El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-26

gdnCe, ana newspaper Zip
pings-MaCrum's AWe.Inspir-
ing Silence Breaks Like Fire
Cracker That Don't Crack
The Hay Treaty-Some Other
Things.
Special Correspondence of the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1S.-Washing-
ton is having its annual big storm and
snow and slush are scattered around
with a 1avishness which seems waste
full prodigality to the Ell Paso eye.
There is enough CONCEALED water in
the district of Colum bia to make q real
respectable above ground river of the
Rio Grande. The local at rect railways
which are all underground trolleys"
are tied up about fifty per cent of the
time and Mrs. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES is
having her troubles keeping warm the
second story front, which time out of
mind has been a congressional pre-
rogative. The star boarder is q senator
if possible, representative otherwise,
but slways congressman and he lives
up to his part, accepting no meteorolo-
gic excuses for cold quarters.
At the capitol senator leads q life
of idyllic comfort, with free Apollinaris
water, baths, shaves and quinine pills,
and he doesn't care to break the uni
formity of it when he gets home.
Uncle Sam doesn't pamper repres-
entative so much, but his life is not
one of rugged discomfort. Wherefore
in Washington domiciles the second
of US the skim milk, metaphorically
and actually. our discomfort being
soothed by occasional reminders that
what is good enough for Mr.. Con-
gresham should do for plebeiaus. 1t
would be if we got it. but we don't
though few of US have the temerity to
point out the faultiness of her logic to
Mrs. Boardinghousekeepe 1t is bet
ter to keep the good we have than to
ay to the unknown evils in stock for
the recalcitrant. Moreover, the con-
gresham is joy to behold in himself,
being clad as the Apollo Belvedere and
in-all-his-glory never were.
At least 1 don't remember seeing
portraits of either chastely sttired In a
how, it is always we'll to stand in with
aforesaid star bosrder since tim 2
comes in all mems affairs when a
'spull'' is good thing.
The house is having the annual |
wrestling match with the civil service |
laws. Once year the subject comes
up and fervid oratory results. Then |
somebody succeeds in having the clause |
providing for paying salaries to the |
civil service commission cut out. This |
affords qualification to hungry consti- |
tuents who argue that the commission !
ers won't serve if they get no salary
which seems lcgical erough-and is |
therefore taken as an evidence OF good |
faith. After awhile the senate re-
stores the appropriation and the house |
agrees thereto, leaving things pretty |
much as they were. It is a pleasant
round game and nobody bothers about |
it, least of all the civil service COM mis- |
sioners. This year there has been a |
variation introduced and the restora-
tior has been done in the house.
Another pro forma piece of legisla-
ton is to have the house denounce
governmental waste and extravaganza
and cut the appropriations for the de-
partments to q fraction. This is her,
aided abroad over the face of the land.
Then q month or two later when the
senate gets the bill the appropriations
are restored to the usual figure, the
bill goes to conference and the house
agrees. And nobody says boo.
There is custom in the senate of
having the clerk read newspaper clip
pings which senators think germane to
their spe eches. Last week Vest was
talking and sent up to the desk bit
of printed matter for reading. TIE
clerk took it, adjusted his glasses and
began to read in his sOnorous, metallic
voice: Unprecedented slaughter in
hosiery. Prices cut to half their value,
Ladies' lingerie on xhib!tion-"rhen
Vest flushed and popped up out of his
seat with: 1.-THE other side, Mr.. Clerk:
the other side.'' The clerk was reading
the wrong side OF the clipping.
Mr.. Macrum has been talking and the
result has not been satisfactory to him.
He Illuminated tremendous charges
which upon analysis proved to be 90
per cent nonsense with q residuum of