Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1899-03-02
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Over u Volcano-From Mimic to
Real Stage.
SPECIAL Correspondence.l

Especial Correspondence
A congressman mail contains some
of the strongest demands that could
possibly be conceived by rural constitu-
ents A member from Tennessee has re
ceived few during the present session
that are worthy of gilt frames. OF
course, every voter wants his packages
of seed, and if the congressman clerk
should inadvertently send one package
of blue grass that was not included in
the allowances made to other voters the
next mail would be swelled by flood
of protests from every neglected voter in
the district
'Ivoted for you just the same as Jim
Smith, and he got four packages OF seed
and / only got three, wrote kicker
who cut his complaint short with the
declaration that he would never vote
for that member again in thousand
years Another seed struck constituent
asks for package of Mardi Gras seed,
of which he has heard much, and which
he believes grows in New Orleans. An
other request from mountaineer says:
'My gal Sue is going to be married
next month. Please send her a silver
ring, and have it marked, From Pa to
Darling Another constituent asks
for two gallons of good whisky, but
this favorite beverage is requested 10y
many writer's of queer letters. OF course
those who have voted for the congress
man all their lives, and would like to
borrow little money on the strength
of it, are many but all of these unrea-
sonable requests are consigned TO the
wastebasket, and the writers probably
believe that their representative is too
busy making speeches to answer them
and by next election forget all about
their grievances.
Dancing over a Volcano.
The German embassy ball was
really brilliant affair and was considere'.
in some respects the great fete of the
season. If champagne did not flow like
water-in contradistinction to the bon
mot, apIopos of temperance party, of
"waterlike champagne there was, at
all events, as much of the sparkling
beverage as could possibly be desired,
and the display of beauty in the cotillon
was perhaps more remarkable than has
been apparent this season. The eyes of
those present were, however fixed upon
neither the pretty girls nor the glitter
ing and bubbling wineglass, but rather
upon General Miles and Secretary AL
ger, under the same roof.
1t is not quite clear what was expect
ed to happen, but, whatever it may
have been, it did not occur The differ
ence between a New York and Wash
ington ballroom lies in the fact that in
the former the world watches the di-
vorced couples dancing in the same set,
and wonders what next, whereas at the
capital it is the great men at odds who
are the target of all eyes The sensation
of cotillon-interrupted by supper
under such circumstances is that of
dancing over volcano. But the vol
cano did not erupt, at least not that
evening
From the Mimic to the Real Stage.
A very interesting character in the
next house will be Hon. julius Kahn Of
San Francisco. The new congressman
has pleasing personality. He Is OF
stocky build, has good humored face,
regular features, pair of fine brown
eyes, and an abundance of curly hair
that is tinged with gray, though Mr..
Kahn hardly looks his seven and thirty
years II think, said he in an inter
view, "that l shall enjoy the life of a
representative, having had some expert
ence in the lawmaking business at
Sacramento. / am fond of Washington
anyway, for in my old days on the stage /
often appeared before the cultured audi
ences of this city. Oh, yes, was Thes-
plan all through the eighties, and was
with Joseph Jefferson and Mr.. and Mrs.
Florence in their palmiest times. If
any other actors have left the footlights
for the more prosaic stage of the house
Of representatives besides the lamented
Judge Crisp and myself l am not aware
Of it. Certainly the career of the noble
Georgian proves that theatrical man
may become useful in a more serious
role
A Capital Crime.
There is a congressman in this town
in fact, there are great many con-
gressmen in this town, with rousing
big families to support in some sort Of
style-who cannot afford to keep car
riage. This particular congressman is a
brand new member and lives in the
ultra west end.
"Say," he said to the correspondent
the other morning as he squeezed along
into the corner of down town trolley
in order to make room for couple of
shopgirls, "what / want to know is,
Who laid out Washington anyhowf
l. Enfant? Well, what on earth made
him put the capitol away over in one
corner on top of a steep and slippery
hill, stick the fashionable neighborhood
for Uncle Sam $ schoolboys about three
miles cater cornered, and then set the
trolleys running along together like the
Siamese twinsH It's a capital crime
That's what "