The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1898-04-22
NAYI0NAL CAPIYAL
An Interesting Letter From Our Regu.
lar Correspondent.
HERsEY PENS ENTERTA1NINGLY
Tells What Is Going On in the Way of
Local Gossip - What Montana's
Representatives Are Doing.

VuIOuSS NoIS ndSSou upOu tue steps
of both wings of the capital and by 8
o'cl -ck when the massive doors swung
outward the waiting crowd stood in
solid phalanx far down to the asphalt.
A rush to the galleries ensued and
within the shortest possible space of
time every available seat was taken
and beseaching multitude filed the
corridors making piteous appeals in
vain to the stolid doorkeepers So
great has been the rush during the
past two weeks that new and stringent
rules have been adopted and the great
building is kept closed until 8 O'Clock
each morning while details of police
are kept busy holding the crowds in
orderly quiet. Many persons carry
lunch baskets daily and comfortably
MUNICH their sandwiches while waiting
for business to begin. Others provide
themselves with books and many la
dies bring their needle work. The
popularity of he "yellow Journal is
evidenced in the larid blaze Of horse
poster head lines which give the gal
leries the appearance of animated bill
boards. These are history making
times and there are many who will
live to tell their grand children how
they witnessed the stirring scenes now
transpiring at the nations capital.
The reading Of the message was lis
tened to with profound attention, the
monotonous tones of the clerks lending
to it's sonorous phrases and patriotic
passages more the air of an auctioneer
giving notice of a public sale than the
dramatic significance of an instrument
SO fraught with meaning to the whole
civilized world.
Notwithstanding the large concourse
frequenting the capital daily parties
coming here from elsewhere stats that
there is less visible excitement in
Washington than in any other part of
the country. My own observations
convince me that Washington people
have the Southern way of taking
things rather easy. There is certainly
an almost complete absence of patriotic
public demonstration, such as one
reads of in the press. in "the states. {"
I learned one startling fact today
which may give comfort to those who
believe in the theory Of the physical
decay Of the race. but which will GER
tainly afford food for serious thought
to all. At the artillery recruiting sta
tions here only two per cent of the ap-
plicants are accepted. At the begin
ming of the civil war the percentage
of reject1ons seldom ran above 80. WI at
does it mean?
Col. Bird, who had charge of the
erection of Fort Harrison and is now
at headquarters here, informs me that
the orders for the re.garrisoning of
Fort Missoula have certainly been is
sued, and the post is likely to be occu-
pied for an indefinite time.
The political prophets put the roster
of the Helena and Lewistown land
Offices as follows: Helena-Regi iater,
Geo. D. Green; Receiver, John
Horsky. Lewistown- Register, Ed
win Brassey Receiver, Louis W. Ed
ridge. The Bozeman receiverhsip rests
between Major Anderson and John
Edsall.
If Tom Power is using any effort to
dislodge Collector Brown I have been
unable. to locate the point of his activ.
tiles, but Mr.. Powers influence an.
pears to be somewhat innocuos in
Washington. His efforts failed when
be commanded all the prestige of a
seat in the senate; it seems somewhat
improbable that they will succeed
now.
Today will long be remembered
among the most notable in the annals
of the nation. So thick and fast are
events occurring that the events of
yesterday are a t to have become an.
cient history before the slow processes
of the mail service can carry the
tidings to points SO remote as Mon
tana, I shall, therefore, hereafter con-
fine myself mainly to an attempt to
describe briefly some Of the scenes that
are occurring here daily |: Foraker s
speech IN the senate this morning on
the report Of the foreign relations com
m ittna was one of the nvantc in Tho
history Of congress. 1t was fire of
words, q whirlwind of passionate elo-
quence, volley of tremendous logic,
and, withal, from start to finish, a
masterpiece of rhetorical phrasing.
Mr.. Foraker easily proved himself the
equal Of any man in that great assem-
blage in the arts Of public speaking.