Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-01-31
BITS OF WASHINGTON LIFE.
Minor scenes and Incidents sketched
on the spot.

Minor scenes ana Incidents sketched
on the SPOT.
! President Roosevelt and Senator Foraker
had a lively oraticsl bout at the Gridiron
club dinner last Saturday night The rule
Of the club forbidding reports Of speeches
at these functions prevented mention OF
the incident in the dispatches. but It was
such hot stun" that the Cincinnati En-
qulrcr suspended the club rule and devoted
two columns 70 the details. II IL said the
| orators began sparring. as the pugillsts put
! II, with six ounce gloves and wound up
with bare knuckles. The president led OF
with thirty minute speech during which
he cuffed opponents of the square deal"
and then turned to the Brownsville AFFAIR,
dealing short arm jolts to the senate and its
professed anxiety for Justice to the dis
missed soldiers. Senator Foraker, pale and
warm, responded in kind and for twenty
minutes kept the presidents head In chan
Gerry. II was noted as fortunate clrcum-
stance that two tables separated the heated
debates. Uncle Joe Cannon, at the finish,
eased the strain with a story.
The politeness that impels a man to give
a woman his seat in a street car is said to
be dying out In Washington. Persons who
come here only once in every ten years are
the ones that are saying 1t.
The other day Senator Blackburn OF Ken
lucky got up five times to give his seat to a
woman. and he was not taking a very long
ride either. The NTH time his polteness
was not able to make room for all the
women that were standing. Twelve men
were sitting, while three or four women
were standing. The senator looked on them
with scorn and scorn on the Blackburn
face is a burning thing.
} Il see there are twelve men in this car
who are not southern gentlemen" said the
senator in a tone of voice booming along
from the rear end of the car up to the
place occupied by the motorman.
In a very short time twelve men dropped
off the car.
"a large host Of statesmen at the house
end of the capitol are shaking in their
boots over the passage of the salary-in-
crease BILL" says the Washington Herald
''They are beginning to hear from their
districts. kilograms and letters are pour
ing in upon them. And nearly every one
of these missve bears a criticism more or
less Indignantly expressed. Generally
speaking. the metropolitan press has APP
proved both the measure and the unusual
methods resorted to to put 1t through, but
this approval seems as yet to have had no
influence on the minds of the voters, espe-
cIally those in the rural districts. AS a rule
the country papers are severely condemning
the measure, and denouncing It as another
salary grab-a term of reproach that causes
a creepy feeling to come over scores of
statesmen, who have for years heard their
constituents discuss this subject. The
democratic states seem to be harder on
their congressman than are the republican
sto nd b,y ie
orally thought that the salary increase will
cut quite a figure in the next congressional
campaign. Luckily for everybody con-
cerned the bill was passed without roll
call Thus, every statesman who voted
against 1t can be able to show by the
record what he did, while numerous of
those who stood up and were counted for
the bill the other day cannot be convicted
at home of having done So"
Attorney General Bonaparte can be the
suavest man in all creation, says a writer
20 the World Today He smiles so sweetly
while he talks that people have gone away
quite pacifed and never realized till after
it was all over that he had calmly gone
ahead and done precisely what he proposed
to do.
To return to that smile, It is so like the |
poor. No one ever saw Bonaparte who |
could think Of much else. True. the first |
thing one sees on meeting him is the bullet |
round head-the Napoleon head-with its |
bold forehead just bald enough to make |
1t yet holder.
Then one notes the nose a dominating |
nose, the full eyes between heavy eyebrows,
the short thick mustache Then the smile |
II starts with the eyes, droops to one corner |
of the mouth, slips over to the other, then |
becomes audible in a queer kind Of chuckle |
in the throat, which shakes an increasingly |
prominent double chin.
The upper chin is very timid and retiring |
but there's a dimple in it which works in |
wonderfully with that smile But don't |
fiatter yourself, and pat yourself on the
back and think the attorney general is dead
easy. That smile is only cloak to cover
up-you will never know what IT covers up |
till you come away and discover where you
are.
He will cut your throat with a feather
while he chuckles and smiles If you are |
not satisfied with being thus graciously be-
headed and answer back you'll find an |
adept at sarcasm and irony using a pen !
knife.
II you still rebel the next you know |
backwoodsman will be at you with a brute
of an axe But he will be smiling and |
chuckling through IT all.
Senator Beveridge Of Indiana the other |
afternoon administered such a reproof TO |
Secretary Taft as is not likely to be for |
gotten in hurry by the big Ohio man.
The senator was delivering his speech on |
the child labor bill-an EFFORT which had |
cost him a weeks preparation. Almost from
the beginning OF his remarks he was an
noyed by the hum of conversation imme-
dately behind him. Turning, he saw Sec
rotary Taft in animated discussion with |
a group OF senators. Looking straight at
the. secretary, he said In clear tones: IF |
I am disturbing you I will suspend until |
your conversation is finished" The secre-
tary's face flushed until II seemed as
though he would explode, but after few