Evening star., 1900-06-02

ard under the eagle eye of a Capitol po-
llceman. the equipdge stands each day un-
ii! adjournment time. In the cool of the
evening the senator frequently shares his
seat with a friend and takes to some subur-
ban driveway. Senator Wetmore of Rhode
Island is also fond of the electric steed but
not 50 much his son. who this sum-
mer will be one of the master mobile. drivers
al Newport. Chauncey Dcpcw is about the
only other senator who thus far has been
discovered in the enjoyment of one of the
ncw automatic vehicles: hut as yet his cup
% happiness remains so brim full that lie
cannot hope to add another drop. even by
acquisition of this sort of jolly plaything.
In House circles only Mr.. Richardson, the
democratic leader and Mr.. Sibley of Penn
sylvania have gone even so far as to ex-
pertinent with the mobile. In civilian cir
cles Mr.. John r. Mclean uses perhaps the
most gorgeous rig. He leases a large elec-
tric victoria and the services of a liver
led driver. Mr.. Mclean, yet. has not
SIDES. ii would not be quite the dignitied
thing for him TO do so. inaSmuch as its
operating equipment must be manipulated
from lofty coaehman's box in the rear.
President Prefers the Horse.
The chances for installing an automobile
in the White House stables, so long Mr..
Mckinley remains an incumbent of the
presidency. will be very slim. Not long ago
the agent for Il thriving company offered
the Chief Executive gratuitous use of any
style of automobile which he might select
for as long as he might reside in the Ex-
ecutive Mansion. Mr.. Mckinley gracefully
declined with the promise that he would,
so long as he lived. remain loyal patron
of the faithful horse.
NcNertheless it is a safe prophecy that
before the end Of another administration
the automobile will have replaced good
proportion Of the equipages with which
Uncle Sam now furnishes his oi-
..f IL.
Each cabinet officer. each bureau chief and
each assistant secretary now enjoys free
use Of a substantial equipage or two, the
cabinet officers beng allowed two-horse
vehicles Automobiles need not grow
much more reasonable in price to fall below
the cost OF these equine teams. While
Washington is the model town for the
auto" il is about The most unSparing of
all great cities on horSehesh. Four years
will suffice To spoil the feet of any high
bred horse subjected to the hard asphalt,
rcd hot in summer and slippery in cold or
rt.ny weather The librarian Of Congress
Mr.. Putnam has been seriously considering
whether an automobile. for his official
nses. would not be cheaper in the long run
thar a horse and carriage Already the au-
topohile is replacing the horse a. fort
Myer. General Miles himself has been
testing the merits of the various horseles;
day he and ex-Secretary John Sherman
were out for an auto spin together.
Auto Trainer of DIPLOMATS,
A day or two ago l had chat with the
man who makes a speciality of breaking
In nov,ces of the automobility. He
has been the trainer of many dip!o-
mats and high officials who have lately
taken to the new steed. Before coming
here he Piled his trade in New York, Chica-
go and other cities. What he doesn't know
about the ups and downs of the amateur
AJitDmOblSt knowing. ND
this is what he said:
"How long does it take to break in a be-
ginner? We'll. friend, that depends on how
thick he is above the neck. 1 spent twenty
days with one chap. and he was as dumb
at the end OF that time as when he started
in. Then there are others who can learn
in two or three days. These foreign diplo-
mats here quick learners. and l like
to teach them. but. say, maybe 1 haven't
had some lively times with some of them.
There was a young duck over here at
one of the legations who thought he learned
II all in one day. l sent one of our drivers
out to give him his second lesson. but he
made the fiunkey give up his running plug
and sent him back to the stables. Then he
piled In another sporty chap and they
weighed anchor and sailed off. They got
along all right until they had a lodging
match with bicycle. They just scraped
by 1t safe enough to biff into a tree and
rear up their old machine until her front
wheels hugged 1t Ike bear. The two of
them turned back flip-fiop oIt into The
street, and the friend who was with the
diplomat chap busted three or four arms.
When the machine came a-crawling back
to the stables it looked in the distance like
Daschshund. You know how the forelegs
of those dogs bend? Well, there was the
same slope to the front wheels of the for
eIRners machine
''Then l had another young diplomat out.
and 1t took me about three days to teach