The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-26
TOURISTS AT CAPITAL
THEIR BEHAVIOR NOT ALWAYS
WHAT MIGHT BE EXPECTED.
With Famous Men Numerous as
Blackberries Sightseers Seldom
Discover Them.

|
Washington man to another, as they stood
| in front of the Capitol one day last week.
''See those pretty tourists coming? Proba-
| bly, they take us for a couple of United
| States senators taking the air.
at is evident that you have never studied
the tourist and don't know his hopeless
stupidity on that point" answered another.
'"I have made a long study of the tourist,
male and female. There is no city in the
United States which affords better oppor-
tunities than this. for there is no other city
so constantly crowded with American tour
] lists. And my deliberate conviction is that
| the American tourist is a chump
"The idea which would naturally possess
any man is the same that possesses you.
| This is the Nations capital, and more dis
tinguished people live here than anywhere
else in the world. You can't walk half a
dozen blocks without running into famous
| people. Here in the Capitol, at least when
Congress is in session, you can't walk ten
PAGES without humping into men whose
names are household words all over the
land, and who are known in foreign coun-
| tries.
Naturally one would think that the tour
list would be on the lookout for distin-
guished people, and if the tourist had any
sense your little joke about his mistaking
casual bystanders for senators would not
| be so far out. But the tourists error is on
the other side. He comes from a city
| where he never sees a distinguished man
| except when he goes to a mass meeting. or
when, perhaps once in ten years. somebody
joys his elbow and says: See that man in
the carriage? That's the chief of police
And he cannot take ii in 1t simply cannot
be driven into his head that he is now in
city where great men ara as common as
cab drivers.
Hence he passes famous men and never
even looks at them to see whether their
faces resemble pictures he has seen. He
sees man with prominent teeth riding in
that man is the President. A block further
on he passes a handsome old man with
white moustache and pair of flashing
black eyes driving pair of housekeeping
horses harnessed to a stylish carriage, and
even If the face looks familiar to him it
doesn't strike him that 1t is Admiral Dew
ey. d he W, Walks al2ns the senate c9rrlaors,
| olent face and a rosy complexion comes out
of the Senate chamber and bumps into him,
and he does not give a second look after
accepting Senator Hoar's apology.
FUNNY HAPPENINGS.
THAT, of course, is a series of events
drawn from your imagination" observed
the other Washingtonian.
mot by a great deal.' was the warm
response. They are actual happenings,
and I am simply giving a few out of long
list. The corridors of the Capitol are con-
tinually thronged with tourists. They go
into the galleries, and while there display
the keenest interest in the senators and
representatives They want their guides to
tell them who everybody is, and demand to
have the men whose names they know
fanin tad ont Vnf
from the gallery into the corridor they
never have an idea that the men hurrying
around the corners are senators and repre-
sentatlveS. AS near as L can get at their
state of mind they think that congressman
stay ali the time in the legislative halls
and are never allowed out, and that every
body they meet in the corridors is a clerk.
| Not day went by during the last ses-
sion that l did not see some tourist stop
distinguished member of Congress and ask
to be directed to some part of the Capitol,
evidently under the impression that the
statesman was clerk or visitor. One of
the things which the tourists learn early in
the game is that nobody is allowed to
smoke In the Capitol except congressman;
they learn that through the conspicuously
posted signs and through what their
friends tell them. Now, wouldn't you think
that when tourist. knowing that. sees
bareheaded man smoking cigar, it would
occur to him or her that perhaps the
smoker is a congressman?
mot at all. On the contrary. the tourist
If a woman, usually glowers at the smoker
| ~
signs. One day, just before the adjourn
ment of Congress, saw a determined look
ing young woman who had tourist all over
her, and who looked If she came from
New England. stare with fixed disapproval
at Senator Blackburn. The old Kentuck-
ian was talking with another senator and
| smoking like a house afire. He had no hat
on. Presently, when he left his friend and
turned away, still smoking, her reforming
instincts and her wrath proved too much
for her. She compressed her lips firmly,
walked up to Blackburn with a rapid step
and said decisively:
| " Smoking is not allowed here? Don't
| you see the signs?
THE senator gave an amazed start and
then smiled apoogized, removed his cigar
and went on with 1t in his hand. The
guide book. confident that she had sup
pressed a violatcr of the law.
OFFERED HIM A TIP.
lone day party of women tourists
found Senator Hawley in the military af-
fairs committee room. They asked him
about the various points of interest, and
the old general was kind and courteous,
and told them all he could. When they
turned TO go, the grand dame at the head
of the party dropped quarter into the
hand which the senator extended to say
farewell with He tried to explain, but
she waved him aside with a majestic but
kindly: That's all right, my good man.
81 once saw Captain Sigsbee OF the
Maine in full uniform on a street car
tackled for information by tourist couple,
who thought, because of his uniform, that
he was an employee of the trolley company.
He gave the information courteously, and
the male tourist called him my good man
in thanking him.
If there Is any man In the country
whose face ought to be tolerably familiar
to his countrymen il is Senator Hanna.
Yet once, as he was standing by a Senate
door. well-dressed couple came up and
asked TO be directed TO Statuary Hall. The
senator pointed out the way, and as they
turned TO go the woman said to the man:
This doorkeeper is really much more in
telligent than the last one we asked
The Capitol guides never point out
| statesmen 10 their customers, but confine
themselves to pointing out the pictures and
other things, and one day as a Capitol
guide was describing the battle of some
thing or other with painting of it as text
| / saw Senators Hoar and Tillman come
out of committee room near by and walk
along till they reached the group. The
| guides audience consisted of a large party
of school teachers. The two eminent sena-
tors were not in hurry. and something in
the guides description caught their fancy
They stopped and listened 10 his lecture
The Schoolma ans were speedily aware
OF the two eavesdroppers. What did they
or Tillman's fierce countenance and one
eye suggest anything to them? One school
ma am after another turned and gave a
reproachful half offended look at the two
impertinent old men who were eavesdrop-
sal LOT, a.