Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-01-15
WASHINGTON LETTER


was mere he u shore rail- in lit on the
floor
He stood in the hall of the house of
representatives contemplating the rich
mahogany desks, the handsome fur
nishings, the gilt and decorations, with
a choleric and deprecatory eye. He
was attired in black broadcloth, the
vest low cut, showing wide eXpanse
of unstarched shirt front, crossed by
black string tie. His thin soled boots
of soft leather We're carefully polished,
and he held a black slouch hat in his
hand.
Il was in congress in the days of re
trenchment and REFORM" he said,
land we had no such doings as these,
Them chairs, with little recaning,
was good for ten years longer and
there wasn't nary an initial carved in
the desks. In my day the red and
plush sofys in the lobby was dream
of oriental splendor, but | see they
must have fine leather sofys now.
and as for these new committee
rooms, the appropria tions in particu-
lar, they air a scene of imperialistic
sumpshusness that the Caesars never
imagined. l walked through this morn
ing. my feet sinking to the ankles in
velvet carpets, and every move reflect
ed in the polish of the mahogany ta-
bles, desks and chairs. These here
plain congressman, corn fed products
of the west must feel mighty out of
place amid such surroundings of luXu-
robustness and regal splendor. They
tell me there is $4,000 worth of gold
in the ceiling of the speakers room by
way of decoration and that a third of
a million dollars has been put in tiling
and mahogany, leather, gilt and paint
ing.
"Well, l reckon, after ALL there amt
nothing too good for the great Ameri
can people, and these air the repre-
sentatives of the people, and the peo-
pie they pays the freight" whereat he
shook his head and walked away.
A Flood of Petitions.
According to the constitution, the
right of petition shall not be abridged
1t is quite evident from the numbers
of petitions which are being sent to
congress this year that the people are
disposed to take every advantage of
their privilege.
The long recess of congress gave op-
portunity for petition makers to pre-
pare innumerable requests for all sorts
of things, the result being seen in the
mass of signed papers now flooding
congress. The most widely circulated
petition seems to have been in behalf
of homogeneous as against polygamous
marriages. Thousands and thousands
of these sheets, bearing the petition at
the head and neatly ruled with blank
lines, We're apparently sent broadcast
all over the country. They are coming
in from every city and town and cross
roads postotiice; but, like n good many
other petitions, they will merely bur-
den the files of the senate for n little
while and then be thrown away. There
is no indication at present of any ac-
ton along the lines of the proposed
legislation.
The Minister From Siam.
Phya Akhara Oradhara is the high
sounding name of the envoy extra ordi-
nary and minister plenipotentiary of
his majesty the king of Siam, who re-
Gently arrived in this country. He was
accompanied by his English secretary,
Mr.. Edward Lotus. Phya Akhara
Oradhara is the first diplomatic repre-
sentative from the Land of the White
Elephant to be stationed in Washing
ton. The Siamese minister mt London,
Phya Prasiddhi, is also accredited to
the United States in Il diplomatic ca
pacity, but he only visited Washington
occasionally, transacting the little dip
lomatic business between the two coun-
tries from the S;amese legation in Lon
don. Mr.. Lotus, who accompanies the
new minister to the United States, has
been an attache and Interpreter of the
Siamese legation at London.
To Prohibit Docking.
President Roosevclt's refusal to buy
horses whose tails had been docked
has led Senator Gallinger, who agrees
with the president on this subject, to
introduce bill in the senate making
it unlawful for any person to dock the
tail of horse within the District of
Columbia.
The title of the bill is 'to prevent
cruelty to certain animals in the Dis
trict of Columbia" and goes into the
subject thoroughly. Provision is made
for the registering of horses with
docked tails and makes it unlawful for
a person 'to import or bring into the
District any docked horse or horses or
to drive, work, use, race or deal in any
unregistered docked horse or horses
within the District of Columbia"
For Hall of Records.
Representative Bromwell of Ohio has
introduced a bill in the house making
an appropriation of $243,000 for the
purchase of property in this city for a
hall of records. The property mention
ed in the hill Is that bounded on the
north by G street, on the east by Sew
enteenth street and on the west by the
Winder building. 1t is also provided
that the building now on this site be