The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-07-06
LETTER
Especial Correspondence

w Especial Cor~respondcncc.l
Recent Investigations by q well
known citizen OF Washington nave re-
vealed the fact that the District OF Co
lumbia, the seat of the government,
often called the "ten mile square," is
not at the present day nor was at the
time Of its marking ten miles square.
II this should prove true. and there Is
NO doubt Of 1t, a. the party presents
proof Of his assertions, the District Of
Columbia Is not plumb and Its bound
ary 10 untrue. He says the northwest
ern and southeastern boundary lines OF
the District exceed ten statute miles
By g md 7O.6 feet respectively and
die northwestern and southwestern
1854 feet and 23O.8 feet respectively.
These Irregularities, he declares, throw
de north corner Of the District 118.z
f0et to the west OF the meridian Of the
south or original stone and also throw
tie west corner 1886 feet farther to
the north than the east corner.
District M~ilestsnes.
An examination shows that the dis
tances between the successive stones
vary considerably from exact miles,
and In no Instance can a milestone be
found placed at exactly q distance Of
one mile from its neighbor. 1t is fur
Their discovered that many Of the
stones are out of proper alignment and
that the original lines limiting the ter
ritory are not at the proper angles.
The District Of Columbia was estab-
lished by congress on July 16, 1890.
and the original cornerstone was laid
| April Is, 1871.
White House stables.
Owing to the condition of the presl-
| dents stables all of the horses which
belong to MI. Roosevelt personally
have been sent to another stable at
some distance from the White House.
The White House stables are on low
ground and are so damp that several
! Of the Roosevelt horses died from in
huenza, while others were very i'll
from that disease and have never fully
recovered. Efforts on the part of men,
bers of congress to secure an appro-
priation for new stables have failed
heretofore, and opposition in the past
has been so marked that there was not
even an estimate for the purpose sub
mitted at this session.
Only government horses are now
kept in the White House stables, and
It ID understood that il congress next
year does not appropriate for new sta
bles to be erected on a healthier site
these animals will be sent elsewhere
and their present quarters closed.
La Toilette . Vegetarian.
The original anti-beef trust senator II
Ia Toilette of Wisconsin. For i've
years he has not eaten meat Of any
kind.
The Wisconsin man is, in fact, one
Of the best authorities in the country
on gastronomic ailments because when
his own gastronomic apparatus went
back or him he became a student Of
such subjects. prescribed a diet for
himself and restored his health. But
he has never restored meat to his
menu. The notion that there is no fight
ing capacity left in strictly %herbivorous
animals, however. has received a Sc
| we're shock in congress since the fact
became known that La Toilette alb
stains from meats.
Free Lemonade.
The free lemonade habit of the SEN
ate Is as old and respectable as the
snuffbox habit. Few men take snuff
these days, but the snufbox near the
vice presidents chair IL kept replen-
lshed. Both snuff and lemonade are
paid for out of the funds Of the senate.
! Both are of the finest quality.
The senate lemonade isn't the thin,
watery stuff that one gets ven where
the price is high enough to justify the
use of only the finest materials by the
most skillful artist. 1t is a rich yellow
,, 6uid made Of mineral water and the
Juice Of many lemons. into which for
dayoring purposes are poured the
Juices OF other fruits. 1t is served out
In huge galvanized pals placed at con-
venient points in the restaurant, the
principal committee rooms and the
cloakrooms as well as the press gal
lery. It Is free to all corners
senatorial Overshoes.
Another custom Of the senate 10 to
provide each of the senator's with as
many pairs Of overshoes as the state
ef the weather demands. The fathers
Of the republic. which is the proper
name Of all those who lived prior to
the civil war, introduced that practice
- soon as 1t was shown that shoes
made of a mixture of rubber and vul-
canizing material were of real value in
the exclusion OF water.
The custom has prevailed so long
that no one remembers on what ground
the expenditure of public money for
the purchase of articles of wearing ap-
parel was justified. Before the advent
Of Boss Sheppard, the man who pulled
Washington out of the mud, the pur-
chase of rubbers might have been JUS
tiled OIL the ground that the interests
Of the public demanded that senator's
do not risk their lives by v%enturing out
: upon the streets without all the para