Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-20
THE BLESSED RAIN
Washington Awoke Today Refreshed
and Refrigerated.
HENCE TODAY'S HEAT Is BEARABLE
Reminder of a Shower That Was
Prayed for in Georgia.
THE COAT-OFF CRUSADE

/
| Rumor hath it that the weather bureau
men INDUCED in cake walk last night.
They had been suffering the sings and
| arrows IF the entire populations taunts
leveled at them with vicious precision be-
cause their diurnal promises of local rains
/ had not materialized single drops worth.
| But last night their representations were
more than fulfilled. and when they realized
| that a whole cityful was rising up and
! taking it all back and showering blessings
! on their heads heavily as the clouds
poured down their material blessings from
above, they had a cake walk and they de-
served it. The details of the performance
are not known, but if Acting Chief Will
Jams would issue a descriptive bulletin
on the subject the probabilities are strong
| that every paper in Washington would
! double lead it and give it equal promf~
nence with the news from China. Every
! body breathed anew after that rain began
| to tumble down in such delightful profu-
sion. The cutters sang glees and the sew
| ers joined in symphonies. Animate and
inanimate nature was refreshed and re-
invigorated. Even the mortals who got
soaked by scorning the promises herein
before alluded to and who sailed forth to
the outing places regardless. suffered their
temporary discontinue philosophically If
not entirely thankfully.
Ii was a rain as was q rain. There was
an exasperatIng drizzle about it. The pre-
liminary thunder notes that announced its
approach vehemently declared that their
clouds were copiou-s in moist contents and
those tones bore fruitful truth
Rain a Preacher Once Brought.
Coming as it did, after spell of such
horror in the way of heat and drouth, it
reminded a local celebrity in the story tell
ing line of an anecdote:
That rain reminded me of an incident
which some Georgia friends of mine vouch
for Last nights rain was not circum-
stance to the one I'm going to tell about,
but it serves as a starter, all the same.
There had been a long rainless spell
down in the watermelon state and every
thing was drying up rom creeks 10 cotton.
The whole OF nature was as crisp as a
pancake and the future looked blank in
deed. There was a Baptist preacher in
this drouth-ridden ncighbcrhood by the
name of Elijah Moses Scaggs He was
noted for his eminence as an exhorter and
was regarded as the most powerful prayer
offerer in the whole country. Consequently
it was but natural that the simple agricul-
turists should turn ct last to Scaggs. Hard
Shell and Soft Shell Baptists, all denomi-
nationel folks In the neighborhood, In a
word pleaded with Mr.. Scaggs to pray for
rain as he never prayed before, and Rev.
SCdgSS dcluitSCeu
An Earnest ExhortatiOn.
HE lifted his mighty voice and poured
forth his plea in thunderous tones.
"'Oh. Lord he pleaded, send us rain.
Your people parching in the marrow
of their bones; their souls are getting dry
as the sands of the Sahara. The crops are
being cooked they grow and the cattle
are shrinking until their hides rattle over
their bones. Send ram. Send us a
rain. We don't want no drizZle We don't
want no May shower. Send US, oh. Lord.
gully filler, a stump mover, crick raiser
Amen
That was the way he ended it up That
very night rain encompassed the neigh
borhood which enVironed Mr.. Scaggs- II
exceeded even that pious preachers wishes.
1t not only filled gullles and moved stumps,
but il raised creeks SO that they overlooked
their banks and washed out the crops and
drowned hogs and cattle by the hundred.
Next day a committee of sorrowful but
determined citizens called upon Rev. Elijah
Moses Scaggs and invited him to find an
other field
Another pra'r like thet,' said the chair
man, an they wuddent be nawthin' lef' in
this hyar pot ov Georgy.
And Mr.. Scaggs went.
The Coat-On Crusade.
The rain last night didn't put much of q
damper on the take-off-your-coat discus
sion, and neither did it cause the sun to re-
treat in any decided way from its day
light assaults today. There was one class
of disputants on the coat question which
particularly peppery. This is com
posed of those lady clerks in the depart
ments who wear shirt waists themselves
despite the fact that many Of them are
far beyond the eddy age when shirt waists
fascinate rather than repel, and who de-
clare it is perfectly cdious for a man to
even remove his coat while working In the
same room with them. The idea of a
movement in favor of men leaving off their
coats in the street was repulsIve, and they
made up their minds to be more eager here
after than ever before, if possible, in run
ming and reporting to their chiefs every
time their male fellow clerks seek comfort
by shucking their coats
Pretty Torrid Today.
The thermometer bulbs that were exposed
to that rain had at least bath last night
but the mercury didn't show any very ma
reriaI signs of getting down TO a temperate
mark on account of it. AS long as it con-
fines itself to the minor eighties Washing
ton can get along very well, despite the re-
fiect+d heat Of asphalt and grauolithic, but
when il Is from ~ up existence ceases to
be Ceylonlc in pleasing prospects and other
things besides man are pretty apt to be
vile
The weather bureau mercury today
reached ~ AT pm. rise of four degrees
from the noon hour. The standard Their
mometer at Affiecks drug store. which de-
notes the temperature that people feel who
stop in shaded dnorways to cool off, reg
istered M at Il O'Clock an advance of seven
degrees since am. and at pm. had
mounted to 81
Overcome by Heat.
Nora ASin. colored. was overcome by the
heat about o'clock yesterday afternoon,
while working at 1899 T street northwest.
She removed to her home. No 1910 V
street, in the patrol wagon.
JAMES MONTGOMERY DEAD.
Came Here When FOrney Started the