Evening star., 1946-08-11
Capital Sidelights
BIZ Will p. Kennedy.


What happened to the old brass thin
BILE used by Nancy Hanks, mother of
Abraham Lincoln? This question has
come to rank with the inquiry raised in
the House by Uncle Joe Cannon in the
heat Of an appropriation debate: What
has become of the clothesline on which
Abigail Adams was won't to hang the
White House wash in the east room
to dry?"
The Cannon quip was in reply to the
late John Wesley Gaines of Tennessee
who wanted to be told why the side
board presented to Mrs. Rutherford B.
Hayes by the WCTU as a testimonial
for her Punishment of liquors from the
White House had been sold at auction
to grace Pennsylvania avenue saloon.
Legend says that his mothers brass
thimble was presented by Lincoln to
the Hutchinson Family, quartet of
'Singin' Yankees (Who toured the Ma
ton from the early 1S40s into the first
decade OF the goth century singing songs
of sentiment and reform) after they had
sung at a White House levee on request
of the President. However, recent re-
search by Philip D. Jordan seeking to
assemble the story of this fabulous fam
lily of New Hampshire farmers turned
troubadours, has failed to find any men
ton of the thimble in their faithfully
kept diaries. They previously had sung
in the White House, in 1874 by invita-
tion OF President John Tyler, although
they sang the cause of abolition and the
President, six years earlier, had been
president of the Virginia African Colo
nization Society. They were escorted to
the White House by Senator Levi Wood
bury, who had been Secretary of the
Navy, then Secretary of tie Treasury,
and later succeeded Joseph Story on the
Supreme Court of the United States.
John, the leader and last survivor of
the Hutchinson "Singin' Yankees" went
TO the Russo-Japanese Conference at
Portsmouth in the late summer of 1905
to help persuade those warning nations
with song into the ways of peace
*&
The great feminine American institu-
ton on Monday washday was histo-
rically instituted on November 13, 1920.
In the Relation or Journal of Planta-
ton Settled at Plymouth in New Eng
land and Proceedings Thereof" pub
lished in London in 1922, it is chronicled
by Bradford and Winslow that: "On
Monday, the 18th of November, our peo-
pie went on shore to refresh themselves
and our women to wash, as they had
great need" The first squire Of danes"
appointed by Gov. John Carver was John
Rowland, handsome, "lustie young
man." who had shown strength, en-
durance and prowess when washed over
board in "seel" of the Mayflower.
Carried fathoms deep in midocean, he
caught the topsail halyards swept over
with him and clung to them in raging
sea until be was rescued with boat
hook. Gov Carver directed him to "ad-
wise with Mistress Brewster" and take
as his assistants John Alden and Gilbert
Winslow-to take charge Of the women
who fain would go ashore to wash their
clothes" Transmitting these orders to
Alden, he said: Thou and I and Gill
oert Winslow are appointed squires of
danes to some of the women who would
fain go ashore to wash clothes, and we
are to pack them into yonder boat, row
them ashore and then purvey wood,
water and such like for them This
first American washday has facetiously
been called "the battle of the tubs"
4 + X
After the recent late-night session of
the Senate, Senator Vandenberg "in-
jected few pleasant words into the
otherwise generally unhappy debate"
saying: I'VE are sometimes entirely for
getful Of our blessings because we be-
come so used to them" He reminded
his colleagues that the Senate did not
adjourn until 1:30 am, land yet when
we opened our Offices this morning
142-page publication containing the en-
tire record was available for us. I sug-
gest that is magnificent example of
the efficiency Of the official reporting
staff Of the Senate and of the men and
women of the Government Printing
Once, well worth noting in these un-
happy days" Senator Pepper of Florida
joined In the tribute, while other SEN
ators applauded.