Omaha daily bee., 1911-02-16
Washington Life
Some interesting Fhaaea
ana Conditions obeerveo
10 the Wation'u Capital.

II - the Nadonr oapitAA.
When Senator Eugene Hale OF Maine re-
tires from the senate on the an OF March.
there win so with him what has become
/ known in the senate chamber as the spec
tacle gesture" Senator Hale IL the only
man In either house Of congress who never
let's so Of his eyeglasses in making a
speech He removes them from his nose
when he rises to address the senate, holds
them securely In his right hand, whether
his speech be OF one minute or one hours
duration Whenever Senator Hale makes
a telling point says the Washington
Times He raises his hand and the glasses
% an angle OF about 20 degrees and brings
| them down TO a level. There they remain
until the senator comes to the end Of an
other sentence. Ub go the glasses again.
with the regularity Of clock pendulum
and down. they come.
| Senator Hale speaks 30 slowly that It
is not difficult to take his speeches in
longhand." $3.50
1 The highest social honor to be gained in
Washington, says the Brooklyn Eagle cor
respondent is an invitation to dine at the
White House at a state dinner Such a
eNAaAhihua 10 treasured NN lnOhe IOENunHLE
enough to receive one and the list next day
always is scanned by those who have not
been SO commanded.
State dinners are costly. and the pres
idents income is. after all, limited, and
besides they are few In number The state
dining room will not accommodate more
than eighty people, so that in the course
OF winter not more than 500 people will
| n hgn
president on an occasion OF state.
Congressman and senators come and 20
without ever having tasted a state dinner,
and some will indeed have been years here
/ before fortune favors them.
One who has been In Washington long
time is Judge Walter 1. Smith, the Iowa
congressman. who has just been made a
member OF the United States circuit court.
Although prominent in congress. 1t was
not until the first summer OF the Taft
administration that he was invited to a for
NAL White House dinner, and this was an
outdoor function, for the weather was
warm. He commented at the time that this
was the first time he had met with White
House hospitality
But 1t appears that he was not to 20
away from Washington without having en-
NbNhNNbNN a iNhA STATE ulitneE III the state
dining room, for he was among the guests
at the state dinner last week in compliment
of the supreme court of the United States
Senator Root was in President Taft's Of
flee the other day conversng with the chief
executive. Suddenly he left the presidents
side and charged determinedly at the wall
where picture OF Colonel Roosevelt was
hanging In the senator's hand was an UNI
brella, and he stuck It out in a beiligN.ent
manner at the unoffendiDg portrait
An onooker gasped, for It looked as
| though the senator was bent on demolish-
ing the likeness of the former president
What could Roosevelt have done to invite
reprisal from the man who was his chief
support while in the White House?,
Mr.. Root, with his umbrella simply ad-
tusted the picture so that it hung straight.
BY some mischance the picture had become
awry. Senator Root had simply gone back
to his old White House custorn-that OF
keeping Colonel Roosevelt straight,
Unique i'm feminine clubdom is the Con-
gressional club Of Washington, which in it's
two seasons Of existence has revolutionized
the social life OF the official set Two years
ago the club was only a luminous idea in
in the busy brain Of Mrs. James Brock
Perkins, wife Of the late Representative
Perkins of Rochester, N. Y. Now II has
a clubhouse. a large membership and it's
weekly "at homes" are events much an
ticipated in the city's social life, and every
''liOn," literary, artistic, musical or polti-
cal, who comes to Washington is glad TO
roar for the benefit Of it's clever members
The clubs membership requirements are
unlike those Of any organization OF women
in the world. II is composed Of the wives
and daughters of congressman and eX-con-
gressmen and its only requirements for
membership are that. the woman applicant
shall be a member Of the family of a sena-
tor or representative and shall pay the
yearly dues OF SOS. There are 100 honorary
memberships for which other women in
official life are eligible. These are open to
the wives Of the president. the members
Of the cabinet and other government off,
cials.
The bald-headed senators are casting en-
vious glances these days in the direction
of Senator Robert Marion LaFollette. The
| Wisconsin lion tanner has always been
( noted for his wealth Of hair. The POM
padoured one has broken all his past rec
ords regarding the length, breadth and
width Of his hirsute pate covering. Really
| II is enough to cause one to marvel II
rises 20 a height of several inches in an
! impressive series Of ripples and undulations
that would make the average marcel wave
artist despair. The effect is 10 add several
inches 70 the senator's stature, seemingly
I Those who especially envy the luxurious
growth OF hair Of Senator LaFollette are
Senators Nixon OF Nevada and Perkins OF
California. OF a truth, badness is not so
rampant in the senate as during the days
OF Edmunds, Hoar, Vest and those other
| patriots Senator Watson OF West Vir-
| ginia a newcomer, has added TO the young
| ish appearance OF the senate There Is
not a single strand OF silver In his coal
: black hair
VICTORY FOR POLITICS.
800 vN......-.st, Vs.. s....Iu. 49,.