Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-07
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS

the Ebbitt House discussing things in gen.
| eral, and taking that pessimlstic view Of
present day affairs that seems to have be-
como the fashion recently, when some Of
them began to bewail the mental deteriora-
ton of the human race. They claimed that
the time OF smart men had departed and
that we were no longer electrified by genius
as we used to be. Col. Richard Winter
smith, who is home On leave from his 18TH
mus of Panama office. was present, and his
eyes twnkled nerrily.
"Ail that sort of talk is stuff and nom
sense" he remarked, with that Kentucky
sang frod for which he is famous. THE
average fourteen-year-old boy of today
knows more, SO far as the sum total OF
knowledge is concerned, than his great
grandfather ever dreamed of. Now there
are three Americans who help to illuminate
our history. One is George Washington,
who has monument over there higher
than any other in the " orld, and who de-
serves it. Then there is Thomas Jefferson,
VINO wrote the Declaration of 1ndepend-
cnce. and Benjamin Franklin, of whom
Phillips said that his philosophy drew the
lightning from the skies. They represented
assume, the knowledge of our forefathers.
Well, if those three distinguished gentle
men We're to be revived this minute and
taken around to 18th and G streets, and
saw a street car come flying along without
any ostensble motive power they'd break
for the woods like the devil was after
them
With this forcible illustration the colonel
walked over to the cigar stand and lit
Havana leaving the pessinists to ponder
eve are picking a cotton crop down
south that will fill the pockets of our peo-
pie with money allow them to cancel their
obligations and give them a substantial
remainder to lay aside for a rainy day."
said Frank Ranralls of Georgia. who is
visiting friends in the city, at the National
yesterday. You will understand what I
mean when explain that the present crop
was raised for less money than any other
ever planted. When the preparations for
growing 1t were being made every planter
looked forward to getting not more than
~ cents pound for his product, and he
governed himself accordingly. He kept his
expenses down to the lowest possible fig
ure; econcmiZed in every direction, and
devoted more of his own energies to his
fields than he ever believed he would be
capable Of doing. Instead Of the plants
being allowed to take. care of themselves
they were carefully attended to in order
that they might bear as many bolls as
possible consequently the crop turned out
better and cost less to raise. Now it is
being picked and instead of the Az cents
expected the price is Z and ~ cents 1t
means from s12 to $15 more bale than the
planters expected. and the advance will be
all profit. 1t needed just such a powerful
object lesson to make the southern grower
open his eyes to his own resources and to
teach him to depend more on his own ex-
ertions, and he will never forget 1t. The
negroes, too will reap the benefit as well
as the whites. There are thousands Of
negroes who grow cotton on shares in the
south, and they raised theirs in expectation
of small prices just like their white neigh
bors. The Gotten crop this year will make
debts disappear in my section like snow
under hot SUM-"
her To he in ha a r
mosphere of Washington city that makes
poker bands grow to a wonderful sze,"
said well-known southerner at Wizards
{: morning Il am fond of dalliance with
l. III. and make no bones about my prefer
ence for it over any other sport in the
world except a MIA tch ace between gentle
mems horses, and on the occasions of my
visits to the capital 1 usually mix up with
a congenial party and while away a few
hours at 1t. Nearly every time 1 have ever
played here, however 1 have been struck
with the remarkable hands held in the same
deal. Now, one night last winter l was sit
ting in mighty respectable game with
two Congressman. Senator and n lawyer.
The Senator dealt. and l found four n.nes
to go in with. Naturally / fingered. ! drew
a card The two Congressman each drew a
card. the lawyer drew three, and the SEN
ator drew none. The betting was not big
as the game was not Of the bloody descrip
ton, but every man stayed toNhe last. The
showdown developed a jack full on deuces
for the Senator: king high diamond flush
for one Congressman: an eight full on
queens for the other; an ace full on fiveS
for the lawyer. and my four mines, which.
of course, won. Last week l was playing
with two army officers, a real estate man
and doctor. The real estate dealer dealt,
and gave me two queens and two tens.
drew card; the doctor stood pat, and the
army officers drew three and two, respec-
lively. The dealer dropped out l made an
tha
struggle the doctor showed four jacks, one
officer king full, and the other four sew
ems. don't suppose there were ever two
occasions in one mans poker experience
where such remarkable hands were out
against each other in the same DEALS but
what have told you is gospel truth and
very easy to substantiate So that is what
makes me think there is something in the
air here that has the same effect on the
size of poker hands as the climate of Mon
tana has on the size of potatoes"
THE prices of bicycles, according to the
manufacturers lists have not diminished
much" said a New Yorker who is up in
the secrets of the trade at the Raleigh
this morning, but riders in New York are
getting wheels a good deal cheaper by
means of an ingenious system, recently
adopted by retail dealers. You know each
dealer in bicycles signs an agreement not
to sell new machine below the figures
marked on the price list. Well, in Gotham
this agreement is rigidly adhered to in its
letter. but knocked galley-west when it
comes to its intention The scheme is SIM
ply this: When a person enters a bicycle
dealers establishment in search of a wheel
he Is shown the collection. He asks the
prices, and is told that this make is $780,
that one S11O, the other S120, and so on
If he demurs al the price, as he is pretty
apt to, the dealer tells him that if he will
come in again next day there may be a
good secondhand wheel in at a lower
price. The visitor leaves, and then the
dealer puts the bicycle that most suited
his fancy on the rent list and hires it out
to the first one who calls for machine
by the hour. When the inquirer calls again
he is shown the same wheel that he want
ed the day before, but the price is only
$50. The two or three hours use as a
hired wheel has made it a second hand
article. This trick is being universally
played in New York, and 1 reckon dealers
in Washington and elsewhere will get on
to it In course of time.
"All this wild talk about the administra-
ton being anxious to see Kentucky go to
the republican bow-wows next month is
the veriest rot" said a well-known office
holder from the blue grass state at the
Riggs House last night. Nearly every one
of the kentuckians holding positions in the
departments here are going home the lat
ter part of this month and put in their best
f~1-- P~.