The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-08

I
90 succeed in passing the hydra-guarded
| portals of Mr.. Bliss inner office, find
| themselves confronting another cool-head-
cd business man, who plainly expects
/ that the visitor has come for definite
| and important purpose and that he will
! state II in as few words as possible and
! go ms way. In nowise lacking in a sense
| OF humor the Secretary of the Interior
mas two blank, unappreciative eyes for
| the bore who thinks to make what ball
! players call "a grand-stand play" by tell
| ing him a screamingly humorous story
! before embarking upon the narrative of
business. a western office seeker of some
| considerable distinction in his own state
made this distressingly dismal mistake on
| his first, and last visit to
Mr.. Bliss. Hardly had he been introduced
| before he seized a trivial pretext, a quip
! on one of his own words to lessen the
( secretary's burden of state by telling him
| the most frantically funny story in his
stock Mr., Bliss listened gravely, with alb
! solhtelY fixed cOuntenance, all the way
! through. When the westerner reached his
climax and roared hilariously with the
humor of his yarn, his mirth was suddenly
| broken off short in the middle by noticing
the gloom that covered the secretary's
| face. All" said the latter politely,
quite so: / preceive good morning, sir"
| And probably the visitor did not realize,
| until he found himself in the cool outer
| ar, THAT ne Qdu Deen dismissed without
| having related his business al all.
| But we must not do the some times gen
| ial secretary injustice. However deeply
| submerged in business he may be, Mr..
| Bliss has always a cordial handshake and
! an attentive ear for old soldiers. He re-
| celVes them at any and all times, gives
| them whatever reasonable audience they
desire and even listens with patience on
| busy morning to considerable reminis-
| cent garrulity. When the battle-scarred
| veterans step from his office, they inva-
riably go with a lighter tread; and it is
| said that the already surprisingly long
| list of reinstatements of discharged old
| soldiers in the pension Office is not yet
nearly completed.
| Mr. Bliss greatest martyrdom is at the
hands, or rather the tongues of some of
| the ladies who visit him. He is a shy man
| in the presence of pettycoats; but oddly
| enough, none of the feminine visitors who
| have succeeded in running the blockade of
| the two outer Offices appear TO be in the
| least abashed by the secretarY's coolly
| courteous manner. For a single instant
| the other day, when a majestic, fashion
| able-looking woman, fiat, fair and fifty"
| swept into his room with the frou-frou of
| silken skirts and the somewhat violent
| odOr Of orris Mr.. Bliss was preceptibly
| embarrassed and seemed undecided what
| to do with his hands and feet. He looked
| ike man who wanted to run. Quickly
| recovering himself, however, he deferen-
| tally heard the lady's prolonged story to
| the end but if he made any promise to in
| definitely retain the ladys husband as In
| dian agent, her naughty and somewhat be-
| wildered look as she emerged from his Of
| flee did not denote it.
| One afternoon, last week, lot of Kick
| apoo Indians, blanket swathed and malo-
| dorous, called upon the secretary and
| were admitted to the holy of holes
L rtT1ly S11cr 10 70 fcfa nd 11r1 tRl1
| ing in his right hand a linen handkerchief
| of exceeding ineness and Wilderness, Mr.
| Bliss gave ear to the proxy lamentations
| of the interpreter This spokesman was
| of uniquely unwholesome appearance but
| as he stood near the dainty New Yorker
| the opportunity was great for contrasting
two Numerically opposite types of the
| American; the one well groomed, suave,
| at perfect ease, and master of his enVir
| onment; the other poor fellow manifestly
| out of place, distinctly ungroomed, dirty,
| nervous and a sullen slave to tradition. To
| the everlasting credit of Mr.. Bliss be it
| said that he unbent from his vantage
| ground of superiority to the temporary
| level of the unsavory delegation. For
| twenty minutes he withstood the steady
stare of a dozen pairs of sulky sloe eyes,
| with more kindness and complaisance than
| he would have exhibited in receiving the
| board of directors in his New York bank
ing house Departing, the boss Indian
held up his hand horizontally on the eX-
| act level of Mr.. Bliss stature. Heap
| little high he grunted, himself towering
! head and shoulders above the secretary.
| When the Indian placed both open hands
| at a distance of about half a foot from
each side of his own head. Hi yu skoo-
KUN heap big here" said he, pointing 10
| the secretar's head. He evidently intend
| ed to express a favorable opinion of the
Little Man Whit the Big Head. and the
secretary positively blushed at the COM
| pliment.
! At 3 o'clock the leVee is practically over
for it is a man of monumental cheek in
| deed who succeeds i'm getting in after that
| hour Then Mr. Bliss lights a big black
| cigar-he is an inveterate smoker-and
| goes in for an hour or two of hard work.
| The department of the interior is practic
| ally distributed all over the city of Wash
| ngton, in it's numerous branches pen
| sion office, land Office, Indian bureau, etc,
| and the secretary must keep his fingers
| upon the daily pulse of each of them. 1t
| can only be done by the most rigid and
| accurate system; and so well il is manag
| ed that Mr.. Bliss knows exactly what Is
| going on all the time in each one of the
| big offices under his jurisdiction. At 3
| o'clock p. m he begins TO receive the
| daily reports from the numerous import
! ant branches, seeing witha a trained and
| ready eye the heart of things a once. He
/ seems 10 KNOW Dy intuition OF the import
| ant paper at the very bottom of the divi-
sion chiefs portfolio, and calls for It first;
| and a a glance discerns and throws out
| the unmportant. Almost in the process
/ of unfolding a document of a dozen type
written pages. he grasps with his mental
| eye its relative value. He will read TWEEN
| ty letters, each Of considerable length, IN
| ten minutes; and will recall phrases from
every paragraph Of them several days az
| terwaTds-a feat OF memory worthy OF
/ Mark Twain. At o'clock he has finish
! ed with the division chiefs, and then
rings for his stenographer and spends an
hour in the rapid dlctatlon OF letters. And
at O'Clock he enters his waiting carriage
and rolls away to well-earned rest.
Fannie Brigham.
| oant.uS Avn fruEIa warm,