Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-25

what time 1t would be agreeable to him to
receive II, and on the day appointed the
members waited on him In body to pre-
sent 1t. 49,
Nowadays the President simply sends in
a written message. which, after being read
to the House, Is referred to a committee
and ordered to be printed, and that Is gen.
orally the last Of 1t. President Adams. in
his address, referred to the fact that Con-
gress had met for the first time in the per-
maEent capital He said: --
II congratulate the people Of the United
States on the assembling Of Congress at
the permanent seat of government. and
congratulate you, gentlemen, on the pros
poets of residence not TO be changed. AL
though there Is cause to appreh mi that
accommodate are not now 50 complete
as might be wished, yet there is just
son to believe that this Inconvenience Will
cease with the present session. 1t would
be uEtacoming the representatives of the
nation 10 assemble for. the first time in this
solemn temple without looking up to the
Supr. .ae Ruler Of the universe AMI i'm
ploring His blessing. May this territory be
the residence Of virtue and happin SIS. In
this city may that piety AMI virtue, that
wisdom and magnanimity, that consistency
and self-govcrnment which adorHel the
great character whose name 1t bears be
forever held in vencrati ton. Here and
throughout the country may simple RAN
ners. pure morals, and trae religion flourish
forever
no" lar TINS invocation mas been real
IIei there may be difference of opinion.
There are some who will insist that our
society columns do not furnish much evil
dence OF simple manners" AS to pure
morals Washington may not be perfect in
the abstract, but it viii certainly compare
most favorably with other cities Of its size;
and as to pure religion" If churches end
ia berGacles be evidence. CT it. the federal
city has its full share.
Lodging fer Members.
The Presidents apprehensicns as to the
physical comforts ana accomnoda.ip of
the members were well founded. In spite
of Washingtons Efforts up to the day of
his death, to provide in this respect for the
coming Congress. there was a Llmcntable
want of suitable quarters. Con srcss. at
that time, consisted of thirty-two Senators
and 100 Representatives. There were also
the officers and employees of the TWO houses.
The members of the cabinet and the EN-
ployes of the departments having previous
~ arrived, had prc-eInpte1 great Fart of
the accommodations furnished by the new
city for themselves ana their families.
STILES Hotel was the only large enc in the
CITY, Ii was situated on Capitol Iiill on
list street just opposite Capitol Square, be-
tween East Capitol street and South b
street. There was another hotel en- the hill
Kept by William TuEnccliT, and still an
other, known as The Little Hotel" which
L have not been able TO locate There were
avenue south OF Is street. Two of these
were kept by Conrad and McMaun- wto
advertised two houses of entertainment
In the range of buildings formerly occupied
by McLaw. one for stage PASSENGERS and
the other for boarders''
On the opposite or east side of New Jer-
Sey avenue was a row of houses, two of
" hich were kept by Mr.. Peacock and one
by Mr. King. Beside these there were
probably a few other houses on the hin
where board could be obtained in private
families. About mile southeast of the
Capitol at Greenleafs Point We're ..ffty
or sixty spacious brick houses" built by
Greenleaf and his friends several years
before, in the hope that there would be
the fashionable part of the city. Two or
three or these We're occupied as respectable
boarding houses. but mGny Of them were
vacant. and Others were usel as negro
tenements. Congressman OF that day
writes: "Greenleats Point presents the ap-
pearance of considerable town, which
had been destroyed by some unusual calan-
NY pennsylvania avenue ran through
morass from the foot of the Capitol TO the
PRESIDENTS house, originally covered by an
alder growth, which had been cut down to
show the line of the avenue. In the vicin-
ity OF the Presidents house a few brick
buildings had been constructed for the use
of the departments. a week after the ar
rival of the President, on November - the
building occupied by the War Department.
was burned, and nearly all its records de-
StrUyei. Between the Presidents hDusa M
avenue were the row then and still known
as the six buildings" between 2lst and
I'D streets. Georgetown possessed two good
| hotels Semmes Tavern and the Union
Hotel. offered comfortable accommodat ions
to those who could afford to pay hotel
prices and hackney coach fares to and from
the Capitol.
Official Etiquette.
The Presidents house though not COM
rleted. was habitable, and there Mrs.
a in he Ia do nf
Der. 1900. and began her preparations for
holding the first republican court in the
federal city. Gen. Washington had al
ways maintained great deal of ceremony
in official life. which was very distasteful
10 those who thought all form and cere-
mony inconsistent with republican gov
eminent; and they Were not sparing in their
CRITICISMS OF the pomp displayed at his
ItNeeS DIR. Stuart on one occasion wrote
Washington letter this subject in
which he says that Patrick Henry had re-
fused to accept the office of Sena tor on the
ground 9S that ne was too old TO fall in
with these awkward limitations of royalty
which We're now become fashionable
The doctor adds: From this expression
L suspect the old patriot has heard some
extraordinary representations OF the ETH
quette established at your levees Those
or his party no doubt think thay promote
themselves in his good opinion by such
high coloriug. 1t may not be amiss To in
form you that Bland is among the dissa It's
ned on this score. l am Informed 10y good
authority that he represented that there
was more pomp used there than at St
James, where he had been, and that ycur
bows were more distant and stiff The
Bland referred to is Col. Theodericl
Bland, a member of Congress from Nir-
giI,ia, who has been educated in Great Bri-
tain. Comically illustrative of this Ell
quette is a note l recently saw in the gov
eminent archives of that date: Col. Jones
will have the pleasure of dining with the
President today. He was dressed except a g
to shoes yesterday afternoon to wait upon
him in the public room, but could not get a
pair" AS 1t is not to be supposed that any
person sufficiently respectable to be invited
to the Presidents table would be entirely
shoeless, the deficiency must have been as
to the particular pattern of his footwear.
President Adams. though not rigorous
in his requirements, maintained a certain
amount of form, and Mrs. Adams CORE
spondence shows that a large part of her
time was occupied in cooperating with her
husband in the preservation of the ETH
quette of the White House. She seems,
however, to have been personally of very
sociable disposition. and her letters show
that in spite of the distances she had to
travel she returned all visits made to her
by the ladies of the District. She writes
her daughter: Yesterday l returned fifteen
visits. My visitors, some Of them, come
three four miles Most of the ladies'