The Sunday globe., 1901-07-28
An Humble Government Clerk Who
Has Distinguished Himself.
SERVED IN EVERY DEPARTMENT.
As Long as the Heads Of The Same Wanted
HIn-Hs Friend Gives The Globe RaCI
Interview Dad Breaks BY Mr., Higgins
and The CSngressmans waterloo - An
UnIQue character is lnS Texas hOldODeI.

"Nell, higgins is my friend. lie IL
the Private Dalzell OF the Texas De-
mocracy. he Is a character, sir, With
out duplicate, an original genus
homo, a credit 10 the Lone Star state
anu monumental specimen OF sur
YlYal OF the httest in Government EN-
ployment'
"Ien The Globe something about
him, DOCTOR
on, | could fill blue book with
Higgins, both in biography and the
number of offices he has held since his
nrst debut in Washington official life.
Higgins brought me a letter Of intro
duction from an old friend during
Cleyelands first administration. In
fact, Grover wasn't warm in the Pres
! idential chair before higgins put in
an appearance. Landed! Well, |
SHOULD say he did, and l ought to
know. | was his confident and adviser.
| That is to say, when he got IN trouble
he contded in me, but always took his
own sweet way, irrespective OF my
warnings. | constituted myself a steer
ing committee of one for Higgins, but
could only steer him when he made
a bad break. | never could keep him
clear of the rocks, and shoals he was
| bound TO run on. Higgins has been in
every Department in the Federal Gov
ernment. If he has missed any it must
/ be the Bureau of Ethnology, and he
will get there if he is given time
Give us some Of his breaks, as you
call them, Doctor
We'll, he had been in office, think,
/ thirty days or thereabouts, holding
down a S15 cleTkship, when he wrote
a letter to the head Of the Department,
the Secretary Of Agriculture, l think,
| although | am not quite clear, as Hig-
gins has taken all chronological ideas
out of my head. The letter set out in
detail an autobiography Of Higgins,
with a strenuous request for immedi-
ate promotion, He was sent for and
dressed down, but it didn't affect Hig-
gins. He contided in me, Of course, and
| pol4te- out the improperly Of his
action. In a little while his chief Of
division kicked on him, and issued an
uItimatum that either himself or the
Texan must quit. Higgins quit, and
was transferred to another Depart
ment. He remained quiet for little
while, and then he conceived the gi-
gantic idea Of making some presents.
He sent the head of the Department a
box of cigars, with note to the effect
that when enjoying the perfectOs he
should think Of Higgins and promote
him. He sent gold-headed cane to
the chief of his division, with a sim
liar note, and another present Of some
kind to the Auditor. OF course there
was music Of the brass band variety,
. auain tho
| This time | lectured him severely, and
supposed that this break would be a
lesson he never would forget"
And did he?"
Ban! You don't know Higgins;
neither did !, then. he drifted into
another Department and remained
quiet for a few months. There was a
swell reception given the Senators and
Representative by the Cabinet officer
in whose Department Higgins was en-
ployed. His Congressman took him to
the reception. Higgins watched his
chance, and when he secured the ear
of the beautiful daughter of the Cab
met officer he informed her Of who he
was, his salary, and position, and re-
quested that she would bring his case
to the attention of her father!
NO; you're ronancing, Doc
You wait. You don't know Higgins,
tell you. OF course, he was again on
the move, and, of course, he again
landed, for Higgins is irrepressible, or
was them
How about the PRESENT.
"Oh, he recently landed up in the
Treasury But, let me proceed in some
kind of chronological order, will you.
Drive ahead
well, / was doing some stunts for
a few outside newspapers, and Higgins
gave me a piece of news about a Con-
gresham, which | wrote up for his
home paper. The item defeated the
Congressman's c reelection at that time,
though at the last election | see he is
again sent back Well, the item was
written up serio-comic. You see this
particular Representative had a con-
stituency which was exceedingly plebe-
ian Democratic, He knew them and
worked on their sympathies. He had
a mortgaged little home among them
which he was trying to pay for, large
family, etc. This won their profound
est sympathies, and of course he was
elected twice. II was for his third
term that defeated him. Higgins at
tended a reception at his Washington
residence. 1t was a swell affair and
Higgins enjoyed himself hugely. He
tcld me all about il, and described the
Congressman c s grand mansion, his rich
furniture, paintings, and bric-abrac,
costing thousands of dollars. Higgins
was innocent enough about the matter.
He did not see that his friend, owning
a $4,000 mansion and giving swell re-
ceptions were in direct contradiction
to the tale he spun his constituents in
Texas. OF course | spread on the
thing, described the mansion, its ap-
pointments, army of servants, buffers,
coachmen etc, etc, and when the
Texas paper scare-head-lined it, the
sixty counties of the Congressman's
district were in a state of revolt, and
the papers were sold at a premium,
He made a feeble attempt TO deny the
article. but the facts were too specific
and he was turned down Now, the
CONGRESSMAN devoted himself to dis
covering the author of the article He
suspected Higgins of giving the infor-
nation. and he soon discovered my
identity. | acknowledged the author
shin. and accompanied by a friend of
his he invited me TO take a walk In
the language Of Old Hickory replied,
is this walk to be a hostile or a social
promenade? He assured me il was
the latter, and we went into a saloon
down the Avenue. He took out a $50
bin and laid it on the table between
us. That bill is yours, Hines. If you
will tell me the name of your inform
ant. / promptly answered, If you put
your annual salary on top Of IL | would
not tell you" And thus the matter end
ed for the present.
At the close Of the session, however.
IIg,oina and n1yqalf yvara a4 a.. -