Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-25
MARYLAND SOLONS
Struggle in the Legislature Over US.
Senatorship.
REPUBLICAN, CAUCUS DRAWSACROWD
Scenes at the State House During
Its Progress.
THE LOBBY'S PERSONNEL

Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.
ANNAPOLIS. Md, January 25-This
| ancient city on the Severn has it's excite
| ments only spasmodically, as a man has
| occasional sprees. Unlike the sprees of the
aforesaid man, for sake of smile, those of
| Annapolis are fixed. Only one of them
| comes once a year. There are occasionally
| two in a year, but this happens but once
| every two years. There are other times
\ when the old town almost forgets itself in
| the excitement of it's carvings on. That
| Is when 1t Is necessary to elect United
| States senator. Between the intervals it
is easy for the staid city to recover itself
| and settle into the oblivion which seems to
characterize those who live on the banks
| of the Severn. Its other name might posi-
| bly, be fittingly termed Lethe
The annual time which enlivens the
| Lethean city is the commencement at the
Naval Academy, The biennial festival is
| the meeting of the general assembly. The
| biennial and Guadrennial awakenings
| when even the oldest inhabitant of An
rapolis realizes that he or she is living, is
| the choosing of representative from
| Maryland to sit in the United States Sen
ate. Just now the city is in the throes Of
| this CONFUSION, with the state house the
| hub Of the wheel.
|
| not the Maine had been ordered to Ha-
| vana. 1t did not affect those living and
| visiting here half so much as the rumor,
unfounded, of course, that the eleven"
| from Baltimore had declared, with tears in
| their eyes, allegiance to the McComas
! cause All eyes were on the state house in
Annapolis yesterday. and the eyes of Mary
| land were on Annapolis.
| COntagiOn Was General.
| That all classes and conditions were af-
| ficted with the general contagion was
shown conclusively last night when The
| Star correspondent seated himself at the
table Of his hotel. The waiter was most
| assiduous in his attentions, and at the end
Ventured to express the opinion that the
] visitor had come down to visit the state
| house.
Why, what is going on over there?"
| was the question, put with no apparent
suspicion there was anything extraordi-
nary being enacted in the edifice which is
the pride of the Annapolitan.
The waiter scratched his head for a mo-
situation.
Deed. I dunno, sah 'zactly whut it is
gWine on ovah thah tonight. but thinks
It's some kind OBJ circus''
He came pretty close to the name He
had heard the word caucus SO often he
had mistaken it for circus.
Far from being regarded in that light
or being such, the caucus was really
most solemn affair. 1t was called for last
| night at 8 o'clock. Long before that time
the delegates had returned to the state
house from their hastily eaten supper at
Bonds and the Maryland Hotel. the lat
ter place being the headquarters of the
senatorial aspirants. The HEADQUARTERS of
each were designated by cards on the
doors which bore the legend "McComas.
friends" and the like.
Not only were the house and senate
crowded before the time for the caucus.
but the lobby was filled to overfiowing.
the steps to the library had their quota Of
anxious watchers. and the gallery over
looking the entrances to the house, though
small 1t was. was filled with anxious faces,
until 1t must have resembled the Black
| Hole CT Calcutta.
Before the caucus time the McComas
| workers could be seen threading their
| way among the delegates, bolstering up
| the weak and striving to drag the boilers
TO rally NY, around the banner of their man.
The tall crested senator. Wash Wilkinson
| OF st. Mary's, was visible above the ranks
| OF the foemen, while Delegate Ashley NJ
Gould of Montgomery county, with his
| eyes ablaze, worked and hustled as If he
had the spirit of battle inculcated in him
| through and through. Mr.. George R.
Gather, jr, of Baltimore, a stanch Nc
Comas man, was seen with his eyeglasses
hanging to eyeiash, as 1t WERE working
for his choice. Senator Day, he of the
sturdy form and white sombrero. has been
one OF the notable figures of the fight.
solemnity Reigns.
When the house was cleared for the
caucus to begin, and 1t was no small job to
do this. and the doors were closed solemn
hush seemed TO fall upon the place as if q
| magic rite was 20 be performed. 1t did not
last long, however, for questions were ask
ed and answered as to the boilers from
baltimore. and conjectures were made,
views expressed and opinions freely given
as TO the outcome.
While the crowd lined up to the doors to
the mouse chamber, like walters in line be-
lore the box office of a play house its ont
SKIRTS extended into the senate chamber to
the library stairs, and to the library Itself
rev fr1nges even reached as far as
Bonds in the persons of those who wished
10 arrange their thirst. They quietly re-
turned, however so that nothing sborII
be lost.
While the politicians on the inside were
making their slate those on the outside in
me lobby were doing a little ciphering
themselves. Representative Mudd was in
evidence: He is always either chewing
toothplck or holding cigar in his mouth.
he seemed to have a bunch of toothpirLs
aicng with him last night. Representative
McDorald YVES busy lobbying on the ONT
side, while Mr.. Gould was attending to the
interests of Judge McComas on the inside
Inc representative of the Pefferesouean
MhiskeTs seemed to be more buslly attend
ing 10 MS own fences than in assisting to
pulld any about some one else
Representative Barber was one of tho
rev men present wearing plug hats
He locked as If he thought he might have
| made slight mistake in his outfit for the
occasion, but seemed entirely pleased with
the set of his nutton-chop whiskers
Those in the Lobby.
There were whites and blacks in the
lobby and men whose faces had been
shaved at first-class city tonsorial palaces.
standing cheek by jowl with those notably
| from the eastern sbo', sab, who had long
boards, with cherrystone oyster shells
sticking out from the hairs Will. thew
TAXED with one another and tried to an
pear unconscious at the slightest move
ment inside the chamber, where sounds of
rounding the slate into form could he
heard, thsy would turn their eyes in that
direction like a cat watching a rat hole
| hut pretending to be thinking of a bird in
a tree.
Attorney General C1abaugh, with the
smooth face and extreme boyish counte-
nance, was ono of the watchers He was
hopeful Of the caucus declaring for Mc
Comas, and did not seem uneasy as to the
result.
The republicans are not the only ones
who have their innings at the state house
now. The democratic leaders have an
pan emily taken great interest in the out.
come of the fight for the senatorshjD CoJ