The Washington bee., 1912-02-10
Public Men And dThinDS
(By the Sage OF the Potomac.


game, because there IS still slight
shudder of astonismhent when the
other face turns up ] was ruminat-
ing in my thought dome the other
night, and this quotation did the
Teddy Roosevelt stunt OF coming to
the front. ] believe it was dry En-
crson who specled II of. He's aa
awfully hard man TO read after. His
points are so ObSCured in a climate of
dense highbrOWism But / am hitting
the long trail, SO must back up. When
this quotation OF Emerson swept
across my top sail, | just naturally
thought Of Dr. Harris away down
there in South Washington. Now
life to Doc Is the pitching OF the
penny, but they pitch them TO him,
and as backstop he's got old Silver
Flint, who use to do the baCkstOpping
for the ChiCago's when l, as 4 kid
played on the sand lots, backed off
the boards. Doc IS a round, fat, jolly
little mixer of dope and nOstrums
who fellow likes to talk to. Lots
of druggists are like cod liver oil
you just can't stand them, but Dr.
Harris Is just like two pounds Of
rock candy dissolved in a quart Of
Golden Wedding Rye, and you know
how smooth and palatable that is
when you think you are going to
have a bad cold. Drop in Doc Har-
ris' sub-trcasury down in South
" ashingtoH, and if that nice, smooth,
home-like, make-yourself-Contented
style of talk of his don't make you
relieve yourself Of some of your coin,
if only for a cigar, then | will enlist
to fight in the TripOli war Is he
making money Well, now, it would
be just as foolish to ask if the Riggs
Bank IS receiving money. He's max
ing it as fast as he can, and I like to
see it. because he's a Jolly duplicate OF
Fallstaff. About once a week Doc.
blows himself for a dime and comes
up in the Northwest and calls on his
brother pill purveyors, and other
cuarenta, as my Spanish friends
would cali old time friends
Amt it funny that lots of times the
fellows You hear the less about are
really the fellows who have got the
gray matter pretty well stored up in
their brain cells Now there's Foun-
tain Peyton. You never see his name
mentioned in the list of guests at the
Presidents reception, and over in lie
Droit Park, where pennyrOyle society
Is always IN q Jam with the climber 5
brigade, you never meet Fountain at
any OF the pink teas, and yet, when
YOU come down to figure out inches
for these BlaCkstOnians, you just have
f~h 70
Fountain, because he Is a sure
enough lawyer. Some months ago
Fountain got it into his brain-mOw
that up in the NOrthwest-away up
there where La Toilette and Uncle |
Ike Stephenson come from, they were
So short of lawyers that they would |
take anything that come along, so
he packed his grip, bought a first |
class ticket for most Of the distance, /
and sat ont for the country that
caused Horace Greely to write Go |
West young man But Fountain
didn't stay long One morning we
woke up in Washington to discover
that Fountain was in our midst again. |
Fountains d peculiar sort of fellow. |
He's got the idea. somehow, that ev-I
erybody wants to hang the help not
sign on him, and as 4 result
he don't mix as much with the men
as he should All the lawyers, and |
that includes myself, because | grad
uated in law, hand it TO him for being |
a good lawyer. George Collins, who |
is also sort of hide-and-gO-seek |
member OF the bar, told me, right |
down on Louisiana avenue, while |
standing only four feet from Melen-i
dez King, the probable first chief JUS
tice of the Chinese republic, that |
Fountain Peyton Is real, sure
enough lawyer, and one who can back |
most OF the preSent-day saints OFT the /
boards when it comes to knowing |
what law Is. If Fountain would Just |
snuff out that false light OF his that |
DIazes the way To reCluslVenesS, and /
mix more with the Sons OF Ham, |
he'd be a headliner most every week /
on the public bill board Come.
Fountain, break your face up into a |
smile occasionally, like Bob Pendle-
ton, and occasionally practice the |
turkey trOt" like Royal Hughes. and |
blow the boys TO tWO-fOr-a-federal-l
dollar cigar, a few times, like liberal /
Tom Beckett, and you'll soon be a |
roommate for Bill Optimist.
heard Prof Kelly Miller given a
new title the other day. the GreatJ
Pacifcator." 1t seems a though /
Prof Miller has been gum-shoeing
it around through the Eighth Pre-
,iuct trying to patch up this school
case; trying to get the three sage
brush worriers on the school board
to permit Little Lord Fauntleroy,
ike Daniel of old, TO enter the lions
len without being made a hamberger
stake by the lions. Now ! guess 1t
lin't no secret, so | can give it out.
Fact Is Prof. Miller has no secrets,
except returned manuscripts, that
come back marked not available"
Kelly is a dear old soul who has con-
idence in everybody, and believes ev-
erybody IS just as innocent as he Is
IF an unkind deed or thought, Well
one day. some few weeks ago, so a
brilliant lady teacher told me, Kelly !
the idea of forming an ar
3itration board consisting of five re-
sponsible colOred celebrities for the
,olored board members, and fve ir-
-eproachable members of the COlored!
who's who" fraternity for Bruce, he