The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-05
AT THE HOTELS.

The first time / ever saw washington
was in 1855" said Judge Mcclure, OF Lit
tie Rock. at the New Willard. Il was a
verdant country youth, living in Putnam
County, Ohio. in that region known az
that period as the Black Swamp. had
been at the Capital few days and had
found out a frst-class place TO get fried
oysters It was on Pennsylvania avenue,
near Four-and-a-haK street. / went in
one night about midnight. and who should
be seated on a high stool eating bivaIves
with great zest but Senator Stephen A.
Douglas, Of Illinois / did not then know
him by sight. but was his worshiper.
and so when the waiter told me who it
was went Up in timid fashion and intro
duced myself as one OF his Ohio followers.
Mr. Douglas greeted me with great cor
diallty and introduced me to two country
looking men, constituents OF his, who had
come on from Illinois 70 see him. / re-
member they called him Steve in a most
familiar way. After a pleasant chat I
said I must be going to my 'tavern'-we
said tavern in those days-and babe the
Senator good night He asked me where
/ ! stopped, and on my telling him VII
l
going there. too, and so the whole party
walked till we reached the hotel Instead
/ OF going 10 bed, quart bottle Of good old
whisky was ordered, and 1 think a sec
Ond one was consumed before the meeting
was adjourned. AS matter Of fact, we
/ did not dispense until O'Clock a. m,
which leads me to observe there has not
/ been much change in the cOnvtviaI habits
Of Americans in the last fifty years. Mr..
/ Douglas did most Of the talking, bUt he
had a delighted audience"
AS I came East to Washington this
time" remarked Mr.. James +. William
son, a prominent Minneapolis lawyer at
the ShOreham. Il was interested IN the
talk Of a couple Of men in the dining car
Of the train on which ! Travelled. One Of
them graveIy advanced the proposition
that it would be better for the country
to let Col Roosevelt continue in Office
Indefinitely He would be willing TO have
him as emperor rather than a President,
who had 10 go before the people every
four years. Another man agreed with this
speaker emphatically. while i third mem
Der Of the party dissented.
1T struck me as a most extraordinary
thing to hear two men Of good appear
ance and fair intelligence gravelv advo-
cate such bOsh. At the same time, II
the present tendency toward centrallzs-
ton IS maintained, and tho principles set
forth by Secretary Root in his Harris
burg speech are carried into effect, it will
not be many years before such talk viii
be common. have not lost faith in the
y.f y. A
ever, and believe that the sentiment Of
tn country is adverse 10 the Root doc
tTine.
AT all events. if that be made an issue
in the next national campaign, and 7 hope
il viii be. the Democrats should have no
trouble in sweeping the country There
Is bound To be "a reaction against the
| federalistic principle which. to my mind
is the most pernicious theory Of govern
ment that could be advocated. and which,
If it were allowed to ripen 10 full fruiti0n.
would simply mean the destruction Of this
nation
There are few better known or more
popular men in Chicago than Mr.. VIII
liam II. Harper. who is at the Ebbitt He
has figured extensively in Illinois politics
and was one OF the famous band Of 113
in the legislature that stuck 10 Gen. John
4. Logan at his last election 70 the
Senate
Without any personal interest in the
matter" said Mr.. Harper, Il have come
to Washington TO do what / can to help
on the passage Of the bill to increase the
salaries Of all men in the United States
army, from the humbIest private through
/ 7n is &c
mon justice The pay Of our soldiers has
not been increased since 1870 and the
tremendous increase in the cost of living
since then is too well known 10 talk
about.
"On account OF the slim pay, S13 a
, month, offered TO young men 70 enlist,
there IS 10 inducement 20 go into the
army. Better pay would also bring a
= better class Of recruits The salaries OF
e officers is SO meager that no wonder Gen.
e Corbin spoke Of the undesirability Of men
n below the grade of captain contracting
@ marriage Even a captains pay. 5000 a
= year. as prices Of living now 60, would
, be inadequate for the maintenance OF a
: family"
r I have been on the frontier the great
er part of my life" said Mr.. George A.
Bracket of Minneapolis. at the Raleigh.
IN 1857. in company with ". D. Wash
! burn, who afterward became United
States Senator from Minnesota, and with
:. whom I have ever since maintained the
i closest friendly relations. 1 left the town
g Of Orono, in Maine, for the far West. as
o Minnesota was then. There were about
e 700 OF 500 people then living j. Mnneapo-
. lis. and there was not a mile OF railway in
either Iowa or Minnesota.
When the civil war broke out I came
East and furnished cattle for Gen. Stone
Il in his operations in Virginia. At the bat
i tie Of Balls Bluff 1 messed with Capt.
= Batcheller, afterward QuartermaSter Gen
IS eral Of the army. and 1 prepared the re-
2 mains of Gen. Baker, who was killed in
e that fight. for shipment TO Washington.
a In 1852 1 went West again, as they needed
me TO furnish beef for Gen Sibley, whe
a was fighting the hostile Sioux
l. Later ! was I'm the employ of Jay
a Cooke when he started in 10 build the
p Northern Pacific Railroad. and construct
ed the road west as far as Bismarck
Twenty years ago, impelled by the same
frontier spirit I began making trips "a
Alaska, and ! have been going I'D there
j. ever since. I built, in 1897, the first
IS wagon road in that country. from Skag.
r way 10 the summit of the White Horse
Pass. and I tell you il was the toughest
! job 1 ever tackled. The government al
lowed me to charge toll over the road un
til such time as a railway should be built
which was done the following year by ar
English syndicate ! scarcely got my
o money back, because of the short time
that was allowed me for reimbursement