The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-09
REV. Mr.. STRoNG'S LETTER.
DESCRIPTION OF THE APPIAN WAY
AND CATACoMBS.

THE Apptau Way Has Another His
Ground-It Was Along it That the
ConauerOrs Came-SOme of the
Famous Ones Who Have Passed
That Way-HOw the Early Christ
inns in Rome Disposed of Their
Dead-The Number and Size of the
Christian CatacOmbs-An Account
of Burial OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Mat
ters of General Interest.
Rome, Jan. 15.-"He drove abroad,
IN furious guise, along the Appian
poet of the luxury idleness
of the ancient Roman mobiles.
The Appian Way, built by the Consul
Appius Claudius. 325 B. -, became,
then, the fashionable drive of the city.
We will have to modify somewhat our
usual idea of "a fashionable drive" 1t
is now laid bare to it's original pave
ment of tufa blocks, and was wide
enough for only two Roman chariots
to pass each other. Properly speaking
we might call this famous road a lane,
and not hurt it's feelings. Neverthe-
less, in days of republic and empire, it
was the thing to do, "to drive along
the Appian way" with chariots at
break-neck speed, the rest of the haut
monde in chairs and palanquins borne
by Ethiopian slaves. 1t must have
been a gay and giddy sight, for Rome
then owned the world, and Roman no
bles lived in wanton luxury off all the
nations. Sylla, Marius, Scipio, Pom
pey, Brutus, Cicero, Cato, Caesar-how
their ghosts flock up and down this an
Gent road; and then the emperors, Au-
gustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Yes
parian, Titus, and their naughty wives
Livia, Julia, Livilla, Agrippina, Mes
salina, and poor Poppaea-how they
must have enjoyed their luxurious but
precarious life, in the sunshine of the
Via Appia, and the rich, red, golden
sunsets on the campagna, with the
snOw-clad Abban hills in the back
ground! And now it is a deserted road,
hemmed in by high walls up to the
fourth mile post, haunted only by tour
lists with red guide-books in hand,
seeking to make the dead past live
the tombs of the mighty which line it's
path to the tenth mile stone, and as
the silent catacombs of the Christian
dead which undermine its hills and val
leys as far as the third stone.
But Via Appia has another history
besides that of being a play ground for
the idle and luxurious Roman It was
starting II in Of RS22qseTis nAgE grand til
Came 80 Prominently Before tn
Country, as Being without Prece
dent In the sacred Senatorial Pre-
cincts--InceptiOn and Practice o
Dictatorship Recalled From Re
cords.
Copyright, 1902, by Amos j. Cummings
Washington, March S.-Troublou
times indeed are these Storm center
have been shaken by an earthquake
and the old road of legislation ha
been blocked by fallen rocks. Deliber
atcn in the only deltberative body il
Congress has been seriously threaten
ed. The man from Maine has reap
pel:Cl. IS usual, he has attracted tn
attention Of the nation. The shadoy
OF the Reed rules has fallen on tn
Senate. Maine, a rib taken from tn
side of Massa chusetts in 1920 has as
stunned the right to temporarily shov
enc Of the original thirteen colonie
out OF the Union. William p. Frye
junior senator from that state an
PRESIDENT pro tempore of the Senate
mas apparently assumed the role o
Thomas 3. Reed. While the Senate wa
voting on the Philippine tariff bill, tn
clerk failed to cali the names of tn
senators from South Carolina. Thei
names had been scratched from tn
roll When the attention of the mai
from Maine was called to the omission
he cooolly replied that the names Wer
omitted by his order. He expressed TIN
deliberate official opinion that neithe
Of the senator's was entitled to a vot
because the Senate had declared then
IN contempt. Appeals were repeated.
taken from his rulings, but in no cas-
tere they entertained. Finally Mr.
Bailey the senator from Texas, Will
directing the attention of the presid
ing officer to constitutional provisions
against such action, was taken from
,ne floor the chair recognizing Mr.
Aldrich of Rhode Island against tn
1eXas senator's protest. Mr.. Bailey
aigument had been based on these pro
Visions of the Constitution:
Inc Senate of the United State,
shall be composed of two senators from
eaoa state, chosen by the legislator,
lhereof for six years; and each sen
alor shall have one vote.-Section
IL lcle l, of the Constitution.
NO state, without its consent, shall
De deprived of its equal suffrage il
lle Senate.-Article V of the Const
tutcn
most astonishing of all is the fac
mat Mr.. Turner of Washington wa!
reused the right to present the pro
TEST of the South Carolina senator.
against the violation of the rights O.
tnelr state. One of the majority proved
H,Hiselt a man of honor He was Sen
olor Dillingham; of Vermont. He was
pared with Senator Tillman of Soutl
carolina, and he observed the pair
outstanding the ruling of the chair
me action of Senator Frye created
oouslderable excitement in both wings
vi the Capitol, and was a prominent
loplc OF conversation at the dinner
sven to Prince Henry by the Presi
oenl IN the White House that evening
now supremely ridiculous it would
SAID member of the House, "foi
Sonh r. Jones of Nevada, while occu-
pSIng the chair, to order the clerk t
erdtch the names of the senators from
-Ne" York from the roll upon the
slOuhd that they had been declared ir