Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-03-17
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.

WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
Stories Told At National Capital Re-
garding Congressman.
[BY H. j. MAHIN.l
| Washington Bureau of the Courier.
Washington, D. c., March IS.
George EveTs, who is pair clerk in
the house, tells good story about
Representative Hunt of st. Louis, who
came near repeating the Tillman-Mc
Lauren episode in the democratic
cloak room the other day with Repre-
l.sentative Cochran another Missouri
congressman. The men were separat-
ed by Champ Clark just as things
were getting warm and Cochran was
hustled out of Mr.. Hunts way. Mr..
Hunt in talking with Mr.. Evers not
long ago found that he was from Dav-
EXPORT.
$50 you are from Davenport" he
said. 'Well I have not been in that
town for about fifteen years and for a
very good reason. The last time was
there was mobbed and driven out Of
town"
/ Asked for an explanation of this sur
prising statement he said
ut was in 1889 when the baseball
fever was running high and there was
a mighty good league among the cities
of Iowa and Illinois of which Daven-
port was a member. There was a
game going on in Davenport with the
Springfield team and it was one of
the hottest of the season. The Daven-
port nine was fine one comprising
such men as Rines, Harrington and
Bob Allen, all of whom went to the
National league teams the next year,
Allen becoming captain Of the Phila-
delphia team The game had reached
the ninth inning and was tie when
a Davenport player made fine hit
and was just running home when the
ball was thrown up and the catcher
touched the man as he was crossing
the plate. The umpire called the man
out.
'"The next instant the field was a
seething mass of bowling and wildly
angry rooters. The catcher had
bluffed. He did not have the ball in
his hand though the umpire thought
he did. The mob made right for that
umpire and lots of others things, in
GLIDING bricks and ball bats came his
way too. He was only saved by being
hustled into a cab and rushed down to
the ferry and over to Rock Island"
Well said Mr.. Evers, what has
that to do with your"
Il was the umpire" said Mr.. Hunt
with a grin.
Eyes, 1 was the fellow and never
II
catcher did not have the ball. l met
him one time and he told me about it.
The last remember of Davenport was
a glimpse Of the old st. James hotel
just as the ferry swung out from the
dock. 1t seemed to me that the ferry
went terribly slow and l was sure the
mob fould reach the dock before they
cast away the lines. / stayed in Rock
Island once several years later but I
did not go TO Davenport. I enjoyed 1t
more looking at it from the other side
of the river"
Mr.. Hunt took under advisement an
invitation from Mr.. Evers to visit him
in Davenport this summer. He now
represents one of the st. Louis city
districts in the house and is very
popular member
One of the most humorous speeches
OF the week delivered in the house
was that of Representative Van Duzer,
OF Nevada. Mr.. Van Duzer is the man
who few days ago had the intrepidy
to introduce a bill in the house pro-
viding for the free and unlimited coin
age Of silver This week, however, Mr..
Van Dozer was complaining about the
Work hrnlynrc m oIE ynrfic adj
great gold mine properties in his state
and then sold worthless stock to I'M
suspecting purchasers. In the midst
Of his talk Major Lacey solemnly put
a question to him that brought down
the house and called for many raps
from Speaker Cannon's gavel before
the members would cease laughing and
quiet down.
Mr. Van Duzer was telling about a
friend in New York who purchased
some stock in an alleged rich mine in
Nevada
81 went to see him." said Mr.. Van
Duzer, ''and asked him where his prop
erty was. He said he did not know
just what the location was but that it |
was right in the mining country and
near very rich property-so said the
agent who sold him the stock. When
l returned home untertook to find
the property on which this valuable
mine was claimed to exist. I could
not see the property with telescope,
it was so far from the center of the
mining district; and the man would
have to dig thousand feet into the
sand to get solid foundation for any
thing" At this point Major Lacey
arose.
"If the gentleman will pardon me a
moment and permit me to interrupt |
him." he said, 81 heard it said out
there in Nevada that the true definition
Of gold mine was-a gold mine is a
hole in the ground, the owner of which
is liar Is that correct?"
Mr.. Van Duzer himself joined in the
roar of laughter which greeted this sal
ly and it was some minutes before he
could get another start.
Congressman From Second District.
Judge Wade continues to give but
one answer when asked what the Iowa