The San Francisco call., 1899-01-25
How Works Monkeyed With the Artistic
BuZZSaW
Loud Mr.. ShOrtridge and His Noisy Attire Have
Not Yet Attracted Sufficient Attention.
So He Will Give Some Verbal
COIOring to the Session.
BY HENRY JAMES.

ing over everything in sight, including
perhaps even Speaker Wright.
This leads naturally to consideration
of Wright l cannot but feel sorry for
the man, as for the under dog In the
fight He is utterly discredtted in the
eyes of the public. He is looked upon
as q man who sold himself and repudi
ated the sale. Since he did this many
gfacts have been brought to light con-
cerning him and they all seem to be
TO his deeper disgrace. At times he
puts up a bold 'front.' but for the most
part he cringes His voice has lost it's
former ring, his attitude its air of con-
fidence. When a member shakes his
hand he accepts the act as a favor.
lie is relying upon the committee Of
investigation, but no committee can
save him. If he has to be included in
the whitewash bath, which l predict is
in preparation, he will loom up through
the flood of handmade purity like
lighthouse in a fog, but with the light
eXtinguiShed.
The loudest thing in this city is Sen
ator Shortridge. aided by his vest and
abetted by his necktie. The vest is an
olive-green creation, double breasted
and with rows of buttons like the
agates with which in the days of youth
l played for keeps" The tie is white
and pink, cleaning with jewels AT
first it fooled the fire department-bu
is now recognized as false alarm.
The Senator adorns his rotund form
with a coat collared with imported fur,
and he cOnsults the weather indications
to ascertain whether or not to surmount
his beauty with a silken tile If the
signs are unprOpitious he uses the SOM
brero already known to fame.
But it is in the halls of legislation
seldom equaled, and never eclipsed. He
is a word artist. At his right hand is
a dictionary, at his left a thesaurus.
He has not yet charmed the ear
markedly but his bosom swells with
ambition and on his bulging brow is
the luster of thoughts serene and origi-
nal Shortridge will be heard from
yet; there is no help for it. He is
loaded and at any moment the pyro-
technics may be touched off
Among the developments of the situ-
alton has been the salivary ejaculation
of Major Mclaughlin. He tried to douse
the optical glim of GOucher. Or, to
be plain almost to the point of Vul-
garity, he spat into Goucher's eye. 1t
is not my pleasure to know Goucher,
but l know the major as a gentleman,
whose treatment of newspaper repre-
is ever courteous. Neverthe-
less, this thing of splitting is reprehen-
sible. To spit on the pavement is in
terdicted and to spit in the face of a
human being, made in the image of
God, is infinitely worse. l can think of
no excuse in any measure justYfying it,
and as splitter would regard the act
as capital offense, and myself the
eXecutioner appointed of Heaven and
ready to hang for it. Goucher may be
a person of gentle nature. However,
if he thinks the matter over and con-
cludes to resent it he cannot do better
than get me on the jury.
Lobbyists are beginning to get thick.
Among them are SO many preachers
that to discuss the morality of the gen
eral scheme of lobbying is out of the
question. 1t must be right or they
would not be here. The preachers are
interested in a plan to exempt from
taxation all church property | do not
see any reason why this should be done.
but there may be reasons without num-
Der. Certainly there are plenty of ad-
vocates on hand to present all there
are, for six ministers, none of them
belonging to Sacramento, were OBJ
served to-day with their eyes toward
the sky but their fingers hooked in but
tonholes of six suffering Legislators.