Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-06-24
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Retirement OF Senator Call Sem
ator Vests Fish Story.
Especial Correspondence.l

Especial Correspondence
Many of the senators have very hand
some traps in which they ride to the
capitol or make the rounds OF the de-
partments. Senator Mcmillan, for in
stance, drives in fine open wagon.
with bright red wheels, and Senator
Wolcott has one of the handsomest vic
torias in the city. Other senators, like
Mr.. Chandler and Mr.. Bacon, are con-
tent to perambulate on bicycles.
The conveyance which Senator Turpie
affects, however, is worthy of a column
description. Where he finds il heaven
only knows. 1t is "A coupe which looks
as if it might have done duty in the
time of George Washington. Its former
black enamel has turned to rusty
shade of brown, its doors are shaky and
its wheels are anything but round. The
driver is an old colored man, who wears
a derby hat and Prince Albert coat,
while the horse appropriately completes
the outfit. 1t is black horse, very bony
as to ribs and very high as to legs and
with tail as stubby as field of corn
after harvest time. In this vehicle SEN
ator Turpie sits deep in thought and
just as contented as Cinderella in her
fairy carriage.
Call and His Cuban Speeches.
The defeat of Senator Call removes a
picturesque character from public life.
For 10 years Mr.. Call was i'll the SEN
ate, and for the Is years there was
scarcely day upon which he did not
make a speech about something.
Cuba was his favorite theme. On this
subject he could wax eloquent-ever-
lastingly eloquent, in fact-at any mo-
ment The Post says he has filled col
umns and columns with his remarks in
eulogy of Cuba and in denunciation of
Spain. The trouble was, however, that
no one would ever listen to his speeches.
He was without doubt the most uninter-
esting talker in the senate, and nearly
every one of his speeches contained the
complaint that he was not given the
proper attention.
Senator Vests Fish Story.
Senator Vest has a fish story which
he tells with great deal of gusto and
seems to enjoy it hugely himself at each
repetition. IAN old darky, fishing in
the Missouri, caught big catfish,
weighing about five pounds. He tied a
string through its gills, and, fastening
the string to stake on the river bank,
left the fish swimming about while he
went farther down the river to find an
other good fishing place. A small boy,
who had also been fishing, came along
with one pound catfish. Spying the
string, he pulled it up and lost no time
in exchanging the little fish for the big
one, promptly leaving the scene for
home.
"Soon after the old darky came back
and pulled up his fish TO take it home.
He beheld with establishment the size
of his catch, and as soon as he could
find his voice he calculated:
'Bress me, but dat ah catfish am
shrunk POWERFUL"
A New Woman and Her Baby.
The friends of certain professional
woman here in town tell story on her
which they call Il huge joke. There is a
baby in the professional woman's fam
lily. The baby has nurse. 1t has also
a doting grandfather, who came to see
it very early one morning recently. As
he came near the house he saw the baby
carriage standing near the side door.
The house doors were still locked. No
body was stirring The grandfather
looked into the carriage, and there, to
his amazement, lay the precious baby.
1t had actually been left out all night,
for, as the mother explained, she had
been busy all the evening and supposed
nurse had baby, and the nurse had been
busy all evening and supposed the moth
OF had the little one. Between the two
of them the child had been left out of
doors all night. can't see the joke at
all. In my day mother had what in
our old fashioned way we called ''sa-
cred duties" to perform, and one of
those duties was TO know just where
and how her baby was by night or day.
A Dog Under His Arm.
A writer in The Post is authority for
the statement that Mr.. L. Sanford Beatty
has set new fashion. The time when
women first took to lapdogs is so far
back that history fails to record it, but
till Mr.. Beatty led the way Washington
men did not pay visits with small dogs
under their arms Mr.. Beatty has small
and extremely valuable dog, of which
he is very fond, and several times of
late he has paid visits with that dog
snugly tucked under his left arm the
while He doesn't let it run about He
holds it, and already half dozen men
have invested in dogs, with the inten-
tion of following his example.
More men come to Washington TO see
Senator Mason than any other senator
except Senator Hanna. They all want
him to go TO the White House with
them, and he does it. They have become
acquainted with his genial and helpful
disposition and frequently take advan-
tage of it. The jolly, big hearted and big
Drained junior senator from Illinois is
so popular in his state that constituents
in every portion write him asking for
fayors All these letters are answered.