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Washington correspondence
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VISIT THE CAPITOL
TYPES OF THOSB WHO FREv
QUENT THE BIG BUILDING
PeopleWho Haunt Concrcsaional Lob
bies arid Corridors Seeking Audience
with Mcinher from Their Home
Distrfct Hopeful and Hopeless
iVi I
LL sorts and con-
riff inns nf mpn
1 V and women visit
the Capitol in the course
of a day on pleasure or
business bent but there
iare some types of charac
ter that may be said to be
chronically and epidemic
ally prevalent there The
old habitue of the build
inn comes to know them
by the cut of their jib as the sailors
6ay The persons themselves may
change but the types they represent do
not Death and the mutations of time or
circumstances may shift the actors them
selves but their parts are always repre
sented and the play is constantly on the
boards
All day long they surge through the
Capitol on the stream of humanitythat
sweeps along the corridors or remain sta
tionary in niches and nooks like drift
wood caught in a sluggish shoreward
eddy Here you will see some of them
standing for hours watching and wait
ing for the Congressman whom they will
not see if the Congressman sees them
first There are others who do not
haunt the corridors with wistful face and
despairing step but who sally boldly in
and are greeted effusively joyously and
with enthusiasm by the Congressman as
he stumbles over others to get to them
A daily visitor at the Capitol is the ward
politician who runs down to Washington
for a day or two to
see his Congressman
and report upon the
condition of the poli
tics of the district
You cannot fail to
recognize this chap
when you see him
The Congressman
walks through the
corridor with his
arm resting familiar
ly on the visitors
shoulder and listen
ing to the account of
siffnirs fit hnmp with
rd politician
eagerness
Out in Statuary Hall in a corner filled
with chairs and sofas you will often find
some
mfo 1 tic types This is
room in the House
wing of the Capitol
where ladies desir
ing to converse with
a member of the
House can send in
their card and meet
the man they desire
to see The major
ity of those who
THE old claimant throng this portion
of the building are elderly women sad
faced women as a rule with trouble and
privation too plainly stamped upon them
A constant visitor is the old lady whose
waywaTd son -has enlisted in ihe army
and is repenting his rash act at leisure
while efforts are be
ing made through
the Congressmen to
get the Secretary of
War to order the
young mans dis
charge
Another visitor in
this ladies reception
t i
room is the young m
woman viiu auu
position in the de
partments There is
a prevailing impres
sion among many
thfit she is always
jilifr
isi
SEEKING OFFICE
beautiful vivacious and bewitching but
this is not necessarily the case Plain
girls are sometimes poor and in need of
work The chances are ten to one that
the voung woman will support two or
three other people or perhaps educate a
younger brother or
sister and she is in
dead earnest about
her application
A cheery sight is
the honest farmer
who drops into the
Capitol on a visit to
Washington or the
East and must call
upon his member
He is often accom
panied by his wife
and sends in his card
wa and waits with an
tee fakmer expectant air as
though anticipating a hearty welcome
and effusive greeting from the Congress
man If the visitor is a man of conse
quence in his neighborhood known to
the congressman the latter will come
forth in a hurry and escort the visitor to
the reserved gallery
whence he will point
to him the dignitar
ies upon the floor of
tthe House or Sen
ate and there leave
him in a state of
awe and admiration
Like the poor
whom we have al
ways with us is the
disappointed office
seeker at the Cap
itol He is there
dnv honeful in
Vip forenoon dejected in the afternoon
and despairing in the evening but com
ing again on the morrow to renew his
suit and revive his hopes You can see
him almost anywhere in the building and
know him by his listless air his anxious
v n rpwnm nnr am
lei tne f ra3ed fringes of
ins cuul s Jeeves ana
n trousers
m an seasons or
the year when Con
gress is in session
and when it is not
the newly married
couple forms an in-
v 1 1 1 the visiting class at
J T the Capitol Of
rrrirsf pvprvhndv is
THEIBMBIDALTOUR on to them the
moment they get into the building He
os hold of her arm as though fearful
4
joMbM
f remits
fvfiiciAFifiii urn
iS8ESpGs
iKiSIJIJl fx
OFFICE SEEKER
that she will get away from him or that
some bad Congressman will steal her
and they go ambling through the1 corri
dors blissfujly Tin
conscious of every
thing except them
selves
The crank o f
cdurse is always on
hand Usually he is
harmless although
sometimes he is not
A great many peo
ple with nothing
better to do in the
world than to devel
op eccentricities find
Washington a con
genial field and to
THE CBANK
this class Congress seems to be as the
lamp that attracts the silly motn peo
ple with all kinds of hobbies come to the
Capitol to put them into operation The
dancerous crank is an occasional visitor
but as soon as he makes his presence
known he is promptly ejected
Ever since the war a familiar figure
has haunted the corridors of the Capitol
llHw
He has not been tne
same person all the
time but has been
the same kind of per
son or persons and
with the same kind
of a plea He is tall
and thin with a long
Prince Albert coat
soft hat and turn
down collar and
wears a black string
tie He drawls in his
speeeh and is very
punctilious and polite
from the south in manner This
gentleman is looking after av Southern
war claim The claim that he is trying
to get through Congress is for supplies
furnished by loyal relatives of his to Union
troops during the war or for some cot
ton in the possession of loyal families
which was sent North and sold and the
proceeds of which sale are now in the
treasury This gentleman or one of his
kind turns up at every Congress and is
wooden leg -and makes confidants of
the doorkeepers and messengers around
the halls It is not long until they all
know him and his little story and know
the Congressman he wants to see Every
body is kind to the old fellow and it is
seldom that the Congressmen try to
dodge him The trouble with his case is
that there are so many others like it
equally deserving and maybe of longer
standing The Congressman has lots of
the same kind in his own district but
the Grand Army button that the old fel
low carries in his lapel or the faded blue
coat which he wears is the open sesame
to give him patient audience with all
Congressmen After a while this old
soldier will give it up and go home ro
await the committees action on his bill
having perhaps interested some member
in its fate but his place will be taken by
another one and after him another so
that there is always a contingent of the
same class on hand
Heart Parties
A heart party affords lots of en
joyment for the children Pin a large
heart made of red flannel cloth on a
sheet hung from a door In the cen
ter of the heart sew a small circle of
white Give arrows of white cloth
with a pin placed thereon to each
guest each arrow bearing a number
the number corresponding to a list
whereon the names and numbers of
the guests are placed The point of
the game is to see which person when
blindfolded can pin the arrow nearest
to the central spot of the white Prizes
are given to the successful ones
For a Sons Memory
Mrs Elizabeth Ludlow the mother
of the well known New Yorker Robert
Center who was killed while riding a
bicycle on the Western boulevard in
New York some months ago has given
his entire estate valued at 150000 to
endow in his memory a fund for instruc
tion at Columbia College
The most common offense in Jamaica
is the use of obscene and offensive lan
guage Over one fourth of the arrests
made last year were on this charge
Departing Boarder I am sorry we
couldnt get along but I hope you are
willing to let by goms be by gones
Landlady Does thai include your
j board bill Mr Jomy Itisum Courier
FAMILY OF INDUSTRIOUS MICE
Six Interesting Little Rodents that
Are Trained to Work
Brooklyn has a family of mice con
sisting of six little rodents that earn
their living in an interesting manner
and assist in supporting an ingenious
German whose devoted servants they
are Their home is a veritable spinning
room and they are as regular and me
thodical in their habits as any human
beings When the sun rises old papa
mouse pokes his head through the small
aperture leading to the revolving wheel
to which a loom is attached ana after
blinking his eyes gets down to work
He takes a few whirls at the treadmill
and then announces to -the sleeping
laborers on the inside of the adjoining
room that it is time to go to work and
all is in readiness to receive them So
far as the witnesses are able to state
there is a general awakening among the
rest of the family while the old boy
gets down to his labor and spins the fan
for at least an hour It whirls hums
and buzzes under his motive power and
about 7 oclock the children going to the
markets and bakeries stop and take a
look at their friend who is much older
than some of them At the conclusion
of his shift he pipes a call and Mrs
Mouse bounces out of her apartments
and takes her turn at the wheel She
chlrps squeals and runs over the re
volving cylinder until the fan is throw
ing a good breeze all over the store
Customers come in stand and look onr
in admiration and pass out smilingly
at the persistence of the little creature
Presently at the entrance hole -four
little heads appear and the children in
dicate by a variety or strange oiuira
that they are ready to lend themselves
to the industry of keeping a little breeze
floating around the Germans shop The
mother gives the treadmill an extra
whirl and lightly hops out while her
FAMILY OF MICE THAT RUNS A FAN IN A SHOP
frequently supplemented by a dainty lit
tle woman in black soft of speech per
suasive of tongue and with a world of
trouble in her past
One of the stock characters at the Cap
itol is the old soldier the applicant for a
pension or an in
crease of pension
He is perennial You
can find him in al
most any part of the
building at almost
any time of the day
He is unobtrustive
however because he
is patient long-suffering
and accustom
ed to delays He
stumps around the
corridors with his
cane or perhaps a the old soldier
babies scamper in and go on with the
occupation that has beeli part of their
early bringing up Presently at noon
they all come out in the main room for
lunch and about 1230 they are once
more earning their living which by thet
way is mere play for them
Bogus Diamonds
Some curious stories can be told
about the thousands of false diamonds
sold yearly in London As a working
goldsmith I have seen a good deal of
the trade in imitation stones People
of all ranks buy them A nobleman is
in immediate want of cash and must
find it somewhere He will perhaps
turn to his family diamonds Possiblyj
10000 could be raised on them He
takes the jewelry off to the false dia i
mond provider has the real stones re i
moved and the false ones put in and
deposits the actual gems with some onei
as a security for a loan No one is a
bit the wiser His wife appears in her1
jewels just the same as usual If she
didnt her husband would be made
bankrupt by his creditors the next I
week A large amount of business is
done in this way and you may depend
upon it that the false diamond mer
chant has many a chuckle when he
reads in his paper about Lady
magnificent diamond bracelet
and the Countess Bareacres superb
tiara Ashton Reporter
Large Lobsters
The largest lobster ever caught on tne
coast of America was taken by a
fast Me fisherman in 1891 It weigh
ed twenty three pounds and measured
thirty seven inches from the end of its
tail to the tip of the long front claw
The monster was too large to enter ai
common lobster trap but as the trap
was being drawn up it was caught in
the netting and safely landed Many
years ago a lobster weighing twenty
two pounds was captured near the same
place and the event was considered to
be of enough importance to be given
a place in Williamsons History of Bel
fast
To the North
It is doubtful if any particular bene
fit is derived from sleeping with the
head to the north It has however
been asserted by nervous people that
a difference was noticeable in their
temper and composure with changes
of sleeping position with regard to the
magnetic polarity of the earth
Aches
Essence of peppermint applied with
the finger tips over the seat of pain
often gives relief in headache tooth
ache or neuralgia pain in any part of
the body Care must be taken not to
put it directly under
the eye on ac
count of the smarting it would cause
The War Department is experiment
ing with aluminum for cups plates
horseshoes bayonet fixtures and other
articles
NOTES ON EDUCATION
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO PU
PIL AND TEACHER
Raising the Standard of Scholarship
The Social Side of a Teachers Life
Lawrence University
Cost of Detroits Hich School
Raininsr the Standard of Scholarship
Much has been said of late of the low
condition of American ccnools primary
and secondary There is only one way
to reform them and that is to make
those who teach in them masters of
their craft and really capable of doing
that which they propose to do The
education question to day is a question
of the qualification ofisehool teachers
And it is to be solved by nillng a worthy
standard both of liberal education and
a professional training for every grade
of teacher
As regards scholastic attainments
the point must be emphasized that no
one can teach all he knows Much is
lost in the friction of repression and
still more is doomed to remain below
the expressible level One man can
convey to another only a small frac
tion of what is in his own mind on any
particular subject the
teacher must know a good deal more
than his most advanced pupil The
only safe rule is that the teacher in a
primary school shall have had a sec
ondary education and the teacher of a
high school academy or normal school
must- be a college graduate The prac
tical observation of this rule would do
more than any other single reform not
only to dignify the teaching profes
sion but to elevate and improve the
schools
Most of the pupils in the United
States are in the common schools 9G
-per cent indeed but as the teachers
of the common schools are educated in
the high schools it is apparent that
these institutions of secondary instruc
tion have a unique importance in the
system of public education and de
serve a consideration and fostering
care far above anything to which they
might be entitled on the score of their
numerical proportions alone In a word
the schools of the people cannot be
efficient unless the high schools acad
emies and normal schools which fur
nish them with teachers are taught by
-men and women who have had a col
legiate education and a thorough peda
gogical training
The State of New York has recently
ordained that no person shall be
ployed or licensed to teach in the pri
mary and grammar schools of any city
who has not graduated from a high
school or academy having a course of
study not less than three years and
who subsequently to such gradua
tion has not graduated from the school
or class for the professional training
of teachers having a course of study
of not less than thirty eight weeks
The extension of this important regula
tion concerning the scholarship -and
profssional training of elementary
teachers to the teachers of the high
schools academies and normal schools
would mean that they should have a
college education and thereafter pro
fessional training in a pedagogical sem
inary especially adapted to the need
of college graduates Popular Educa
tor
The Social Side
Although morally the status of the
teacher is high socially it is found to
be lower than the status of the average
lawyer the physician or the theologi
an Teachers do not give proper time
and thought to the social side of life
To begin with they are thought to be
like the old fashioned scholar in mat
ters of personal appearance Fortun
ately there is no special style of dress
by which they are known but there is
a carelessness that characterizes the
rank and file of them They do not
feel the desirability of meeting people
in a social way The fault however is
not in the occupation but in the per
sons who take it up Whenever teach
ers meet other men and women on
equal terms they get all the esteem
their character and personality de
serve Undoubtedly as many com
plain they are overworked and have
not strength left for society often the
drudgery of the school robs them of
time for social duties and tends to
quench any social desire Moreover
many are not paid enough to dress prop
erly In school we teachers are asso
ciated with less mature minds and it
is easy to become self satisfied Un
less we come in contact with men and
women of equal or higher intellectual
attainments we fail to realize our lit
tleness P W Atkinson in Atlantic
Monthly
The Memory
The fault of the schools which some
of us In our earlier years attended was
that they did not teach us to think
Whether it was known that we could
think I am unable to say but none of
our school work required thought ex
cept in applying rules In arithmetic
the definitions of terms and the rules
for the solutions of the problems were
memorized though few of them were
understood Grammar geography and
history where these then considered
higher branches received attention
were learned in the same way as arith
metic
Only a few years ago a somewhat
popular institute instructor said that
he thought the best way to study geog
raphy was to memorize it word for
word even psychology he thought
should be memorized He believed that
memorizing a subject secured more
thoroughness than any other method
yet devised
While no teacher now would advocate
the pure memory method is it not true
that many teachers in their simple in
nocence have come to believe that
memory is a useful faculty a mere or
namental accompaniment of the other
mental powersjind hjU togjvejtaiv
propriate training In connection with
the activities of the other powers indi
cates that one is slightly behind the
tiuies probably a back number
I have been told that there are teach
ers who advise their pupils not to
memorize anything This advice is
founded on what is believed to be the
new education If such advice can
be deduced from any new education
the education must be too new to be
true
Not to memorize anything may mean
not to memorize what is not understood
and in this sense the advice is sound
But if meant in the sense in which It
was received by those to whom it was
given namely that they should not
try to remember anything it is worse
than nonsense
There is a rational or proper use of
the memory as well as an irrational or
improper use Memorizing that which
is not understood blind memorizing
is a misuse of the remembering power
but memorizing what is understood if
It is needed for future use -is rational
A teacher should be familiar with
the sequences of topics of every sub
ject he essays to teach If he is oblig
ed to open a book to see what the next
topic is he can scarcely be said to be
master of his subject
In the earlier days of our schools pu
pils found comparatively little difficulty
in committing to memory but at pres
ent it seems a task from which they
shrink and when they do undertake it
they fail more frequently than thoy suc
ceed To recall even only eight or ten
topics in the order of their presenta
tion seems almost an impossibility for
some
To make our schools what they should
be wiser counsel must prevail among
the teachers teaching must be vastly
improved In most instances entirely
changed But this improvement will
not introduce itself it must come
through the teachers through their
own improvement They must learn to
do sound sober thinking and much of
it must stop teaching according to cus
toms or fashion avoid riding wild un
pedagogic hobbies and not accept
without the clearest evidence or cer
tainty advice no matter from what
source It may come
When this state of advancement shall
have been attained by the teachers the
memory will find Its proper place in the
school room Educational News
Lawrence University
Lawrence University of Appleton
Wis which celebrated its semi-centennial
is one of the oldest educational
institutions in the State The college
dates its foundation to 1846 when
Amos Lawrence offered the Rock Riv
er conference of the Methodist Epis
copal Church 10000 for a university
providing the conference could raise a
similar sum The money was raised
and among the contributors were
George Harris of Rhode Island Morgans
L Marty of Green Bay Charles Dur
kee and Rev Sereno JFisk of Kenosha
LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY
The charter of the college was signed
by Gov Dodge in 1S47 Other philan
thropists donated the land and the
school was opened in 1849 with thirty
five pupils In two years the number
of students had increased to 200 and
its prosperity has been great and grat
ifying ever since Students of all re
ligions have been educated within its
walls Recently the institution has
been endowed with 8100000 and to
day it is one of the most useful schools
in the country
Detroits New Hijh School
The total cost of the new Central
High School of Detroit has thus far
aggregated more than a half million
dollars The Cotteral contract has turn
ed out to cost 22707732 the carpen
ter contract held by Spitzley Bros was
originally 81500 to which a bonus
of 82000 was added to get the building
ready for school on Sept 14 the site
cost 8130000 and the heating plumb
ing and furniture together with many
other extras bring up the total more
than 500000 Educational News
Where Our Public Lands Are Goii
Uncle Sam is losing his grip on the
domain he once owned According to
the report of Silas W Lamoreux com
missioner of the General Land Office
there were patented tov twenty rail
roads during the year ending June 30
15527844 acres of the public land Of
this number the Northern Pacific Rail
roal obtained 12208579 acres and the
Huntington roads over 3000000 leav
ing only 17797S acres to the other com
panies
In three years there have been pat
ented to railroads 24577734 acres of
land of which the Northern Pacific re
ceived over eighteen and a half mill
ions This portion of the public do
main transferred to a single corpora
tion within three years comprises a
greater area of territory than that em
braced in Massachusetts New Hamp
shire and Rhode Island
Disappearing Islands
In some oceans particularly to the
south of Japan islands have a way of
appearing and disappearing without
notice
Learn a little and remember it
Tlie UevoJt of Nayan a Great ChielJ
Ajrainat His Ncphcw A -
Now this Cublay Kaan is of the righr
Imperial lineage being descended from
Chingls Kaan the first sovereign of
all the Tartrs And he Is the sixth
Lord in tha succession as 1 have al
ready told you in this book He cane
to the throne in the year 123G and the
Empire fell to him because of his abil
ity and valor and great worth as was
right and reason His brothers In
deed and other kinsmen disputed hia
claim but his it remained both be
cause maintained by his great valor
and because it was In law and right
his as being directly sprung of the
Imperial line
Up to the year now running to wir
1298 he hath reigned two and forty
3ears and his age is about So uo that
he must have been about 43 years of
age when he first came to the throne
Before that time he had often beca
to the wars and had shown himself
a gallant soldier and an excellent cap
tain But after coming to the throne
he never went to the wars in person
save once This befell in the year
12SG and I will tell you hw he went
There was a great Tartar Chief
whose name was Nayan a young man
of 30 Lord over many lands and many
provinces and he was Uncle to the
Emperor Cublay Kaan of whom we-
are speaking And when he found
limself in authority this Nayan waxedf
proud in the insolence of his youth and
his great power for indeed he coultfl
bring into the field 300000 horsemen
though all the time he was liegeman
4o his nephew the Great Kaan Cublay
as was right and reason Seeing then
what great power he had he took it
into his head that he wonld be ther
Great Kaans vassal no longer nay
more he would fain wrest his empirej
from him if he could So this Nayacj
sent envoys to another Tartar Prince
called Caidu also a great and potent
Lord who was a kinsman of his andj
who was a nephew of the Great Kaan
and his lawful liegeman also though
he was in rebellion and bitter enmity
with his sovereign Lord and Uncle
Now the message that Nayan sent was
this That he himself was making
ready to march against the Great
Kaan with all his forces which were
great and he begged Caidu to do like j
wise from his side so that by attack
ing Cublay on two sides at once with
such great forces they would be abler
to wrest his dominion from him
And when Caidu heard the message
of Nayan he was right glad thereat
and thought the time was come at lasti
to gain his object So he sent back
answer that he would do as requested
and gbt ready his host which
a good hundred thousand horse
ment Tho True Story of Marco
Polo St Nicholas
The Capture of an Orchid
Among the flowers of tropical lands
aone are more prized for their beauti
ful and curious forms and fragrant
scent than the orchids which grow m
all sorts of odd places but mostly orr
the ground or perched high up amonjy
the branches of the trees
The orchids of the Guiana forests
provide a home for the black anrs
free gratis and for nothing
Why Because they prey upon the
cockroaches which would otherwise
m
destroy the plant by eating up its
est portions
So that when a human orchid hunterj
tries to capture a plant he has to
on with thousands of tiny foes that
J fight to the very last
After the plant has been dislodgedr
from the tree no easy task it is usu j
al to attach it to a long bamboo pole
and throw it into the river unril th
ants are thoroughly washed out of it-
And all the time the boat has to be
kept up stream and the pole carefully
watched lest the ants come aboard
By-and-by the insects confess them
selves beaten and the orchid seeker
retires with his dearly won prize
Mind and Health
The mental condition has far more
influence upon the bodily health than
Is generally supposed It is no doubt
true that ailments of the body cause
depressing and morbid conditions of
the mind but it is no less true that
sorrowful and disagreeable emotions
produce disease in persons who unin
fluenced by them would be in sound
ihealth or if disease is not produced
the functions are disordered
Agreeable emotions set in motion
nervous currents which stimulate
blood brain and every part of the sys
tem into healthful activity while
grief disappointment of feeling and
brooding over present sorrows or past
mistakes depress all the vital forces
To be physically well one must in gen
eral be happy The reverse is not ai
rways true one may be happy andi
cheerful and yet be a constant sufferer
in body
Be Helpful
Help ever the helpless be it a drown
tag fly or a brother floundering through
the difficulties of lifes first tasks It
needs not vastness of resource or ex
tent of power to minister such heart
help as the true hearted can render L
see you the friend of the friendless
the ungrateful and ungracious tha
raiser of the fallen though perchance
only perverselj to fall again the cheer
er of the cheerless though it may be
they droop again when your bright
presence has passed away
The Turtle
Formerly the turtle was taken by
means of harpoons or spears but this
process injured the creature It is now
taken in nets or captured upon the
beach Certain fishermen prefer to
dive and take the animal by hand but
when the reptile is powerful this is not
accomplished without some difficulty
Misery may love company but peo
ple do not
g