The evening times., 1899-06-24
A Pathetic Case.

| There is a Texas gentleman who comes to
this town and writes for the papers. and
he appears to be very sorry for himself
For some reason or other he has been
Obliged to stay here after Congress ad-
journed, and he has relieved his feelings
by telling his friends at home, through
| the medium of his paper. just what he
thinks Of the city. It may be, Of course.
that he is homesick for his friends who
have departed. or there may be some priv
ate reason for his woe, but this is his
opinion of us:
This city is sui generis; there Is not another
like it on the face OF the Garth. 1t never
feels the hard times that felt in other cities.
Hence it is always cynical when il hears of the
sufIerincs Of the poor. 1t has done
anything for itself. and never will The sum
total Of its enterprise is confined to getting up
pence jubilees and the Inauguration festival every
four years and trying TO rob the "come-ons" "
The population is made up OF ''nggers, -
boarding house keepers real estate sharks, graft
ers, and insoient ot.icislism. When 4
man has spent four years in Government office
I've Is unhttel To earn living at anything else.
IL pleasss him better to lie down in the middle
Of the road and starye to death, and ii whole
lot of them would take a notion 10 do 80 it
would nightly please many OF their acqulint-
ancrs and the country at large. IL is
worth 4 good salary TO have TO come up here to
live with these people. especially during the dog
days. They have no Congress TO pluck, and they
are too well acquainted with each other TO try
to steal from one another. And during the long,
hot days, when the asphalt melts and runs down
Capitol Hill. IL il almost worth a mans life to
speak TO one o; the natives. No wonder
paper men come here from out OF the free, glad
big-hearted West. and are driven 10 the wine-cup
for solacc and comfort and all-forgetfulnesz.
There iS of co1u,up
more of this. but there is no need of quot
ing it all. The paragraphs above cited
will show how badly this gentleman feels
and how much he needs the solace of some
honest, tender sympathy. 1t is sad to see
fellow-creatire In a state Of such abject,
out -and-out. wsiling misery, and so far
away from home 1t would be easier to re-
lieve his distress. however, if one could
discover its immediate cause.
The last sentence may possibly furnish
clew. The comfort and forgetfulness of
the wine cup are apt to turn to other
things next morning. and make man feel
like abusing his fellow creatures. but few
men have the opportunity to do SO in
print. When the college boy feels that
way he occasionally unburdsns his un-
happy soul to his sister, or his mother, or
somebody else at home, but so far as can
be discovered. this Texas correspondent is
the first TO relieve his depression by a let
ter to his paper.
But whatever the cause may be, it is
wretched state of affairs, and somebody
ought to investigate it, and try to make
the unfortunate man feel more at home.
II is terrible to think OF a fellow creature
going around in this peaceful beautiful
city with the feeling that there is ban
dit concealed in every alley. and a man
with a slungshot in every park, waiting to
rob him of his hard-earned money just be-
cause he is a stranger. When. in addition
he has to step over Government clerks ly-
ing down to starve in the middle of the
melting alphabetically the picture is too
pathetic for words. He seems to be yearn-
ing for the sight of big manufactory or
a cotton warehouse, and there is nothing
of the kind to be found in Washington
nothing but Capitols and Patent Offices
and private residences and so on. Not one
factory chimney sends forth its artistic
column of smoke into the blue. But it is
hard to see what is to be done about 1t.
The best plan at present conceivable seems
to be to give publicity to this strangers
so that he may be looked |
after by persons philanthropically inclined. |