Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-01-07
FEAR OF OMENs.
Why the National Capital Is a City Ct
Superstition.
Signs and Wonders Of Negroes-A Congress.
mans Peculiar Dream.

new place OF alnEseiDcUb Will surely Ds u
failure. Others, more desperately welded
to the fad OF superstition, say some fright.
fnl calamity VIII overtake the new opera
house before it is many years old. The
story CT the misfortunes that have attend
ell tho old house from tho day Of Clay to
the death Of Blaine is too wen known to
need repetition IN this dispatch, but "a man
who has lived n good many years IN Wash
ington and who has been in the building
and real estate business says he seriously
believes the theater venture Will be fail
urc.
Prediction.
II am not superstitious myself" be
says, land nothing OF that sort affects ne
in the slightest, but Washington Is one Of
the most superatltlOus towns on earth, and
] am willing to predict the theater built
on the site Of the Blaine house VIII be q
financial failure. There are thousands OF
well TO do people in this city who are so
superstitious they will never set foot IN
that playhouse. They Will have always
before their eyes the fear Of fire, or falling
walls, Or other disaster. / have had occa-
sion ia the past to test this supcIstitious
tendency % Waslingtonians.
'lbeto IS T. very simple explanation OF
the picvaicnce III superstition in Washing
ton. 1T comes from the cOloTcd people,
who Gfc the servants in nearly every house
hold, and, in "a sense, members OF most
families. Tho old cooks and NURSES and
"mamm!cs" arc full Of superstition. They
believe In night ductOIs. They have a
horror of the number l3 and of Friday.
They VIII not 70 out upon the street with
out something on their heads. You WIIt
never sec IA uccrcss out Of doors here even
in midsummer without cap or at least
LandkcicIicf on her black topkn0t. Tho
negro belief Is tEat to 20 out without
sofuc sort Of hcaddrcss is to bring on sof-
teniugof tho brain. They even carry their
superstition in this respect to children,
who, tLcy think, will catch tho fever If
they do not always wear hats or bonncts.
Those colorcd people have an infinite vari-
city Of supcrstitions, and the whites hav6
acquired n tendency in the same direction
by contact with them.
IA Senator's Faith.
j know Il senator who lives In house
that has Is i'll its street number. lie
did. not notice tho 13 until after he bad
moved in with his family and furniture.
In fact tho house was rented by his wife
during his absence from the city. The
senator Is SO averse to passing under the
II that he has provided himself with Il
nightkcy to the back door, aud whenever
IL is possible ho goes and comes hy the
rear entrance. OF course there are occa-
sions in which tits almost impossible for
him to avoid passing through the front
door Of his own house, but lac tells nie he
never does so without an uncomfortable
feeling He laughs at his own fears but
says he cannot shake them off.
Lot mo tell you some facts which show
that havo justification for my timidity
about 49," said this senator He paused to
pick up copy OF Tho Congressional Di-
rcctory from his library table, opened it
and continued; Now here arc SOME scna-
tors and representatives who live in houses
that havo - in their street numbers.
Just Uark the names rs | read them;
Shelby NJ. CGllnm, senator, lIl3 Massa'
chusctts avenue, fighting for reelection to
tho senate, may succeed, but | won't be
1--we ittll tho votes are counted; lShan
G. Harris, senator, l3 First street, seat in
4 danger; John sherman. senator, l32l k
street, three times defeated for tho tepub-
lcan presidential nominations; Daniel w.
Voorhees, senator, 1923 New Hampshire
avenue, will not bu rc elected.
- Now we take up tho representatives.:
Arnold Of Missouri, 1908 Il street, defeated
for re election; Bryan of Nebraska, l3l li
street, dcfo'tcd for senator and his public
career closed; Bynum Of ludiana, Ijli
Nineteenth street. defeated, Cochran OF
New York Nuurko Iuckran--l33J SIX.
teonth street, turned down Ivy Tammany
and now getting hail Columbia from Mr.
Croker; CooHlbs of New York, 1891 NJ
street defeated; Cooper of Indiana, 1913
Thirteenth street. OF course he was dofeat-
cd-two thirtcens Druson of Alahnma
1910 Nineteenth street, defeated, fnlUu of
Tennessee 1914 Vermont avenue, defeated
in a district where he was supposed TO ho
invncihle; Hayes of Iowa, 1929 {; stfoue,
same experience as Enloo. lint why ex
tend the list? hayo given you enough al
ready to show tho fatal inllueuco of l3."
OF course my senatorial friend was not
wholly frank in his account as dise"v
cred by looking over the house addresses
of senators and representatives. \ large
number who live at houses with "t3' in
their street nunlurs have been triu,u
phantly ro-clcctCd.
pre@n OF 8 Congressman.
a congressman tells me story of su-
pcrstiti0u tlla3 had a rather cumicai cDd
ing Some years ago hr had a dream that
n certain horse had won the Chicago Dof
by. He happancd To bc "A believer ia
dreams-thit WAS QUO uf has littlC super
stitions--aud SO hu decided 10 mako this
night Thought a suurco ui profit. ilGcal'd
in u friend who was expert In racing mat
tiers, and iuasHuch as the congressman
was busy with his campaign and could
not get away 10 Chicago it WAS arranged