Evening star., 1926-12-13

On Friday, December 10, one of the
longest cabinet meetings in the annals
Of the Coolidge administration took
place. 1t lasted two hours. The aver
age time is under an hour and q half
Many times, in fitting accord with the
taciturnity of the President. the pow
vows of his official household are very
brief. Occasions are on record when
they occupied no more than Is min
utes. There are some well founded
suggestions that 1t was Mexico which
mainly concerned the cabinet at the
end of last week, with Secretary Kel-
logg in the role of principal spokes-
man. AS January / approaches, that
being the date when a "show down
on foreign land and oil concessions is
required by the Gales government,
the administration at Washington
evinces growing concern as to what
the immediate future may hold in
store for American.Mexican relations.
X X * II
Not everybody in Washington's
smart set travels exclusively awheel
Two of it's younger and most charm
ing members, the Misses Smiddy,
daughters of the Minister Of the Irish
Free state, are accomplished walkers.
Several times a week they hike from
their home. distance of 20 miles, to
and from the Congressional Country
Club. Before they start back they
usually play a couple OF games or
tennis-just to warm up. One SUNDAY
not long ago the blue-eyed colleens
from the Emerald Isle walked from
Washington to Baltimore, constitu-
tional of more than 40 miles, Thelr
ruddy cheeks and bubbling spirits in
= -, the
Vivacious Misses Smiddy. who can't
be very much beyond the debutante
age, that walking must be an aid to
health par excellence.
* X X X
Senator.elect "Bill' Ware of Penn
sylvania demonstrated at the Whte
House reception on December tnat
he's as much at home in the ballroom
as he is at the polls. Shepherdlng
the feminine branch of the ware
tribe. his wife and two pretty daugh-
ters. the uncrowned king Of Philadel-
phia entered into the terpsichorean
gayelies of the evening with the VerYe
of a college sheik. If the Ware smile
at tie White House was any chi
terion, impending events on Capitoi
Hill are depressing the Senator-eiect
about as much as water agltateS
ducks back.
David S. Barry, debonair sergeant
alarms of the United States Senate,
calls this Observers attention to a
quaint fact brought to light by the
recent passing of Uncle Joe can
non. He was the last survivor OF
the brilliant galaxy of men ana
women portrayed in the painting OF
"The Electoral Commission" which
sat in judgment on the Florida case
on February 5, 1877. The picture Is
one of the real art treasures that
adorn the Capitol and hangs just out
| side the Senators gallery. The artist
Cordelia Adele Fassatt, sold the mas
tcrpiece to the Government Tor
$500. although a price of $25,OOG was
once placed upon it. All the polltlca
giants of 40 years ago and many OF
the socially elite of Washington are
reproduced with the artistic fdeilty
of individual miniatures. Joe Can
non, then a sandy haired and sandy
bearded young congressman, Is easily
recognizable. So are scores or ma
tional dignitaries Of the day, like
James G.. Blaine. George f. Edmunds,
Allen c.. Thurman, oliver p. Morton.
Frederick r. Frelinghuysen, Roscoe
Conkling, Thomas f.. Bayard. Matt
w. Ransom, Abram 8. Hewitt, George
F. Hoar. Eppa Hunton, William Nj.
Evarts, Fernando Wood, Gen. A. l..
Burnside, Henry Watterson then a
| member of the House), Gen. John b.
| Gordon and William B. Allison.
n n y n
Every once in a while the two
na viSap in tho eahinet get their wires