The times., 1897-12-15
CAPITOL GOSSIP.

CAPITOL GOSSIP.
The opera was not gTaced last evening
b5 the presence Of Senator Hanna. Be
fore he left for New York the Senator
arranged for d box party last evening
az the opera. While In New York he was
taken III and was not able To return To
the city in time. Yesterday Afternoon te
wired some of his frierds at the Senate
declaring the party off and announcing
his int entiUn Of being In his seat today.
A delegation Of West virginians, among
them Secretary OF State Dawes, and Col
lector of Internal Revenue White have
been in tic city two days comforting with
Sen i;oT Elkins about State affairs and
ibcider tally looking after a few Offices.
TheF we've al tie Capitol again yesterday
and haG 3 long conference with the Senator
but received little satisfaction. These
gentle nler have "a scheme on hand for the
redistrl citing of the State and want
the governor to call the legislature in
special session for that purpose. 'the
Demccs ats say that under the law this
cannot lac done except every ten years,
the las. period being in 1891. a little
thing Ike this however, does not deter
these Republican poliJi clans and 'hey
insist that 1t be done now.
Gcv. Atkinson is opposed 10 the PROPOSE
ton ard Senator Elkius agTees with aim.
AL the arguments that have been brought
to be at upon the Senator, so far, have not
moved him from the position ne has taken.
TIE fact is, Senator Elkins is afraid II
tha legislature. He believes the Republi-
cans have d sura thing Of carrying the
Stcte, as il is, and lac wants 20 see
Republican successor to Senator Faulkner.
He thinks that il tie legislature once
gets together it viii get into a snarl ana
do all sorts of things, to the great damage
Of the Republican party he proposes TO
stop this if possible. and the governor
viii not he urged 10y senator Elkins TO
assemble the legislature. Meanwhile, Sena-
to, Faulkner is an interested spectator hf
II ese conferences, at a distance. He knows
that il would be the worst possible thing
tn, Republicans could do, and he is hop
mS and praying they will do it.
There was no reason why the Senate
should have adjourned yesterday as 4
tribute to the memory OF Mrs, Mckinley,
the aged mother of the President. The
adjournment caused good deal of ad-
verse comment among Senators, quietly
fter it was over. 1t had been the in
! tention to go ahead with business, and
get as much of the unobjected matters
pending out ,,f the way aS possible. There
had been no inUimaton on the part of the
leaders that an adjournment would be
Il L.,
| suggestion there was some surprise. 1t
| would have been lad taste to have op
posed the motion, so it was permitted {,
pass without protest. Still there wer,
many Senators who thought the molten
was uncalled for. Then the House, not
| to be put in the attitude of being less
respectful than the Senate did the same
| thing, afteI pounding away on an appro-
| priation bill fol an hour and half
The national lawmakers are getting il
| fine hulpor to take fall out of the teie
J phone company which controls the in
[ strun ents in use in the District, Severa
| of ths leading hotels have taken theil
| telephones out, and communication witt
the Capitol is thereby limited when Con
! gressional hoarders wish to talk to somt
one a : the other end of the Avenue.
The other night the proprietor of house
| where something like dozen members
! stop put up a notice which announced
| that owing to the fact that the company
refused to permit the guests of the hous'
to use the phone he had ordered it re
moved. This set on foot an impromptl
&c. gre ssionaI inquiry, and it was discov
cred that several of the hotels had re
moved theiI instruments on this account
1t was also shown that the company re
fused to permit the proprietors to ALLOW
any one in the house the use of the tela
phone free of charge and insisted thd
where guests We're to use tile inStru
ment a pay station should be put up.
The inquiry deveopedt the further fact tn 1
the Cairo. where several members live. wa