The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-16
5 Chat Of the Capital.
In nc
Washington Gossip, Political and
I Otherwise, for the Readers
( &c o! the Globe.


WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 15.-(Spe-
cial.) -Congressma John Allen, of Mis-
sissippi, who has gained reputation dur
ing his long service in the house OF rep
resentatives as aehumorist, Is now giving
his friends the contents of a letter re-
Gently received bythim from an even half
dozen of his constituents. Mr.. Allen rep
resents what is known as the mountain
district of Mississippi. and many of these
mountainers do not consider that the gov
eminent has any right to prevent them
from converting their corn into whisky
A considerable percentage Of the resi-
dents Of these mountains earn livelihood
in the distilling of liquor" moonshtne"
whisky, more generally called Represen-
tat1Ve Allen, who when in Washington af-
fects a silk hat, sack coat and trousers
always badly sprung at the knees, sew
eral days ago received q letter signed by
half dozen of his "moonshine' con-
st1tuents, all being over seventy years of
age, in which they say:
We have lived peacefully in these noun
tains all our lives. 1t is very necessary
In order to sustain life that we should
make our own whisky. Recently we have
who have been infesting our neighbor-
hood and Fostering about. These revenue
agents are sight worse than Yankee
soldlers were during the war. Now John,
Fostering revenue men we will be forced
TO go against you at the polls next time.
The house In which Abraham Lincoln
died the morning after being carried there
from Ford's theater, where he was shot
by John Wilkes Booth, located at No.
ol6 Tenth street, between and 3 streets
northwest, has been put in frst-class re-
pair. The work Of overhauling was con-
Quoted under the supervision Of Col. The
,odore Bingham, The superintendent of
public buildings and grounds. The last
congress appropriated 1888 for the pur-
pose, and all of it was used in carrying
out the proposed alterations. The build
ing was thoroughly overhauled and plac-
ed in good condition. Two or three rooms
were not touched. The room in which
Lincoln died, on the first floor at the end
OF the hall, was not changed in any way.
The entire building, with the exception Of
the rooms mentioned, was newly paper
ed and painted, and the floors repaired
where necessary The most extensive al
terations were made in the basement,
where, owing to dampness, the floors and
supporting timbers had become decayed.
The old joists have been torn out and
new ones put in their place, and new
floors were laid. In the rear room of the
main building, In the basement, a new
steam heating apparatus was Installed,
and radiators placed in all parts of the
house. In the extreme rear of the build
ing, facing the alley between Tenth and
Eleventh streets, a new brick addition
has been constructed. The ground floor
of this will be used for storing coal and
the upper floor for exhibiting relics for
which there is no room in the front por-
ton Of the house. A course Of slate has
been placed around the walls of the build
ing beneath the ground, In order to keep
the water and dampness from coming
through and fnjuring the floors and wood
work of the interior. The yard in the
rear has been paved with cement. The
old plumbing was also torn out and re-
placed with modern fixtures. Many Of
the old window sills had become decayed,
and these were removed. Galvanized iron
window caps were placed over all the Will
dows in order to prevent as much as
possible the rotting away of the timbers
In the castings.
It was the desire Of the authorities to
make all the necessary repairs, and at
the same time change the structure as
little as possible. The repairs made are
of such a character that it is hoped moth
ing more will have to be done to the
building for years to come. AS far as
possible no radical changes in the char
acter of the structure were made
The house is one Of the principal p aces
of interest to tourists who visit the city,
and thousands go there and pass through
it every year. In it is a collection of rel
les of the incidents with which Abraham
Lincoln was connected, which is the most
valuable in existence.
j. S. Van Antwerp.