The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-05-27
Capital Tales

than the late Edmund Winston Pettus
of Alabama, octogenarian and gentle
man. Good stories on General Pettus-
he was always called General BY
those who knew him best-are stin
floating about washington. one Of
them was told By friend and sdmirer
of Pettus the other day.
Pettus was fine lawyer and a brave
soldier and he was also a highly-hnish-
ed player of the noble American game
of poker. He loved the game and he
PLAYED It artistically and well. One
well-knoTn instance is recounted where
/ in he raised OUT a pat hand on a pair
/ OF jacks and Faked in a big pot. One
night ne sat in" with some friends.
/ the session grew exciting. and 1t was
1 O'Clock IN the morning before the
venerable statesman headed for home.
| Not wanting 20 wake his wife for OBJ
/ vious reasons, he took OF his shoes
downstairs. sneaked upstairs without
making q sound. removed his raffnent
and got into bed Mrs Petfus was
asleep. IN order not TO disturb her, the
! Senator lay on the edge OF the bed, bur
soon found the rail was extremely I'M
comfortable. He remained IN agony for
an hour. The sun was beginning to
! come up and he needed sleep. He had
/ just about decided that II would do no
harm to waken his wife and md a more
comfortable part of the bed, when he
was Mortified TO hear Mrs. Pettus In her
sweetest tones say.
General, don't you thing you would
rest better il you took of your hat?"
F.
Calls for quorum are frequent IN
/ the Senate these days. Few are the
Senators who can stand the endless
monotony of tariff arguments, and the
| cloakrooms are well patronized. After
every call for a quorum. one can see
a dozen Senators fastening cut Of the
/ chamber and back to the eioa kfootsls-
| Senator Frye Of Maine is about the
1 only Senator who is always on the
lob He Is always in his seat when
/ the Senate is IN session, ana IS always
an attentive listener TO the proceed
/ ings Even the most WearisOnle speech
does not appear to disturb the serenity
/ of the venerable Senator from Maine
| Ex-Representative Charlie Lands
of Indiana. one of the leading members
1 OF the lame duck" class at the end OF
| the last Congress. is now out whoopins
/ It I'D for ship subsidy. Mr.. Lands is
going about the country urging the
/ building sIp of the American merchant
marine He is not alone in this move
meut. Under the auspices OF the MeI-
| chant Marine League OF the United
/
mote ship subsidy. number OF SPEAK
/ ers are engaged in the same line OF
/ work The promoters of the movement
| for subsidies are hopeful that the effects
/ Of the educational movement they are
/ carving on in the agricultural sections
| of the country viii be legislation OF
/ the kind they want next session.
=
HE Senate is having fine tine try
ing 10 inform itself about its tsJin
bin. and some funny .fings happen.
This effort 10 get information among
ourselves, about things noi,7 Of US know
anything about. makes me think Of the
three brothers out in my State who got
/ rich trading" said Senator. They had
fine collection OF jackknives, fishing
tackle, and old harness and do you
know. they traded among themselves
till they had al got rieh.
| Senator Burrows talked in favor OF a
protective duty on iron ore He show
| ed that there was no need OF worry
about exhausting the countrys supply
of iron: there had been shown to be
| enough to last 5000 years at the present
rate of use.
Next Day Senator MeCumber talked
/ on the same question, and demonstrated
/ that the statistics OF the subject showed
! that there was plenty of iron ore, ar the
/
Somebody else got into the Record
H the impression that the ore supply would
/ last at least 800 years.
1 Senator McCumber and others took
/ especial pains TO demOlish the theory.
/ advanced By Senator Crawford of South
/ Dakota. that the supply would be eX-
! hausted in thirty years. II was really
/ intensely absurd, as all the iron ore pro-
| tectiOnists agreed
! Then senator Beveridge. who keeps
saNa 80 nj
/ has an ear for figuTeS. came 10 bat
Don't know that a matter Of a few
/ thousand wears, more or less, viii be
| especially importaQt TO Us, he iH1l-
mated .'but were getting punches OF
three thousand years tossed around here
rather carelessiy, all on the highest
authority. We are assured that the sup
ply will last 5000 years, and II seems
| to 5000 yearsF and now the Senator from
South Dakota is quoted as finding that
| il ought to be thirty years. II seems
| as ii the committee might be able to
enlighten such wide diyergences as
that.
Everybody laughed, and the various
authorities tried 10 get together. CraW-
/ ford was not in the chamber. The Va
rious high-duty people protested that
I they had no prejudice against the 500
| figure named by Senator Burrows; they
were willing 10 admit it and stipulate 10
| that effect Mr. Beverage was strange
/ ~ unwilling to make up mis- judgment on
such information.
/ So the talk went on, and finally the
/ iron protection group had got within a
/ few thousand years of agreement as 10
1 the exact time, and were in complete
/ harmony on the proposition THAT CTaW-
/ ford was hopeiessly wrong and ought TO
| be denounced as an alarmist- While
/ they were lambasting him Senator Ray
neT paved over the Record OF the pre-
! vious days session, and finally got up.
Mr.. President" he said, Il find on
! referring TO the Record that the gentle
! men on the other side are needlessly
/ concerned over the statistics of the Sen
| ator from South Dakota. He'said thirty
years would see the present supply eX-
/ haUgted; but he was talking about ium-
/ Der, not iron-0re.
/ The Senate looked sheepishly st itself
( and concluded to laugh.
The Senate's Attitude.
Senator Depew was discussing the
tendency Of the Senate to indulge in a
long tariff debate
1T reminds me OF a story Evarts
used 10 tell SAID Senator Depew. eft
| was his favorite story The sum and
substance of & was this Up on his
farm he had eE old man name1 Sim