Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-04

CROWDS we get In washington are all alike
in one respect, and that is in their never
ending criticism of our ''slowness." They
stand gloomily in front of their hotels,
many OF them, and comment in heart
unspeakable .'jayness'' of Washington
whereof they appear able to see evidences
all around them. To listen to the plants
or the racing men, 1t would seem that there
Is absolutely .nothin dom " in Washing
ton after night. sable goddess. stretches
forth her leaden scepter in this direction
and the signs which the racing men emit
over this sad condition of things are really
enough to make a Washingtonian feel quite
low in his mind The racing men who
come here from New York maintain with
all solemnity that there is only one method
by which q man who is compelled to spend
a whole night In Washington may prevent
himself from going stark, staving, staring
mad. and that Is to become helplessly in
toxicated. and thus forget the pitiful Jay
ness of the capital (Which many of them
forthwith do; and they make this assevera-
ton right in the teeth of the fact that lots
and lots OF Washington men-nen who
have spent quite lengthy periods in New
York, Paris, San Francisco-flnd 1t entirely
possible to seek their touches every night
in condition of virtuous and obvious So
briefly.
To Catch Late Stayers.
All the while, as the early hours of night
wear on, those genial vultures, the night
liners, bide their time with patience Once
In while one of them will draw along the
curb where walks a young man who seems
a trifle unsteady in his gait. and fiatter him
by inquiring If he want ride. Cap" 1t
is an unctuous way the night liner has of
upbuilding the self-respect of chap who
has solitary nickel left for car fare. OF
night registering there is in truth, not so
much on the surface in Washington as
there Is in many other cities-yet there Is
some. The bullock-lunged man Inevitable
as taxes), who thinks Bryan or Mckinley,
as the case may be- the greatest human
being that ever came over the hills, and
who hesitateh not to give voice unto his
opinion, is generally to be heard somewhere
along the broad reach of the avenue by the
time the theaters have closed their doors.
The lad who fancies he is a real blade,
and who loudly resists the earnest solicita-
tions of his companions to go home, Is to
be seen In numbers as the hour for the clos
ing of the brightly Illuminated screened
caravansaries draws nigh. The colored
brethren who purvey dishes o raw from
little wagons begin to catch the trade of
men flockirg from the aforementioned cara
vansaries, and the roasted chestnut dealers
wagons move along with many mandatory
haitings from curb customers. The dumb
white man who sells ears of hot corn from
a big boiler is hailed all along the line. and
it Is plain to be seen that the late stayers
are appeasing their appettes for eatables
served in the open air before going home.
The crafty black lads who, eight hours
after The Star has been issued from the
presses, have dreary tale to unfold Of
hard luck in the purveying Of the same.
row steal forth from the side streets and
tackle carefully selected victims, from
fl ON they generally receive Iargesse with
out being required to give in return the
hard-luck papers-which by the way, in
such instances, are generally found upon
examination to be some several days of
age.
The nocturnal hoboes, with shoulders
hunched forward and hands dug deep in
trousers pockets begin 10 stink from the
side Streets-like SO many wretched prowl-
ing brutes of the forest that do their forag-
ing by starlight-and light upon the belated
men for bunk money" 1t seems to be
within the facts to state that this particular
class of hOboeS gain more silver, al smaller
risk, than the ca5taWays who do their
tackling in daylight-for the man of late
hours who has even the hooking liquid
warmth beneath his belt and is about ready
to repair to a comfortable room with
bed In it is much more liable to respond to
appeals of such a sort than the hurried
| man who is "braced' amid the turmoil of
the midday.
HOmeward Bound.
All of which may probably lead up to the
last car home. On all of the lines in this
town there is always a swoop for the last
car home, for the last green and the last
yellow car on the avenue particularly. And
strangely enough, the human cargo of those
last t"o cars every DlSHt-lHOFDlIlS. TalflGT
seems ever the same. There is always
for example, in one corner of the closed
car young colored couple of the extreme
cake-WaIk variety, who seem to be re-
turning from parlor social where refresh
ments have been served, and whose ''hi-yi''
laughter is incessant from hag-fall to fin
ish. The terms of affection which the AXE
walk youth hestows upon the cake-walk
maiden seem to arouse the intensest sense
of the ridiculous in the bosom of the lat
ter. and she simply has to lean over and
hold her sides in her understandable glee
This starts the youth, and he in turn begins
to rock with merriment. Then the solemn
black youth who usually sits across the
way with banjo on his knees-also, ap-
parentiy, repairing homeward from a par
lOr social-begins to chuckle in sympathy,
and finally the whole closed car load of
belated folks are rocking, except the surly
man who pulls his hat down over his eyes
in a corner of the car and goes to sleep.
The three fat men who have been cele-
brating birthday of one or the other are
generally to be found in the last car-more
properly, one of the two cars of the last
train-and they poke each other in the ribs
with fat thumbs and wink and then break
into terrific laughter upon the slightest
provocation. The worried-looking man
whose evening down town has projected no
joy into his bosom, but has simply made
him pallfd and unsteady on his feet, twists
his mustache nervously, and 1t is plain to
be seen that he Is studying over an accept
bosom in explanation of his condition. The
demure young woman cashier of the late
closing drug store never removes her eyes
from her copy of some great work by
Bertha NJ. Clay or Laura Jean Libbey. The
three rather tred-looking newspaper men
in the front seat of the trailer follow the
peculiar habit of newspaper men and read
neWspapers-their pockets are stuffed with
them-until they get off. The long-haired
youth on the trailers rear seat, with the
mandolin case resting beside him. looks
solemn, BELTS a great musical genius
The roliclting Irish maid servant out with
the roliiching Irish footman jollies him over
everything he says, until he folds up In
dignified silence. The three belated must
clans of the colored band, gorgeous in their
giit-embroidered uniforms, hum snatches
of melody, with their heads thrown back
and their eyes fixed dreamiIy. The two
Well-dressed ACKNOWLEDGMENT, more's the
righteousness of it-who are at that stage
where they find it necessary to convey unto
each other renewed assurances of their
distinguished consideration, not to say
their lifelong, bubbling affection shake
hands with each other many times and are
blissfully unaware of their obvious soggi-
ness.
And. besides those who catch the last
car home there are others who walk