The leader., 1904-02-03
WASHINGTON LETTER
Especial Correspondence. !

and already that body's opening prayer
Is regarded as one of the things which
the visitor to the capitol ought to hear.
DR.. Hale in his old age, with his great,
shaggy head and tremendous voice,
Hebrew prophet, and there Is great inn
pressiyeness in the manner of his con-
Quoting the devotional exercises. For
the first time in the history of the sen
ate the chaplain appears in the robes
of his calling, and the black gown adds
another element of picturesqueness to
figure that In itself would be striking
enough.
DIR. Hale's election was due to SEN
timental impulse of Senator Hoar, who
Is his lifelong personal friend and who
la the early days was his parishioner
at Worcester.
The venerable preachers ministry will
be notable chapter in the history Of
the chaplaincy, which hitherto has been
conferred generally upon men of atten-
uated purse.
A prominent western newspaper pub
Usher was seated at table In the SEN
ate restaurant with his Washington
representative. The Washington man
spoke about Edward Everett Hale.
SIS he here?" asked the westerner.
eyes," was the reply; che is chaplain
Of the senate"
ooh, you mean one.of the sons"
"No; the old man."
"That's too bad" was the sympa-
thetic response. 81 didn't know he was
in hard luck"
English HobOes' Winter Resort.
"Why do all the English hoboes win
ter in Washington" inquired the re-
porter of cockney tramp that he To-
Gated at the Salvation Army barracks.
II don't know that all do" was the
answer, "but / admit that large ma
jority of them are in the habit of turn
ing this way as soon as cold weather
strikes them. In the first place, they
receive better treatment here than they
do in New York or Chicago. Then the
fact that this city is the nations capt.
tai has a good deal to do with their
coming here. 1t is city that every
Englishman has desire to see. There
are but two cities in America that he
thinks of when he leaves England. New
York, of course, is the first one, and
then Washington. He does the me-
tropolis and then naturally gravitates
to the national capital"
The Cannon Salutation.
Washington society is intensely inter-
ested in the new form of salutation in
troduced by Speaker Cannon, and it is
being practiced with such assiduity
that its adoption by the swells of So
ciety is merely "A question of time.
Whether the speaker had private re-
hearsals before he amazed the diplomat
ic corps is not known, but it is certain
that he has reduced what has become
known as the Cannon society bow" to
an exact science. Nothing like it is on
record in the career of Beau Brummel
or Beau Nash. The bow is a cross
between a pigeon wing and an old
fashioned courtesy. His right arm is
held rigid and swept back as if he
intended to execute a curve with
baseball At the same moment his
right foot is scraped back, lifted and
brought down with loud stamp. This
has the effect of throwing his head for
ward and lowering it. The first i'm
preston is that he is about to butt the
person who stands in front of him, but
in an instant his head is up, his heels
click together and the bow is finished.
The speaker needs little room for the
maneuver A nearsighted diplomat
nearly got wallop in the jaw on the
first movement.
Fri1ls at Receptions.
An official notification to the mem
bers of the diplomatic corps informs
them that they will hereafter be ex-
pected, which means required, to wear
the court garb, with all its frills, at
the four chief presidential functions of
the year, the diplomatic, congression-
al, judicial and army and navy recep-'
tons.
This request, which practically is an
order, was made known in note from
Secretary Hay to Count Cassini, the
Russian ambassador, dean of the dip
him to all the members of the corps.
1t created a great stir and some live
ly comment. But obedience to the I'M
expected dictum was prompt, and the
judicial reception was reminder of
court function in London or st. Peters
burg.
The Rule Against Smoking.
Assistants to the doorkeeper and the
sergeant at arms of the house have
been calling the attention of members
to the fact that it is against the rules
to smoke on the floor Of the house, and
in consequence there has been consid-
cradle complaining.
The rule for a good many years has
been dead letter, but Speaker Cannon
is determined that it shall be either en-
forced or repealed. Mr.. Cannon is him
self lover of the weed. and he justi-
| fies his decision by the assertion that no
member will suffer greater inconven-
fence than he will through an enforce
ment of the rule.
Negroes and Grand Juries.
The United States supreme court has
| reatf1rmed the ruling In the case or Car
ter versus the state of Texas, to the
effect that the exclusion of negroes
| from grand juries in cases involving
criminal charges against members of
their race is in violation of the consti-
tuition. The decision was in the case of
a resident of Alabama named Rogers
who was indicted for murder by a
grand jury composed entirely of white
men and from which it is charged that
all negroes were excluded because of
their color The supreme court Of the
state upheld the proceeding, but the
! federal court reversed the decision.
Carl. SCHOFIELD.
EpEE tn TIL RARIES