Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-25
NATIONS CAPITAL
Theme Of Earnest Speeches at Board
Of Trade Reception.
REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING
Members of Congress Meet Their
Constituents of the District.
ANNUAL SOCIAL REUNION


The annual reception of the Washington
| board Of trade at the Arlington last even
| ing was the occasion Of great social enjoy
ment. 1t was evident the members OF the
| board, who were present in large numbers,
| were DESTROYS that their guests should car
| ry away with them a good impression of
| Washington's hospitality, and this feeling
| contributed largely to the sociability of the
| evening. Many guests were present, repre-
| senting the cabinet, the two houses of Con-
| gress and the official and social circles of
| the city.
| Including the members Of the board, it
| was perhaps typical a gathering of the
various phases of Washington life as could
be got together, and several of the men,
bers of Congress who made speeches spoke
| of the pleasure 1t gave them to attend these
annual receptions, as they had an oppor-
tunity Of making the acquaintance of so
many of the citizens of Washington.
The large parlors where the reception
| was held formed appropriate setting for
| such gathering. The walls were grace
| fully decorated with smilax and trailing
| vines, and in the large banquet hall an
| elaborate scheme of decorative effect was
| carried out, the ceiling being festooned
j
| tracing of trailing vines. and lines Of glow
| ing electric lamps, converging from a cen
| trail point, added brilliancy to the scene.
The side walls, which were covered with
mirrors, were also appropriately adorned
and foliage plants and cut flowers gave
| additional charms.
Received by President NOyes.
The members of the board and their
| guests were received by the president OF
/ the board, Mr.. Theodore w. Noyes, who
| was assisted by the secretary, Mr.. George
| H. Harries, and members of the reception
| committee. AS each member came in, a
| knot of ribbons bearing the name Of the
board was fastened by Mr.. c. C. Lancaster
upon the lapel Of his coat. The guests
| as they arrived were introduced to men,
| bers of the board and to other guests, and
| in short time, judging from the hum of
conversation, it was evident the large COM
| pany had become pretty well acquainted,
or course the members of the board as a
| rule know each other. but then acquaint-
ance with members of Congress and those
| in official life is not so general, and the
| occasion of thus bringing together the
| members of the common council of the city
| as President Noyes in the course of his
speech later on characterized the members
| or congress. and their constituents, the
| citizens of the District, was one that was
evidently generally appreciated by all.
| AS one parlor gradually filled up the
throng moved into the adjoining parlors
| and here chairs had been placed in readi-
| ness for the time when. in accordance with
| the usual custom. short impromptu au-
| dresses would be made by representative
| OF the board and their guests.
| President Noyes' Address.
| After all had been seated in the chairs
which had been provided President Moves
made the opening speech.
| he said that orce Il year the constitu-
| tionally appointed local Legislators of the
District held an evening session at the Ar
lington. instead of at the Capitol, in which
| their Washington constituents participat ted
On these occasions there was a strong
| temptation to the loyal Washingtonian to
| dilate upon the beauties of the capital like
n doting mother, with her only child as
| text. But Washington did more than ap-
| peal to the national pride; in these troub-
| lous times, at home and abroad, it was a
| distinct force in developing and strength
| ening the national. patriotic sentiment. He
| deprecated especially the sectional pref
| udices and misconceptions which were
! fostered at the expense Of broad American
| ism, and weakened the national sentiment.
| He referred to his residence OF four years
| in South Dakota just before it became a
| state and described the resentment he had
felt as an enthusiastic South Dakotaian
| concerning eastern misconceptions of the
| spirit and tendency Of that community. He
| lad found. however, that there was re-
| ClE rOC1ty IN SectlOnat 1nlScOnCeptlOn, ana
| that the west also misunderstood and mis-
| reI resented the east, including the city of
| Washington. He notified every western
| man within sound of his voice that the
representation of the people Of Washing
| ton as untaxed men6icants, dependent
upon the national bounty, was denounced
| by them as an insulting caricature, as
atrccious as any emanating from the ig-
| norant east, under whose injustice the
westerner himself may have smarted.
He pointed out that in the case Of WASH
| ington individual citizens were the donors
of the soil to the nation. whereas In the
case of his adopted state and others In the
Louisiana purchase the nation was the
donor under homestead and timber culture
| laws ard individuals the beneficiaries. He
! cited the census reports of 1880 to show
| that the municipal per capita tax levy or
Washington exceeded that of the vast ma
! jority of municipalities containing more
| than 4 900 population, and was fully up to
| the average of cities approximat!ng 1t in
population: that. for instance. 1t exceeded
| the per capita levy Of of Omaha, Allegheny
| City and Indianapolis, and was only
slightly less than that Of Cleveland.
| Newark and Milwaukee. None of these
cities. he said. had SO large a per capita
| Indebtedness as Washington, numerous
a floating non-taxpaying population. and SO
! few moneymaking resources in commerce.
| trade and manufactures in proportion to
| population with which to meet this drain
| of taxation.
National Taxation.
In national taxation like showing was
| made The District contributed in 1895 to
the internal revenue fund.- the only nation
al tax which falls directly Enthusiastically
and in ascertainable amounts upon Ameri-
cans, more than any one of sixteen states
and five territories, and more than the COM
bined contributions of Maine, Vermont,
Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota
Idaho and Wyoming, with their fourteen
votes in the Senate and eighteen in the
House. the bodies which disburse this fund
The per capita-contribution of the WASH
ingtonfan was more than that of twenty
two states and five territories, nearly six
times, for instance, that of the South Dako-
taian, five times that of the Kansan and
TeXan,s ten times that of the Vermonter
and 12O times that of the Mississippian
This mistaken idea cercerning the people of
the capital, indeed sectional misconceptions
of all sorts. should be removed to the end
that a broad and considerable Americanism
may pervade the whole land. We Ameri-
cans Of 1893, he said, are to say with the
fullness Of conviction OF more than a hum
dy.o6 - ~