jeff into his fathers business by sort of
r dusSuss