Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-28

napolis and back to Washington and
was as busy as busy could be. day
and night. unday and Monday. 1t was
a difficult and delicate undertaking. and
he came off with flying colors. with the sim
gle exception that he failed in the case
OF his own wife. He had arranged that
she go to Annapolis with him, and they
were to meet at the railroad station. But
they didn't. Mr.. Gauss had special charge
of the congressional party, and went with
it by the way of the Pennsylvania road
railroad station. She naturally went to
the Baltimore and Ohio station, and saw
the Presidents party and other specials
leave the depot. 1t seemed to her that
everybody went that way but Mr.. Gauss
Meanwhile each was anxiously looking for
the other. Mrs. Gauss finally In despair,
went to the Navy Department and found
that she had gone to the wrong station.
but not to be wholly disappointed. she went
to Annapolis on a later train. Later In
the afternoon, Mr.. Gauss telegraphed from
Annapolis, asking what had become of Mrs
Gauss. He was informed by wire that she
had gone to Annapolis. The two spent
the afternoon looking for each other IN
the crowd. and finally met and came home
together.
Two men with sporting proclivities were
lounging in the lobby of local hotel the
other day talking over their losses ana
gains at the recent Benning track meet.
had been extremely fortunate. while the
other confessed to heavy losses.
During a pause in the conversation one
of the men-the loser-glanced toward the
elevator. where a handsome woman was
waiting to be taken to an upper floor. The
betting man Immediately saw an opportu-
nifty to indulge In his sporting propensities.
Turning to his friend he said:
Joe to 1 the elevator indicator stops
at five!' and he pointed to the olal on
which a hand indicates the movement OF
the elevator and its position on or between
the floors
do you know any of the passengers!
asked the man referred to as Joe as the
lift started on its assent.
"Nope; don't know a SOUL
"All right, Bill, you're on. Me TOT ten
bucks" replied Joe.
The elevator stopped at the sixth fioor
and Bill handed out $40 to his friend.
But the loser was game and before the
car started down ne said:
1.-TWO to five that the car stops at the sec
ond floor on the return trip"
Taken" replied the other sport
But the car came to the first moor With
out a stop. This was but the beginning OF
the game for the two sports, and they
pulled up chairs so as to permit tnem
view of the elevator and put in the rest OF
the afternoon betting on the position OF the
hand on the elevator dial.
X X y
What is needed worse than almost any
thing else in the Secretary's office, said
an old employee of the Navy Department
to a Star reporter the other day. lis a flag
chest. We have no such thing In the
building as far as 1 can find out. and
when it comes to decorating the Office for
foreign visitors we are often put to 1t"
This need was exhibited the other day
when the French naval officers from the
cruiser squadron at Annapolis called on
the Secretary of the Navy. There were
plenty of American flags about the build
ing that could be called into play, but
there was not French flag anywhere.
The result was that Mr. Gauss, the Secre-
tary's clerk, who was floating around
with fountain pen In each hand, trying
to direct Invitations. dictate to two stem
ographers and oversee the decoration OF
the ante-room all at the same time, nearly
had an attack of nervous prostration. me
dry goods department of the building had
to be overhauled and the charwomen or
the sailors or some one else had to De set
to work patching up French flags out OF
the best material they could get hold or
The result was not at all bad. Nobody
could tell after ii was over that the hags
were not the genuine article and had not
been officially sanctioned by the French
naval office.
1t was not the first time that the trouble
had arisen, either. Until lately there has
not been any necessity for frequent inter
national decoration of that office. But as
the country grows there are more and
more of such visits as that of Prince
Louis of Battenberg, Admiral Campion
and others, and they all have to be re-
ceived with honor to this country and to
their native land. So the chances are that
a flag chest will be one of the next dp-
purtenances of the Secretary's office, In
order that visitors from any country on
the map can be received with fitting dig
My without throwing extra work on the
charwomen or the Secretarys clerk.
r \
Several years ago an Irish newspaper
writer drIfted into Washington and secured
an engagement on the city staff of now
defunct daily. He was highly educated
and talented fellow, being a graduate Of
the University OF Dublin Among his ac-
complishments was his ability to speak and
write in several languages. next to English
his favorite language being French. He
was given the Police Court assignment and
instructed by the city editor to spread
himself. especially on human interest
stories that came out in the proceedings OF
the court. This he proceeded to do, giving
many Of his stories a dash or two or
French.
On the morning following a strenuous
days work by the Irish reporter in which
he enlivened his reports with many French
excerpts, he found in the editorial para
graphs of a rival newspaper three-1ner
to the effect that nothing was more nauseat-
ing than "a police reporter with a smatter-
ing of French" As the paragraph evidently
referred to him. he pasted 1t on sheet Of
copy paper. wrote an addition TO IL, ana
then mailed the whole to the editorial para
grapher With his addition the paragraph
read
''There Is nothing more nauseating than
a police reporter with smattering of
French-unless IL be an editorial writer
with only a smattering OF English"