The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-23

Reimbursement Fa."rita itesort I
for Republican Party LeaGers-An .
Incident of the Draft Riots. .
NEW YORK. July 22-Thc fao, that the
lease of the Fifth Avenue Lote. property
will expire three years hence. coupled
with the talk of the erection of sky
scraping office building upon The site, has
stirred w a wealth of Renaissance clus-
tefng about the famous hosiery. This
gossip is the more interesting, occurring
as it does during Presidential campaign
because of the political character Of so
much of it.
/ When the old Boston and BloominsdaIe
/ roads used to cross at the present inter
/ section Of Broadway and Fifth Avenue
! America's most crowded corner, Corporal
, Thompson's modest tavern, Madison Cot
/ tage." stood where the marble hotel stands
today. and the sEyscraper Will tower TO-
| morrow. The Dotters' field had preceded
the roadhouse, which was succeeded by
Franconi's Imperial Hippodrome,' the
first circus tat ever came to this city.
Amos Emo built the Fifth Avenue between
1856 and 1853 for about I.oC0,CG0
one of his heirs bid it in at auction the
other day for 100000.
The hots's old registers read like the
index to a biographical dictionary. The
Prince of Wales was one OF the first and
most illustrious guests. He was nineteen
years old when he arrived in 1860, accom-
panied by the Duke of Newcastle and 9TH
ers. His rooms were Nos. 81 and SS, on
the rarlor floor. The Scots settled in the
city serenaded him with fifty bagpipes.
Departing the prince left $500 for those
who lad served him.
The princes brother-in-law, the Marquis
| OF Lorne, was at the hotel later. as w
YtIrbide. of Mexico, Maximilian's adopted
! son. and one week, as a wag put II. TOUR
princes were here: Kamatsu, OF Japan
! Alsagof. of Singapore; Prince Napoleon, OF
| France and Mr. Prince, OF Boston, en- his
wedding trip. Dom Pedro and the Empress
| of Brazil held court here. Among Mem
| beers of Parliament, whose signatures are
| preserved, may be mentioned Parne l,
| BradIaugh. and Chamberlain. Boalange-
IVES here with delegation of compatrioJs,
and another of Germans at the yorktown
centennial celebration. Il would rather be
a transient in the house of Hitchcock and
Darling than dwell in any other house for
ever" a veteran tourist wrote home; and
another. You may live here in a palace for
a guinea a day. While S. daily is the min
imum rate on the American plan, 1t IS b.
no means the limit. Il cost rich retired
Californian named Dean, with his family
and servants. $50 a day on the average dur-
ing many years, and one New Yorker paid
$7GO, 600 in a quarter Of a century
The white House of Madison square.
The Fifth Avenue was opened almost
simultaneously with the first success Of the
Republican party 1t became their unofficial
h-a iquarters. and this, with its dazzling ap-
pearance not yet turned grey by smoke
and storms, caused it to be dubbed The
White House of Madison Square Every
President OF the United States from Lin
coin to Mckinley has been registered here,
| also every Vice President, and nearly
every member Of the Presidential and
Vice Presidential families. with most OF
the unsuccessful candidates for these Of
fees Lincoln went from the Fifth Ave-
nue. to Cooper Union to make his great
speech there and like most of his success
sors reviewed parades from the balcony
over the hotels main entrance. The most
cherished relic OF the establishment is
| what is believed &c be the last paper
signed by him-a pass for Mr.. Darling
through the lines TO Mobile.
| General Grants first Presidential boom
was started at a dinner a the Peabody
! FUND trustees IT lllt mn AFtlNG IA
I 1861 His successor, Hayes. used to at
tend these dinners, but was not at this
! one There were present Admiral Farra-
gut. John Jacob Astor, George Bancroft,
William NJ. Evarts and Thurlow Weed.
Grant always had rooms SO and Al. on the
Twenty fourth Street side. He and his
Cabinet once held an official session in the
hotel. Garfield and Cleveland had their
first receptions here, and here Arthur re-
ceiyed the first Korean Ambassadors. 1t
was Blaines stopping place. too, and the
/ scene Of the BurchaTi incident During
/ the campaign OF 1884 a committee Of cler-
gymen called upon the Republican Candi-
date to pledge their support. their spokes-
man being the aged DR.. Burchard whose
| address contained this sentence: We are
Republicans and don't propose TO leave our
party TO identify ourselves with party
/ whose antecedents are rum. Romanism.
] and rebellion" Mr.. Blaine failed to pro-
| test against the unlucky ALTERATION at the
| time, and no other occasion offered, the
| election was at hand.
FavorItc Abode of Republicans.
| ConkIing used to live here, and Plat
does still, his rooms being at the Twenty
| fourth Street corner. i police guard was
| put over Conkllng after the assassination
| of Garfield for fear mob might attack
4
| President. John F. Smyth, long a Repub-
I. lican leader in the Hudson Valley, used TO
l tell how he was at a Chicago hotel when
l he received from Conkling a telegram
! reading. Meet me Monday" which he
showed to a friend. who remarked: He
says nothing about the place and may
be coming here" II you want Republi-
can" replied Smyth, you'd know that
Meet me Monday means to meet the
: Senator that day at the Fifth Avenue Ho-
! tel
| The Fifth Avenue has long been the
| headquarters Of the Republican State Com
/ mittee Parlor d X is 4 room in which his
Il tory has been made. A notable nook Ia
| Amen Corner" which is really two cor
! ners near the end Of the main corridor,
| where short settees, covered with blue
! plush, are set at right angles. Here Grant
| Arthur. and others used to sit and smoke
- and 1t was and is a Mecca for reporters
= 1t is not generally known that the Grst
q passenger elevator in the world moved
| majestically up and down in this house
and in the old shaft plate to commemo.
rate it may be seen by the curious.
l General Sherman lived here two year!
/ after he moved from St Louis, and hi
brother. the Senator and Secretary. ha
| often registered. The general had room