Evening star., 1935-01-27
CHAPTER XXXIX.
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER,

uS SIIoIIs do IIldI VI dH OSJTlCN. he Is,
you know, the nephew of old Fog
Horn" Allen, the inventor, and dur
Ing his later years he and his uncle
quarreled on account of their preSi-
dental ambitions. Mr.. Thurman has
been a presidential quantity for 10
years past He always uses red silk
handkerchief to blow his nose or as
polisher. from which he gets his
title The Knight of the Red Ban
dana" At the Chicago convention
this year his friends wore as their
Colors a red bandana handkerchief
around their hats, and made the
Palmer House a bedlam with their
cheers for "Old Snuff" as they low
ingly call him.
1t is from his old French teacher
that Senator Thurman learned to take
snuff, and he has kept the practice up
all his life. When Thurman first
learned to snuff the practice was
common. There was hardly man
in the United States Senate who was
not addicted to it. Clay was an in
Veterate Snuffer; there is a story that
he once stopped in the midst of an
argument before the Supreme Court
and, stepping to the front, asked Chief
Justice Marshall for a pinch of sneez-
ing powder. Capt. Bassett. the VEN
cradle doorkeeper of the Senate. tells
me there used to be a snuff box on
the desk of the President of the Sem
ate. One of the duties of the pages
of the past was going to the box and
carrying pincheS of snuff to different
Senators. Capt. BasSett was a page
when Van Buren was Vice President,
and Van Buren gave him every week
SO cents to buy the snuff for his box.
The last week of his term he told
Capt. BaSSett to fill up the box. but
he forgot to pay him. so President
Van Buren owes BaSSett so cents to
this day.
When Fillmore became Vice PreSi-
dent he grew disguised with Senators
rushing up to his desk in the midst
of a debate to get a pinch from the
Vice Presidents snuff box. So he in
structed Mr. Bassett to buy two snuff
boxes and to put one on each side
OF his desk in the receSses of the wall.
Mr.. BaSsett carried out his orders and
the snuff boxes, filled, are kept there
to this day. In the incidental ex-
penses of the Senate you may see the
item Of the cost Of the snuff which
the Senate uses. 1t is a small item
now. for there are few Senators who
snlH the tltlllating powder. Joe
Brown snuffs, Edmunds adds to the
redness of his red nose by taking a
pinch now and then and bluff old
Wade Hampton and Senator Beck
take occasional sneezes.
Party Patronage.
A prominent Democratic Con-
gresham who stands as high per-
haps as any man in his party talked
freely to me last night in regard to
the administration. He denounced
Cleveland's policy of not replacing
Republicans in Office with Democrats
as detrimental to the country and
rulnous to his own party.
The fate of the Democratic party
and of Cleveland's administration lies
IN the crossroads post Offices" he
said. 1T makes little difference to
the country what they do with the
places here at Washington or with
the diplomatic service, but if the post
masters are not changed it is as
though there were no change in ad-
mlnStratlon. The plan of the pres
ent President is to make no changes
on the ground of politics. The fact
that man is Republican is no rea-
son for his removal. 1t must be shown
that he has stolen a mule. has had a
career like that of Don Juan or has
not attended to the duties of his office.
When you consider the close re-
lationships in small town. YOU can
see how such principle acts. Take.
for instance, the town of Pinhook in
my district. 1t contains 200 or 300
people, has couple of stores, a black
smith shop and a post Office. Its
population is about equally divided
between Democrats and Republicans.
and 1t is a question whether the town.
ship goes one way or the other. Smith,
the postmaster. is the leader of the
Republicans. He has his little row of
post office boxes at one end of his
store counter, where he deals out the
mail between his sales of goods. Every
one comes to the post office, so it is of
great advantage to his store to have
the post office located in it.
Smith works zealously for the Re-
publican party When he wraps a
pound of sugar. the paper he uses is
a tract on the tariff. If he gives a
woman a cake of soap, statistics of
Republican greatness and economy are
on the paper in which it is put I'D.
He sees that the Republican news
paper of the county gets all the new
subscribers possible, and when sub
Scriptions to the Democratic organ
run out, he does not hurry to notify
the editor. He talks politics out of
the post office window, keeps the Re-
publican committees of the county and
State advised as to the condition of
his township and gives a nice little
sum to the campaign expenses every
year.
Across the way in the other little
grocery store lives Jones, as ardent
q Democrat as Smith is a Republican.
He has worked for the party through
every year since 1860. At every cam
paign he has sent in to me, as head of
WIZ NNAIAeA NOAlliLllCGCC go 1OT CdIIl-
paign expenses, has kept me posted as
to how the township stands, what
Democrats have gone away, what
Republicans are likely to change and
what should be done to make the
township Democratic. He has sat up
late at night and left his business
during the day throughout all these
years, hoping some time to beat the
other party. Until now, however, he
has been defeated all along, and when
Smith across the way, who is not a
bad friend of his, has laughed and
crowed over him, Jones has had to
smile, no matter how badly he felt.
Now at last the Democrats have
carried the election, so Jones decides
to go down to Washington to see the
President and to get Smiths place as
postmaster. He calls on the Post
master General, and tells him about
conditions in Pinhook. Just as he is
ready to leave he speaks of the Pin
hook Post Office, asks that Smith be
put out and he be put in.
"Is there anything the matter with
Emith2" asks the Postmaster General