The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-23
LIVE TOPICS ABOUT TOWN.

| Preparations are being made by the OIL
! Gals at the Patent Office, to put the sci
! eutific library Of that bureau in good
! shape. The library. spIendidly complete
! one of its class, has in the past been diff
! cult to get at. aud consequently has not
! been of as much value as it might have
been 1t has been decided to provide the
! library with an entirely new set of shelves
| and contracts have already been awarded
| for them. The shelves at present in use
| are of wood. and, in fact, the whole libra
/ ~ room is far too much of a finder box
/ to contain so many valuable books. The
| new shelves Will be made Of steel. and on
! the most improved pattern 1t is proposed
! to put in two small electric elevators for
! handling the books. When completed the
! library viii be fitted up in as complete
| and modern a style as any department Ii
/ bTaTy in the city
! Probably the maddeSt man in Washing
| ton today is a motormaH employed on the
/ c Street line of the City and Suburban
| Railroad, who. while going home about
/ I:39 o'clock a few mornings ago. saw a
! hat lying on the pavement First
| Street, near the Census Office. He picked
| the derby up. seeing that it was sound
| and respectable-looking. placed it
/ under his arm and carried it home. Be
| fore he started to work the next after
! noon ne took a look at the hat and de-
/ cided that as seen by daylight it was too
! shabby to keep. With great goodness of
| heart, however, he sent his little son over
/ to an old negro who did odd chores for
/ the family and presented ''Rufe-' with 4
| Sunday hat The negro was deeply
| grateful, and the motorman Swelled with
| the consciousness of having done good
! deed. Yesterday whcn the motorman $
{ son brought his dinner in a basket and
/ met his car the little fellow informed his
! father that ''Rufe" had been brushing up
! the old hat and had found so bill tuck
/ ed beneath the sveitband. The boy fur
/ Their stated that RUFF has taken a train
! for fredericksburg, Va, to celebrate his
/ good luck
/ According to an Italian. who. with his
/ wife wheels u street piano around the
/ Capital every summer, his business is not
/ as Improbable as it appears to the aver
/ age citizen to be. This son of Italy is
! growing prosperous as his receipts range
/ from $3.50 to s. per day Some of this
! must be laid aside to pay for wear and
tear on the piano and for rollers contain
/ irs UP-to-date airs, but more than half OF
/ the sum is clear profit and is placed with
1 one Of the local Italian savings societies
/ In the winter the piano man works as
! barber and his wife looks after a fruit
! stand. so that they have a steady income
( This Is said to be the case with nearly all
/ of those who are prosperous enough TO
! own a piano. although on the street they
/ affect poverty to CLEAN pennies
! Truxton Circle. which has Just been
! laid out at the junction of North Capitol
| Street and Florida Avenue. Is to be
! adorned by an iron fountain Colonel
( bingham. Superintendent OF Public Build
f. ings and Grounds has Just ordered that
/ the fountain which is at present on the
/ small reservation at the intersection Of
! Pennsylvania Avenue and VI and Twenty
1 eight Streets northwest. be moved and
placed at Truxton Circle The fountain is
one OF the larg5S ST in the city. A new and
smaller fountain viii take its place, while
( the big one viii beautify the circle dedi-
! Gated 70 TruxtOn, the distinguished naval
/ officer
! \ banquet to be given at the Hotel Cor
den Thursday evening is the result of
/ wager as to the population of the United
/ States, shown by the figures of the
I Twelfth Census. Tie loser is Robert p
( Porter. who was Director of the Eleventh
! Census. and the winner is Dr.. Herman
! HaIIerith. representing a tabulating ma
/ chine company.
I The wager was made during the progress
/ OF a banquet at the Mcpherson Club over
/ a year ago. when Dr. HaIIerith was the
/ host and his guests were Census Bureau
/ officials Ex-Director Porter did not think
! the census then being taken would show
( a population of 16,6d0.9oe people in the
/ United States. but Dr. HalIerith did and
/ the gentlemen agreed that the same com
Pany should be entertained at dinner
I 20 be given after the official result of The
| census should be known, the cost Of the
! reDaSt TO be borne bv Mr. Porter if mo
population fell below "a on go and bv DIR
HalleTith If II reached or exceeded Jhos.
: figures
, on the births and deaths in tue State Of
Massachusetts. and the enormous increase
I IN the former. and the falling off In the
. death rate. made him sauguine that the
/ increase in population Of the United
States had been large. This population
/ As announced some time since by the Cen
Sus Bureau. Is ,6,50i, lS9. Therefore. Dr..
HaIIerith wins
Another interesting feature in connec-
ton with the forthcoming feast Is that
during its progress there viii be opened
t8euty-eight sealed guesses made lust
after the Mcpherson Club banquet as to
the population of the country as shown
by the Twelfth Census, and solid silver
loving cup. to which each gUesser CON
tributed 81 viii be awarded the one guess
i2S nearest the actual figures shown b.
the Census Bureau : report
Those who VIII be present at the ban
quet Thursday night and who participat-
ed IN the guessing cOntes st for the loving
Dr. Herman HaIIerith: William r Mer-
RAM. Director Of the Twelfth Census; /
Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of La
Dor; Fred II. Wines, Assistant Director of I
the Twelfth Census: J. W. Langley.
Charles S. Sloan. William c. Hunt. David
/ PETERS, jr., Edward McCauley. John ).
Lord. Mr. Koch. George E Boos H. A 7
Barrows, S. y. d. North. Legrand Pow .
ers Gannett. William A KING, William
x. Mackrille. Harry 7 Newcomb. Mr.. .
Newell. Whitman OsgoOd, MI. Parker 4. (
Y Rice, William n. Stewart Joseph D /
StiHsOn, Walter r Wilcox all of whom /
are officials of the Twelfth Census and /.
Dr. Day and Mr. Stoddard, of the Elev- /
enth Census.