The age-herald., 1897-10-03
ABOUT PERSONS AND
 ! THINGS IN WASHINGTON

| Special to Th5, Age-Herald.
 I Washington, Oct. 2.-I like Washington
 when congress is in session, but 1t is | mighty cupid place now. Nobody here | but a gang of belated office-sekers-fel-
 lows who came here and put up at the l Ebbftt house because Mckinley stopped l there. They are now at cheap board- 1 ing houses, still hanging on. l A fellow who once holds a government | office never wants to let go. I know an old man over in the agricultural de- partment who sits at door, keeping it. isall day. In the early morning he washes the cuSp .0tQrs He was once a congress- man from a sou hern stave. He didn't Qo' anything but vote. When defeated h. tried f IT an assistant cabinet officer place. Failing to get that he dropped ln his demands and requests peg by peg until his money was all gone and finally he took doorkeepers pface at $e00 a year. This Washington fever is wolAe lgphan ysliow fever. once it gels hold of a fellow he is lost.
 I miss lots of old Alabama faces here. scbl. Oates seems to have left Wash ng- ton for good. He was wheel horse when in congress. I we'll remember th+ lime he held the house of representatives in a deadlock for two weeks, refusing stQ permit pur Dill TSIunulHS uf19 NhF6cL ldnd tax to pass with the refund Of the cotton tax as a rider on it. Oates fin ally lost but he made a gallant fight \ He ia neryy and was a good man in Congress. Sorry he got on the wrong side cf the political fence and retired. IfslJudge Cobb is another man missed here. That man was a. strong lawyer, and he knew how to appreciate good things. His room used to be next mine fI t.4e old Mstropoli. an hotel One night I went in late-it was nearly midnight had a nlew picture of a friend and ! decI- led to h3ng it. Having a nail and d Shoe proceeded to drive the former into the wall. It happened to take three good blows to finish the job. IA few minutes thereafter I heard a. tap on my door; it opened and the form of tqle Alabanian, claid In a robe de nuit followed.
 Thank you, believe will if you have
 @ little ice water to take after" said he.
 "If wflat?'' I asked
 Didn't yonl tap three times on the wal?," he asked.
 Suddenly it dawned upon me. I pro- duced the necessary art.2les. That was my first intimation of the usual signs exchanged by the Alabama judiciary and leeaT Fights. when eNing to country courts, had ever had.
 Since then have al ways been careful not to drive nails in lhotel rooms at n g'ht unless I was prepared for the con- sequence.
 | 1 Gel. John Bankh ad was here not long ago. Bankheads got lots of sense-good old horse sense. If he lives until Mor- l gan and Pelttus die he may come to the senate. That's what they say here. hsar Jesse Stabnnge is figuring on be- ing governor of Alabama after John ston serves his second term. Stalings is one of the young crowd. He don't scintllate, but he is smart and he's got lots of hard sense. He knows how to | do his duty and the right thing and ne catches tlh= wool hat boys all in a heap. Watch that fellow. He's still hunter not moonshine still, but he knows how to go out for big game and bring it in without making much noise. Oscar Underwood is w'lsing herle ev- cry day about getting the armor plate factory board to Birmingham. He has made a good impression upon young Roosevelt assistant secretary of the navy, and hear that Roosevelt is mak- ing plans to run down on a quiet trip to Birmingham to investigate the s1tua- tion
 ; Roosevelt is indignant at Carnegie for putting up his price on armor plate l. and seems determined to push the gov ernment armor plate factory through. He is very favorably impressed with the representations of Birmingham made to him, and he thinks the government can make its own armor plate for less than $500 a ton If that is demonstrated practically when it goes to Bifmingeta practically to the board when it goes to Birmingham you will find Roosevelt Eirging congress at it's next session to appropriate for an armor plate factory there.
 l < When you get the board down there show them in a practical way what you have. Don't spend your time in l dining and wining them. Give them a pract cal demons trat on that a nor pla te can be made in Birmingham cheaper l than at any other point on this conti- tnent. uteeaIttoo- nent and Birmingham will get the plant