The evening times., 1901-05-21
LIVE TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.

even though the halls Of the Capi-
to- are empty. and there are no
familiar faces to greet him. Every
day he mounts slowly the long flight
Of steps at the east front and shambIes
into the building He goes to the Senate
corridor, and takes his place in an al
cove, where the light is strongest UGbut-
toning the faded froca coat that hangs
like a bag punched and creased around
his stopped shoulders he takes from an
inside pocket bundle Of papers. Dirty,
yellow, and worn at the edges from fire.
queHt handling they seem to be so old
that they viii fan to pieces. He regards
them intently, and fingers them as if they
were the most precious things in the
world One by one he opens them, and
reads their contents So shortsighted is
he that to dCcipHer the writing he has to
hold the documents almost at the Zip Of
his nose The business Of looking through
them is a long one, and he stands almost
mouonIess in the window for perhaps a
half hour, his head bent and his should
ers hunched. When he is through the
reading he puts the papers together again,
ties them up, and puts them in his pCck-
ct He looks around, buttons up his
coat. and. at the same shambIing pace
goes out Of the building again
During the last session Of Congress he
vas seen every day, taking the same
stand II the same alcove in the same cor
rIdOr. with the same documents held close
TO his nose He moIested no one, and as
far as anyone could observe. transacted
no business. once in a while he would go
into a committee ROOM take pen and pa
per and write something. but no one ever
found out what it was. The policemen
who are stationed in the Senate corridor
say ne arrives every day like clock work
Just a few minutes before II the thur1p
of his iron shOd cane may be heard as he
ascends the stairs In a few moments
more his big head with its uncombed matt
Of grey hair and its old derby hat. poises
through the door. Then he comes in.
stands few moments as if to reconnoi-
ire and moves slowly and cautiously on,
feeling his way with his stick. He does
not say word auj seems so anxious to
be left alone that no one has Yet had the
courage to address him He is considered
real mystery. the newest mystery in
deed IN 4 building teeming with myster-
les.
The street cars are heavily Iadened
these spring afternoons with nature wor-
shippers returning from the country Ev-
eryone who goes into the fields and the
woods brings back something blooming
or bIOssOming-even If it is only a tree
branch with q few tender leaves The
vegetation of the fields is always little
behind that Of the city, and while the
tOwnsTnen have been enjoying fuH-foIiag-
ed trees for several weeks, the leaves in
the country have just reached their ma
turity- The flowers have come out in
their glory, but most beautiful of all is
no
has been late, and for that reason the
dogwood is bI0ssoming even more pro-
fuseIy than usual Hardly a car comes
in from the suburbs that does not bear a
large party Of people, all loaded down
with the white-5oweTed branches. and the
mystery of it all is, how the dogwood
trees can yield UP every year, so much of
themselves ana yet produce an Urdimin-
ished harvest the next season \ conduct
or on a line that runs to Rock Creek
Park said Sunday that he had never seen
so much dOgwoOd carried into the city =
have carried a ton Of it. I guess. today"
ne said, and it is the same every sun
day The people are not content now with
mere branches This morning a crowd OF
young boys had q smalI-sIzed tree which
they had cut down If this goes on, 1t
won't be long before We have 10 more
doSwood-
There IS no buster thoroughfare in the
whole city than the few squares on F'if-
teenth Street between Pennsylvania Ave
nue. and New York Avenue said d local
merchant yesterday. whose store is in
that section. The transfer point Of the
Capital Traction Company II Fifteenth
Street anad New York Avenue, is one of
the busiest in the city 4 large number
Of people are always waiting on that cor
uer to change from one car TO another
Besides this, the pedestrian travel is
enormous. Yet Fifteenth Street is al
lowed to be used by heavy carts. carry
ing brick. garden truck, or other heavy
loads which come over the Long Bridge
bound for Georgetown The District Com
missioners ought to put stop to It. The
nuisance is at its worst at about to
o'clock Then the wagons come in one
ureuding stream The drivers are entire
" without consideration for pedestrians,
snd never think Of pulling up 10 let them
pass. unless the police take q hand
Travel Is at the greatest at this time OF
he dav and the police III the neIghbOr-
hood who guard the crossings are Kept
continually busy in trying to keep the
street open mere Is no reason II.-L-L5 n ln5
world why these trucks should be allowed
to use this thOTOUghfaTe. If they are go
ing to Georgetown, as near a road Is 10
be found by going around the " hlte LOT,
where there IS nothing TO De intefiered
with.
Prof. Willis L. Moore, Of the Weather
Bureau was accosted a few days ago on
the street by a friend, who said:
Hello. Moore; I did not know your de-
partmsnt had extended its forecast bull
Ietin service to the churches"
Pros Moore was surprised ITO the
churches2 We certainly have not he
answered.
oh yes. you have insisted his friend
L was passing down the street the other
day and saw one Of your bulletins on
outside 50 everyone could see II SAID
Fair tonight
The proposed removal of the COnfeder-
ate dead from their present graves in the
Soldiers Home Grounds, and their re
interment in a special lot in Arlington
Cemetery. has set the undertakers in the
city gossiping about matters relating to
the exhumiug of bodies. Many queer and
weird stories are told. One undertaken,
who has done a great deal Of exhuming
in the District, said that he ina agiued that
the contractor who is to transfer the re
mains would probably find a great many
petrsfed bodies.
'Petrided bodies he explained, are
bodies which for some peculiar reason
seem to have resisted decay, and have
remained intact and undLSturb@t. The
District is quite productive OF II IN. and
I can remember having seen at least
three in my experience and having heard
of half dozen more Only a few months
ago when they were moving some bodies
fed corpse No one knew the name of the
soldier, ! believe \ Few years ago for