Evening star., 1902-02-15

Washington who Join the comic opera COM
pa MES are members of the social elite OF
the capital. The press agents retained by
these young women surely must do vast
amount of overtime work, although the
Quality of the matter regarding their prin-
cipals, which they succeed in getting into
the New York papers, would go far toward
convincing Washngtonian that they had
never been in the capital In their lives.
Washingtonians resident in New York are
mystifed to read that this or that young
woman, just added to the chorus of some
musical production in New York. has been
for some years one of the reigning bellies
In the most exclusive circles of Washing
ton society" and that in Washington she
divided the honors for beauty with the
former Miss Martha Hichborn, now Mrs.
James G. Blaine, jr.'' Washingtonians res
ident In New York are forced to own up
t. inqufring New Workers that they had
never heard of th!s or that raging Wash
ington BELLE" who has just attached her
self to one Of the choruses. which causes
the inquiring New Yorker to reason that
inc resident WasEingtonian couldn't have
to much in his own town. These
young women are all portrayed by their
INDUSTRIOUS press agents as members in
Washington of "the exclusive Chevy Chase
hunting set" whatever that may mean. and
1t Is limited that they have all of them
passed up offers of marriage from wealthy
and distinguished members of Washington's s
jeunesse doree. One of the comic opera
Sextets IS now composed almost eXclu-
sively of good-looking young Washington
women who, We are solemnly told. had for
years been 'reigning queens of Washing
ton society, and yet. oddly enough, their
names sound unfamiliar as falling upon
the ears even of Washingtonians in New
York. whose business requires of them a
certain familiarity with the names of the
social elect of the capital.
Polite Type of Burglar.
The scrupulously polite. Alphonse-and-
inal development. The burglar with the
well-thumbed book of etiquette is now op-
Grating with great success in New York
and New Jersey. and several persons who
have been deprived of their money and
jewelry by these considerate artists say
that their manners are extremely amiable
and engaging.
Far be it from me-" said one of these
up to-date marauders to a widow whose
house he was robbing the other night-"far
be 1t from me to subject you to unneces-
sary alarm, but I am in urgent need OF
money and portable property. readily con-
vertible into money. l entreat you to give
no audible manifestation Of fear. Just be
good enough to inform me as to the exact
location Of your money and jewelry, and l
shall undertake to be out of your residence
with no unnecessary delay
The widow was so Indifferent to the per-
suasive tone of the burglar that she told
him that IL he didn't go away Immediately
she would scream. whereupon the gum
shoe artist pressed pistol to her head and
told her that, while he esteemed her great
ly. he would be compelled to take meas
ures of self-protection If she did anything
so foolish. The widows grown son walked
into the room just then. and he, too was
treated with equal politeness by the bur-
glar. who pulled a rocking chair into the
center of the room and courteously in
vited the young man to take the seat and
keep 1t until he, the burglar. had accumu-
Infn
burglar got about $1,000 in money and
jewelry, and when the widow asked him
not to take a certain cameo brooch that
had belonged to her mother the thief re-
stored it to her with a fine flourish and
told her that he was incapable Of such a
meanness. The polite burglar has broken
out on the same night in so many widely
separated districts of New York and New
Jersey as to preclude the notion that he is
and the same individual. and the only
reasonable conclusion is that some Tur-
veydrop of department has entered the
profession of burglary for the purpose Of
improving the manners of the tribe.
Highbinders After Tom Lee
Tom Lee, the Chinese deputy sheriff. IS
a worried-looking Mongoian these days
He has taken to the habit of walking in
the middle Of the street on the rare occa-
sions when he goes abroad at all. and the
pop Of q firecracker sends him into the air
like a breaking trotter. Tom has right
to feel more or less bothered, for there
are at this moment six San Francisco high
binders in New York who have journeyed
all the way across the continent for the
sole and express purpose of killing Tom
Lee. It seems that Lee has In some way
offended the highbinders' organization and
the Chinese of New Yorks Chinatown
placidly say that Mr.. Lee is already as
good as a dead man. Lee himself doesn't
appear to doubt this in the least. He has
employed bodyguard and he carries a
whole arsenal on his own person but in
conversation with his intimates he ex-
presses no doubt that the highbinders are
going to get him sooner or later, no mat
ter how hard he strives against such a
consummation. He is a very rich man,
and he has already made a distribution of
his wealth with his final hour in mind
When Tom Lee does Succumb to the at
tack of the highbinders, 1T is virtually GER
tain that those murderous slant-eyes Of the
removing organization will not be ap-
pretended. During the past ten years
there have been numerous deaths In New
Yorks Chinatown attributable to the work
of highbinders sent on here from CalifOr-
MIA, but none Of them has ever been
brought to justice.
Offers Himself to Science.
Once in a while something really start
ling comes out Of the sad borough OF
Brooklyn. The Brooklyn medical man who
is willing to sacrifice himself on the altar of
science and who offers his body for pur-
poses Of vivisection is the most recent
manifestation from the other side Of the
bridge. The physicians weird offer
aroused keen interest for day or so. but
it now seems certain that the whole thing
was a somewhat grisly joke. and that the
doctor had no idea of contributing his
frame to the uses of the vivisectionists. It
seems that this medical man is an indi-
vidual of strong democratic tendencies and
that his purpose in announcing his singular
scheme of self-immolation was to ''get a
RISE" so to speak, out Of young Mr.. Je-
rome, the reform district attorney He
accomplished that purpose, too. for Mr.
Jerome became rather unnecessarily heated
when the thing was called to his attention
and declared that every medical person who
connected himself in any manner whatso-
ever with the slithering up of the Brook
lyn physician would be prosecuted for
mans1aughter A large number of New
York physicians are laughing hoarsely over
the serious way Mr.. Jerome accepted the
Brooklyn humorist's extraordinary offer.