The Washington herald., 1908-04-12
CAPITAL SIDELICHTS.
GOSSIP OF MEN AND THINGS HERE AND ELSEWHERE
BY ONE WHO KNOWS"

Sunday clothes. and seeking out the au
thorities. confessed his crime just twents
years after Il had been co amitted. Hil
lcOnfession was received with smiles. and
the poor, suffering farmer with the ex
quisite conscience. was forced 10 stan6
treat for all those who heard HIS confes.
sion, for there had been no duty on meal
in Sweden, so he Was informed. for twen-
ty years.
Il don't believe much in divorces, said
naval officer as he strobe through the
grounds of the Naval Observatory, .'bnl
I would Ike 10 help celebrate a divorne
between the authorities that hold sway
here. that is. ] would like 10 divorce the
military and scientific Did any one ever
hear OF such a MARRIAGE And the fights
that have taken place there the snarling.
the quarreling, the chickering's that have
disgraced the administration Of the OBJ
/ servatory, why it's a crying scandal, and
il always will be until some radical
change is made The whole trouble lies
between the military chief and the scien-
tifc STAFF. for what does line officer of
the navy know about astronomy, and viii
not an experienced scientist an eminent
| astronomer who may have charge Of the
scientific work OF the observatory justly
resent taking orders from a man who
may not know buttons about the work in
hand? No. I'm ali for tradition and
don't believe in giving over the command
Of vessels TO sawb6nes, but I do believe
that a scientist should have absolute con-
troll of the staff he expects to do the
work he has mapped out and that he
should never be handicapped by the pres
enee even of a military man. who. while
he may be ignorant of and Indifferent 10
the work in progress. has yet authority
10 interrupt and retard IT,
There is abundant ground for this
criticism as every one who knows any
thing about the history OF the observa-
tory will admit. but the real trouble does
not seem 10 lie so much between the line
and the staff ia this instance, as lt does
in so many-almOst all-naval quarrels for
many OF the superintendent at the OBJ
seTvatory have been in full sympathy
with the work and have had the knowl-
edge 10 direct, but in the fact that a line
officer is apt at any time to be ordered
on TO sea and it has so happened in the
past that at the observatory the de-
sirable military superintendents have no
sooner gotten firmly established and in
full swing than they have been ordered
away. The average time a superin-
tendent passes at the observatory is two
and a half years: now. could any one
adopt and carry out definite system of
administration in this period? II would
be obviously impossible. and the policy
OF the great observatOries is directly op-
posed to short terms of service for their
chiefs. Greenwich, for instance, has had
only eight directors IN 224 years. Harvard
four directors in siXty-eight years, and
Pulkova- founded practically at the same
time as the Naval Observatory. has had
four directors in the seventy-two years
Of Its existence as against twenty-four
IN the latter institution. The office of
director Of the observatory is no sinecure
and had those men who nave been equal
to the task Of directing its work. such as
Gilliss. its founder. an able astronomer,
and Admiral Sampson. been allowed 20
remain until their plans were well on
their way to being carried out there
would be small occasion for the criticism
which is being constantly directed against
the obseryatory's management and its
poverty Of accomplishment But Con-
gress has been working for years for
the betterment Of the observatory and
Il Is not to be questioned but that some
day all Of the puzzling problems regard
ing II VIII be solved and ii VIII take its
place among the leading institutions of
similar character in the world
A lady in the West End has photo
Nh r.sFf f,F, H. .Ir,.. IL
naturally 50. since Il Is an admirable re-
production of a portrait by Gilbert Stew
art Of Sir Edward Thornton. who was
the secretary Of the first British Minister
accredited To this country. George Ham
mond. and whose son. also Sir Edward
Thornton. was British Minister at Wash
ington from 1868 until the early SOS. Mr..
Thornton remained in the United States
for thirteen years. serving
his government in various capacities. and
the story Of his career is an interesting
one. not alone because Of the part he
played in the early diplomatic history of
the United States, but on account Of the
place he subsequently occu-
pied in European diplomacy, and because |
Of the service re his son in Washington,
where, It 50 happened. that as charge
d d'affaires in the absence of his chief. Sir |
Robert Liston, he was the first British /
diplomatic agent 20 serve, the CAPITAL /
being transferred here while he was al /
the head Of the legation After his re- |
turn 10 Europe, Mr.. Thornton was sta /
toned for soma tine at Stockholm. where |
he became the companion and intimate /
friend Of Prince Bernadotte, beside whose /
side he rode when the allied armies en-
tered Paris. II was at Stockholm, too. /
that Mr. Thornton met for the first time /
Nine. dc Staol. who was then living there /
In exile, with whom he formed e friend /
ship which endured throughout their /
lives and. indeed, there was hardly q
distinguished person in Europe during
and subsequent to the Napoleonic wars
that Mr. Thornton did not know In one
way or another His memories would be
invaluable to the student OF that crucial
time, and toward the end Of his long life
ne began 70 write them. but too late. It
IS quite possible, however that his son,
the late Sir Edward Thornton. carried
out his intention of editing the mass of
papers left by his father. or that his
daughters viii undertake this task and
hat they will one day be published.
1t was IN Johnson's administration that +
Sir Edward Thornton. the son, first came
o this Capital. and for some thirteen
Tears thereafter his tall spare figure was
familiar one on the streets and in the
suburbs Of Washington: for. ike his
ather, Minister Thornton was an In
walker and made long pedestrian
rips about the country, being accom-
'anied usually by Lady Thornton and his
daughters The Thorntons were among
he most acceptable people ever sent here
md warmly liked. During Sir Edwards
egine the legation was established in
he present embassy building. and follow
ng its installment there were q series Of
'rilliant entertainments which will be
ong remembered. At that time the Brit
sh Legation as 1t was then, was the