The Newtown bee., 1897-03-05

| II Browns hotel, now the Metropolitan, was great headquarters for southern people; Willard's, which was run by Vermont men, became 8 great place for | visitors from the North and East; then there was the Washington hotel, where the Vendome now is, and the National. Our hotel seemed true to it's name in having among It's guests representatives of all sections of the country. Twenty senators and perhaps 50 representatives boarded there during the winter of '60- '61, and that was stormy time, assure you. Everybody gathered in the Hobbies and bar rooms of the hotels evenings to discuss politics, and those debates were far from being peaceful. Zach Chandler of Michigan and Senator Brown of Miss issippi used to have nightly discussions, generally preceded by an indulgence in 8 favorite drink of that day, which Chand- Ter had facetiously named the 'Constitu- tional.' When secession was threatened, Chandler would tell Brown that the Un- ionists would hew their way with the sword to the gulf, whereupon Brown would tell how vigorously that attempt would be met. 4 pretty tough crowd from outside gathered in the Hobbies for these discussions, and fist fights became very common. The evening before Lin. coln's inauguration there was SO severe fight in the lobby of the National hotel that the police had to come in to clear the whole crowd out.
 There was little law and order in Wash ington in those days. A year or two be- fore some of the foreign ministers here had complained that they were not suit ably protected, and Congress had estab- lished what was known as the metropoli- tan police system, but it did little to check the rowdyism of the city. There had been seven people killed in one win- ter, remember, and yet the population seemed rather indifferent to that state of things. No one ever thought of going out after dark unless he was well armed, and most of the men carried pistols all ha hav loeo .-I~A would sometimes hear the cry, Get be- hind the tree box by which official warning was given that somebody in- tended to fire, and that innocent people had better get out of the way. The The streets were ill-paved, dusty in sum- mer and muddy in winter, and the carri- age ruts on the wide avenues would curve in all directions, the teamsters try ing to pick out the easiest routes. h. stead of street cars there was line of old buses, run by man named Wander workip, which used to ply between Georgetown and the navy yard. The residential part of the town was then down where pr Sunderland's church now is, that Is, in the section just northwest of the capitol, and within few blocks of it. F street was we'll built with comfort \ able residences, and Georgetown con- tained the homes of many of the old fam. lilies, and particularly of retired naval of. ficers. But Washington had then no res- idence population in the sense that it has to-day, and was very unattractive town. | I remember the first time I ever saw saw Abraham Lincoln. He came here about week before inauguration, and the story of his coming is well known We were not expecting him quite so soor and awoke one morning to learn that hs was already in town and at Willard's ho tel. During the week before inaugura tion he was closeted with advisers, but one evening about the Ist of March, K G. Spaulding of Buffalo, who was living at the National hotel, and afterward be came famous as the father of the green back, gave 8 dinner party in honor of .h, President-elect. Most of the incoming cabinet were present, the New Englan, senators and some of the prominent re publicans, in all about 40 men. Wher the women of the National hotel learne, that Lincoln was dining in the hous they were very eager to see him and col lected in the parlor for that purpose. A soon as an opportunity afforded Llncol came out of the private dining room t shake hands with the women. Thos about him were then very fearful of al sassination, and their alarm was wel grounded. The sentiment of the cit
 was very hot in those days, and by q overwhelming majority was on the othe side. The detectiyes watched Lincol very closely, and it was wise that the did. Two of the force, Benjamin Heat and Capt William K. Jones, who are TO : living tn Boston, were hsrs lscme wseh