The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-25

Washington, December 24.--(Special)-
 It may be the growth of the suffrage sen
 timent or it may be something else, but
 the fact is that the women of the con-
 gressional set are taking more interest in
 politics these days than at any time eau
 remember.
 There is never anything out of the ordi-
 nary routine going on in either Senate pr
 House that the members galleries have
 not a full quota of the wives and daugh-
 ters of the lawmakers paying close atten-
 ton to the proceedings and it is not only
 the congressional women folks who are
 present-many of the women in other
 sets are studying lawmaking at first hand
 as it were.
 Mrs sherman, wife of the vice president,
 Mrs. Nicholas Longworth. Mrs. Martin
 W. Littleton, Miss Helen Taft, the Misses
 Meyer, Miss Clark daughter of the speak
 CT and Miss Cannon, daughter of the
 former speaker all are frequent visitors
 to the capitol.
 The Washington Social Register for 1912
 has been issued. The members of prom inent Washington families, whether resii- ing in the city, in the suburbs, in other
 cities, or abroad. are grouped under the
 one address, with the maiden and Chris tian names of married women. the names
 of daughters and sons in the order of their age, and the younger children from F to 9 years old placed beneath their elders under the title of juniors. The utility of the married maidens col iimn in the back of the book. whereby married women who may only be remem- bered by their maiden names now may pe traced, is increased this year to cover in- tercity marriages, and the former maideh names appear opposite the present mar ried names, with the city of the social register in which they now may be found. In 1911 159 persons in Washington socie- ty were married, as compared with 16o in 1910, and there are noted the deaths of B women and 8 men, as compared with 3s women and T6 men the previous year. Tn connection with the social register, the Locator, which has become necessary ow- ing to the many intercity marriages ana shifting residences from one city 10 an- other, catalogues in the one alphapeticai
 order all the names in all the different so-
 cial registers.
 Mrs. Claude A. Swanson, wife or the former governor and present senator "l Virginia has just sold one Of the largest and most perfect tobacco crops m the state Mrs. Swanson has been topacco planter on her own account for the last five years, and recently has taken over the entire management of the crop ever to it's sale to manufacturers
 In addition to realizing very handsome, lv on the farm, Mrs. Swanson recelVeu all the blue ribbons in the recent couh'S fair at Lynchburg near which her prop , erty is situated. Her product was con sidered fawless. and Mrs. swanson her- self gives full credit to excellent instruc- lions from the Agricultural Department though she admits she diligently expert mented in soil and gave every de,ai nei personal attention.
 Mrs swanson is, besides figuring i'll the practical role of tobacco grower, me amateur artist, and her home is adorne'i with painter china. She has dinner set 1 on which the decorations are tiny Vlr- | cjnia landscapes, bits from the mountains. l the Shanandoah valley. or near Natural | Bridge, all favorite spots of Mrs. swan | son.
 Another senatorial farmer is Mrs. Ben l iamin II. Tillman, who has invested her | nrivate income in an asparagus farm near l Charleston, S. c. Mrs. Tillman startel
 with 10 acres of the delicious vegetable, t, and so profitable did she find the experi- ment that now she has go acres. all GOV | cred with asparagus, so planted that 1t | produces crops nine months in the year | Mrs. Tillman sends her choicest clusters | to certain hotels in Washington. but she has a large and growing demand from New York and Boston. Her asparagus is wonderfully tasty. the soil of South Caro- and other properties, and Mrs. Ttllmnn