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‘THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C., SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26. 1889—TWELVE PAGES. WHERE GEN, RAUM IS CHIEF. The Pension Office and the Work Done There. ‘THE BUSY OFFICIAL Ive WHERE 1,600 cLERKs DRIVE PENS—THE ROUTINE OF A PENSION CLAIM—CASES THAT ARE MADE SPECIAL—THE SRW COMMISSIONER AT His DENK. Recent events have brought the pension office into the focus of public attention. ‘The rather dramatic administration of Corporal Tanner, terminating in an official disagree- ment with the Sec- retary of the Inte- pM rior, has been the Ss subject of extended comment in all the comMisstonen nav. newspapers of the eountry. The resignation of Mr. Tanner and the sppointment of his successor, Gen. Green B. Raum. seems to mark a new era in the admin- istration of this important branch of the public service. To a somewhat similar degree the pension office, like the Post Office department, affects directly a ege clasd of the population ef the country. Its operations extend into almost every county, township district in the United States. Its annual bursementes amount to nearly ninety millions of dollars and the roll of pensioners has now reached the number of nearly half a million. Last year some $7,000 names were added to the pension rolls, and the year before the smounted to nearly 47.000. During decade net annual ineréase in the number of pensioners has been about 25,000. While tRe business of the office has increased to this astonishing extent there has beenacorrespond- ing expansion in the personnel of the office. Ten years ago the working force of the pension office consisted of some four hundred employes. Today the roils of the office contain the names of near 1.600 employes, Then the bureau occu- pied a small building. Today it is housed in one of the largest and most extensive buildings ever erected by the government. THE NEW READ OF THE OFFICE. Placed at the head of this important bureau and with the interests of so many thousand cit- izens dependent more or less upon hia official conduct of the office, Gen. Raum enters upon his work backed by the confidence of the pub- lic and the qualifications of a good practical man of business. His executive ability has been tested during his term of service at the head of the internal revenue burean. Since his retirement from office he has built up a large legal practice. Gen, Raum is well known in this city, where he has lived for many years. He has maintained an active interest in politics and Bas not allowed his old army associatio: to be forgotten. He hasa frank, hearty way of meeting men that suits exactly the sturdy figure and the strong face which marks the in- dividuality of the man. Although he bas only been at the head of the pension office for a few days it the influence of s strung man at the helm beginning to be felt throughout the entire office. Among his first official acts was to fill cant position of superintendent of the ling, and already the force of laborers has been reorganized and the entrances and floors of the building have been cleaned and put in ler. In the same quiet and effective way he will check the confusion which has prevailedin the office and restore the order which belongs to « well-regulated machine, as the pension office is under normal conditions. He hasshown his capacity for work by attending to the usual business of the office while mastering the de- tails of a business that is entirely new. He works with a system and displays great aptitude in learning. One explanation is sufficient. hen a paper is brought to him for signature in the ordinary official routine he learns what | no further explanations ate | it means an needed. The first thing each morning he opens his mail and dictates replies and disposes of it all before he undertakes other matters. Then the visitors come in and he hears what each one has to say, moving about the room from one to another. Everyt without any confusion. CALLING ON THE COMMISSIONER. ‘The commissioner of pensions is probably called upon to see more persons in the course of a dsy than any other bureau officer of the government. Claimants come to see him about their cases; the maimed soldier seeking a pen- sion, or perhaps an increase of pension, is a familiar figure at the door of the commission- er's office. There is no actual necessity in a great many cases for an applicant for a pension to see the head of the office, but they want to call his attention personally to their cases. The commissioner, of course, signs all decisions of the office, but he has not the time to go into the details of each case. He has a trained force ot employes to do that work. The com- missioner, however, frequently takes a case in- volving an important ‘ision. examines the evidence which has been briefed or goes through all the papers himself. Appeals from the decisions of his subordinates can be taken to the commissioner. As even a casual reader | ington. It was over the o! ‘ything is done quietly and | through the pension office will show how the great machine of the office works, All applica- tions are received in the mail division, where they are stamped and recorded. From this di- vision the nxt e is the record division, where tne case is —) to the proper adjudicat- ing division, The adjudicating divisions are five in number. First is the old war and navy, which has jurisdiction of claims arising in the regular army and navy and jn the old war serv- ice—the Mexican war and the war of 1812—and all other wars for which pensions or bounty lands are or have been granted except that of 1861-65. The remaining adjudicating divisions are the eastern, middle, southern and western, and all claims from pereons belonging to mili- tary organizations from states in the divisions of the country thus designated are referred to the proper division. When a case has reached an adjudicating division it ig placed by the chief in the hands of an examiner, who pro- ceeds with the consideration of the case, mak- ing such calls for evidence upén the claimant, his attorney and the War department, the sur- geon general's office and the record division as may be necessary to determine the case. He also resorts hag Lg Segre means CE formation as in his best judgment are r ite to prove the claim. hen a claim is found complete and ready for admission or rejection it is forwarded from the examiner through the chief of his section to the chief of the division, passing the scrutiny of each of these officials, and 1s then sent to THE BOARD OF REVIEW. Here the case is rated in accordance with the disability shown to exist and is then sent to the certificate division, where the final steps are taken and the certificate is issued. In cases of controversy or where there is doubt the board of re-review acts. From the latter de- cision appeals can be made only to the com- missioner. Appeals can also be taken from the decision of the commissioner to the erp | of the Interiog and the preparation of suc cases is the work of the law division, which also advises in all cases that may be certitied from any division for an opinion, The intermediate steps of this process vary according to the emergencies of each case. It may be a very simple case, with ample proof in the record and in the present condition of the man toshow the justice or injustice of hisclaim. A medi- cal examination then is ordered to determine by a competent board of surgeons the degree of Tt and to establish the amount of such disability resulting from the injury in the service. —— THE EASTEKN DISTRICT. . The Kegion Across the Anacostia—Its Traditions and Hopes. Eighteen square miles of territory, fifty miles of roads, about two miles of pavement and as much of surfaced streets, 10,000 people and a steady growth, almost one-third the area and a little more than one thirtieth the popula- tion of the District, such is an epitomized de- scription of that part of the country east of the Anacostia river. During the war it was a tented field, the camp of the capitad’s defend- ers and of recruits waiting to be ordered to the front. A little cluster of houses along muddy streets formed what was then knowp as Union- town, now the pretty suburb of Anacostia, with paved streets, brick walks, street cars, gas, and nearly all metropolitan advantages. Fort Stanton, the walls of which still remain, just above the town, was located at the highest int in the District, said to be a few feet igher than the statue of Liberty on the Capi- tol, and overlooked every ps ghee to Wash- id Eastern Branch bridge on the Nailor rood, near the site of the new bridge on the Pennsylvania avenue exten- sion, that the British army entered Washing- ton in 1814. It was over the old Anacostia bridge, on the site of the present one, that John Wilkes Booth fled to Maryland on the night of April i4. 1865, and it was over the same bridge a little later that the Union army —- to be reviewed before being tinanally isbanded. TRADITIONS OF THE ANACOSTIA. Ever since the Indians gave to it their name there have clustered about the Eastern branch or Anacostia river pleasaut memories and historic happenings. skirts of Anacostia, as seems now conceded, that John Howard Payne wrote ‘Home, Sweet Home,” and it is said that the father of his country, who fellowshipped with friends below Oxon Hill, was not infrequently a pil- ‘im through this part of the District, easels, too, once passed up the river to Biadensburg when that was a point of no small commercial importance, and the war ships that made the naval glory of the young republic, as well as those that preserved the republic in a later day, have floated upon its waters, THE OLD RACE couRsE. It was toward the close of the war that the old National race course reached the zenith of its fame. The track was a mile circuit,as pretty aa aroller rink floor, on the height above st. Elizabeth. The soil was just spongy enough to save the racers’ feet and make them feel that they had wings and there some notable races occurred. It was there that Dexter trotted his fastest heat and was sold for $34,000 to Robert Bonner, who afterward declined to track him here, though he published a long article com- mendatory of the track and its ager, Mr. A. Noffitt, still a resident of the vicinity’ Army officers flocked to the races, Gens. Grant, Meade, Hancock and others, with their staffs, ing often present. Large numbers of horses re wintered here then, the climate of this jatitude being such that they werein the pring ready for either a northern or southern | circuit. Among the horses well-known in that |day that entered here there were, besides Dexter, Flora Temple, California Damsel, Idle- | wild, Mountain Maid, Princess, Queen of the West and the Canadian runners, Thunder, Lightning and Blackbird, the pacer McGoozler | and many others. Owing to bad roads and slow transit the course was practically aban- doned years ago and the government has pur- chased and utilized part of the ground in the St. Elizabethfarm. ¢ | | Since that abandonment vast improvements have been made on the pablic highways and now one of the finest drives in the District is from Washington to the race course and around the Hamilton road on the heights to'Good Hope and Bennings. The street-car line entab- of the contributions to the recent controversy | lished about that time extends from the 7th- between the late commissioner and the Secre- tary of the Interior no doubt understands, all the decisions of the pension office can be re- viewed by the Secretary of the Interior. force of the office are subject to the same aj ‘oval, #0 that, while the pension office ieablg titution, it forms a part only of the bigger institution—the Interior department. It holds Precisely the same official relations to the Sec- retary of the Interior as the general land office, the patent office, the census office and the other jarge bureaus of the Interior department. “SPECIAL.” There has been a good deal said recently about making cases special in the pension Office. That means that certain cases are taken up out of their regular order and are con- sidered and adjudicated. While the practice of making cases special may be abused, yet ander certain circumstances this is not only allowable under the rules of the office but is recognized by law. Perhaps some may conclude that any favoritism which a case in advance of others is irregu- 4 it when it is shown to the commissioner under oath of the claimant, or some reputable Person acting for him, thatthe claimant has reached extreme or is threatened with speedy death or is x ‘THE COMMISSIONES'S DESE. A brief sketoh of the progress of acoso street wharf to St, El and hasa charter to run into the city and also up Harri- | som street to Good Hope. ‘With the completion All | appointments and promotions in the clerical | of the Pennsylvania avenue extension and the establishment of rapid transit to the city the eastern district, so ite residents expect, be- come a delightful residence suburb, unsur- passed in beauty and hardly excelled in its ad- vantages. THE PUBLIC SCHOOL, The Anacostia public school, that was opened years in asingle department, has iy grown. ill now it has all of the cen eight grades and crowds the accommodations forded it. Estimates have been made for a | new bpilding the coming year. Additional buildis doubling the capacity, have been erected at Hillsdale, Good Hope and Bennings this season and still there ne too much room, About fifty rnment ployes, most of whom represent families, now on this side of the river, and their number is being constantly augmented. Rapid transit, since civil service reform has gi better tenure of office, would, it is belie: immediately multiply this number by ten or a er figure, and happy homes would tell the story of progress, THE CHURCHES. There are four churches in Anacostia—Cath- olic. Baptist, Methodist and Episcopal—es man; in Hillsdale, one at Good Hope and another Bennings. Among the fra! are Le Masons, Red Me ees fH i i £ f F g H Ly HE E i ri 5 E fi i i i i 5 | if B E i i Hl i i fi i F 5 F fi il ; It was on its banks in the out- | | thus being refused an escort A.QUEER COLONY. ‘The Triangular Duel Which is Ruining Tongking. AN ENGLISHMAN'’S REFLECTIONS ON THE FRENCH METHOD OF COLONIZATION—HOW TRADE 18 DISCOURAGED AXD THE COMMUNITY DISGUSTED —THE MOST EXPENSIVE PORT IN THE WORLD. From Tue Stan's Traveling Commissisner. OCIETY in Tongking is sharply divided into three classes. And each of the three is at dag- gers drawn at the other wo, They are the offi- vial, the military and the civilian—the gov- ernor general, the col- onel and the colonist. fo the official eye the » military class is con- stantly endeavoring to usurp functions to which it has no right, and the civilians are an unreasonable body of incapable people, impos- sible to satisfy. The military class are furious agains$ the government, represented by the Officials, for their reduced numbers and cling all the more tenaciously to privileges which only belonged to them as an army of occupation; and they desire to be allowed a free hand to “pacify” the country b; the only means known to them—the swor The civilian colonist finally detests the military, in the conviction that if he could only once get tid of nearly all of them the country would “pacify” itself fast enough by commerce and agriculture, which it will never do so long as it is a happy hunting ground for crosses and pro- motions, And how can he feel either respect or sympathy for the governors who come and g0 like the leaves on the trees, and whd must needs hold the helm in Hanoi with their eyes fixed on the Quai d'Orsay. Tongkinese society is a perpetual triangular duel, SEEING ALL SIDES, I do not flatter myself for a moment that the foregoing will be believed as a calm statement of fact. Let me therefore hasten to give a few of the experiences upon which it is based, The first person with whom I had any conversation after setting foot in Tongking was a well-in- formed, intelligent burgeois who had passed six years there. I began by saying I was sorry to hear of the heavy casualties of a column then operating in the interior, a hundred men having been lost in one action, “He'll get there, all the same,” he replied, speaking of the officerin command. “He wants his third star, and what does he care if it costs him five hundre en. He'll get it, too, allez!” There jan’s view of the military. Now for the functionary’s view, and I should not tell this story if M. Richaud’s terrible death— let me throw a word of gratitude and re- spect over toward his “vast and wandering rave"—had not untied my tongue. When wasat Hanoi I asked him, on the strength of my official letter, for an escort of a few men to ac- company me toa place one day's march into the interior. “Certainly,” he replied, ‘with pleas- ure. | They shall be ready the day after tomor- row.” The same evening I was dining with him and when I entered the drawing room he took me on one side and said: ‘‘By the way, about that escort, I am exceedingly annoyed, but it is impossible.” And anéwering my look of sur- prise, for my official letter hag been given for the very purpose of making such facilities cer- tain, he continued: “The general replies that he has not five men of whom he can dispose at the moment—il n’a pas cinq hommes disponi- bles en ce moment. Frankly, you know, you should properly have asked him in’ the first place, atid not me.” The governor general's annoyance and embarrassment at having to acknowledge to a stranger this humiliating snub were so visible that of course I dropped the subject, and his secretary's whispered request afterward not to reopen it waa unnecessary, help asking him next day as we were driving whether in French colonies, as in English, the chief civil authority was not ex-officio com- mander-in-chief, He saw the point instantly and replied, * , that is my title too,” and after & pause, “but I delegate my powers— seulement, je deleguo mes pouvoirs” After was refused per- mission to go alone at my own risk, so my pro- posed journey was doubly impossible. At the time the general had not five men “disponi- bles” there were, of course, ten times that number kicking their heels in barracks. The governor general had promised the escort; therefore the general refused it. That was the only and the universal explanation offered me, And it was the true one. DISCOURAGING IMPROVEMENTS. To pass on again to the civilian colonist. Half way up the river between Haiphong and Hanoi I noticed heaps of fresh mud lying along the bank. -Then you have been dredging, after all,” I asked. “Hush,” was the reply, “we have been doing a little of it at night be- cause the administration would not allow us to do it openly, and we stuck here every day,” Why not? Heaven only knows, It is simply incredible, and therefore I will not waste my words in telling what ‘‘I'administration” denic They should take for their motto Mephisto- pheles’ words to Faust, “I am tho spirit that denies.” Whatever you want, though it cost the government nota penny, though it be a boon to the com nunity, though it be the open- ing up of the country so enthusiastically toasted, the authorities ar absolutely certain to refuse your request. ‘Ll. is no joke—if you think so, stop the first man nota “functionary” you meet in the street in Haiphong andask him. It is almost as easy to get into parliament in London as to get a conces- sion of land for any purpose whatever in Tong- king, although the whole vast country is on public offer, although the land almost ‘throws its crops and ite minerals in your face, and al- though the inhabitants are “pirates” by thou- sands simply and solely for the employment and sustenance which welcomed capital and encouraged enterprise alone can furnish, If the government of Tongking were administering @ hostile province which it desired to crush out of existence it could not do much better than follow its tactics of today. And when it does give privileges what are they, too often? ‘ake the ‘‘Magasins Generaux” at Haiphong, @® monopoly of custon house examina- tion granted in the ware hous and on the wharves of one firm, to whom and whose terms everybody must come. In vain the whole community protested and protested. The monopoly was. b rere and the chambers of commerce of both Haiphong and Hanoi imme- diately and unanimously resigned and the Chinese merchants have sent in a declaration that unless this additional restriction is re- moved they will leave ina body. Anda single 6 iple—my materials in all these instances are superabundant, and it is only space that limits me to a single one—will shew the prac- tical evil of this monopoly. The storage of coal per ton per month costa (for comparison I employ French currency) at Hon Kong Kowloon Godowns) 20 centimes; at Shanghed Jardine, Matheson & Co.), 28° centimes: at iphong Gisensine’Genersux), 4 francs! The last resolution of the chambers of commerce is truly pathetic. “The government consulted us,” they ry eg then took no notice what- ever of all that we said. It is therefore useless to maintain an institution whose powers are purely illusory, Please let us go.” THE GOVERNOR GENERAL, So much for the colonist and the government impersonal, What is his attitude toward the personal governor general? He sees him come, he ean ge baba he oSpy apd Boer abe of Tor fairs, he reads a few official de- cre the share log 54 Coe after-dinner speeches eulo; ance, ‘ing, the — general, and the colonist Kimani? and m some day a telegram comes and the colo- Bial secs him go. The heads of the colonial vernment sacceed each other in Saigon and pS SR i ion no! tor Richaud boasted to me with But I could not | — and reliability, these make them an _ Became for a og rgeaagenergor Yet ‘ony — them y.are giving up businesses, and puts & price on the lead of joaoll aa hs coubes Ba Aplin 05 8 goes, Second the charges. _ Take the little ste: Ire in, ‘Freyr,’ 676 tons, from Randers, in Jutland, Atthe port of New- castle she has 44, at 870, at Yokohama $50, at Hong K Bev Begs to in and out of the port of th iphong coste her every trip $302.40. And this, too, is only the ship's chi pure and simple, charterer must Pay a dollar anda half wharfage for every ton o! omg landed—say $750 for an average cargo. Thus at a port where common sense would tell that trade should be tempted and they Tesia by There can nursed in every way making trade all hpt impossible, hardly be a more needy port in the world than Haiphong, yet it is doubtful if there is’ more expensive 01 The consequencesare obvious. A year anda half ago there were six steamers plying from Hong Kong; today there are three. t of all come the enormous customs duties of the rc gio “tarif general.” ret — no specifying. Saigon has given ion & good trial. Wit is the position of Saigon now? A critical if nota hopeless one. And she has dis- covered that only one thing can save her. The unanimous report of the chamber of commerce, published in August last, concludes with these words in big type: “We demand the absolute abolition of the customs regime in Cochin-China from January 1, 1889,” France has nothing (figures show this indisputably) and wiil gain nothing by her “‘tarif general,” while she will lose her colonies through it by and by. Yet is there the faintest shadow of a coming change? On the contrary, In one of the last ublic speeches he made, at a banque# in anoi, M. Richaud exclaimed: ‘‘Renounce the chimerical hope of the return of absolute com- mercial liberty!” The subsidized newspaper adds that this was followed by a ‘triple salve @applaudissements.” 1 do not believe it. Or if is true, then the colonists of Hanoi should be refused Christian burial, for they are suicides. Sufficient for the Tongking of today is the evil there: ENRY NORMAN. Le NORE erases WAIL OF THE TRAVELING MAN. The Man With the Potato-Bug Eradica- tor Confides in a ‘Star’ Reporter. “This i article that you really cannot af- ford to do without,” said the traveling agent, drawing from his gripsack small contrivance of diabolical aspect with coils of very fine wire attached to it. ‘It is a potato-bug eradicator, representing the only existing means by which the deadly attacks of that insect—more correctly designated as the Colorado beetle—upon the Hibernian tuber may be successfully defeated. Every suburban resident, like yourself, who cares to grow a patch of the vegetable, should have one.” “But the potato bug season has passed,” re- plied the out-of-town reporter for Tux Star, mildly, “Lhe very reason, my dear should buy one of these machines lay. The bugs have gone; but do you sup) that they no longer exist? Plough up th ready hardening earth, and you wiil find the: in the furrows, asleep for the winte: spring the sun will warm them to life again, just in time to begin upon your sprouting ts and reproduce their kind in swarming yriads. Therefore you want to be ready for them with your destroying engine prepared for their reception when they appear. You give your order now, and it will not be necessar; for you to pay anything until April, when will come again and lay the wires of the eradi- cator.” “Lay the wires?” “Along the rows of the sprouting potato plants, sir, with a separate attachment for each plant—the wires being so arranged with refer- ence to a small electric battery like this, placed at one corner of the potato patch, that a con- tinuous current will be made to pass through and about all the plants,” “And will the current kill the bugs?” IT ONLY NUMBS THEN, “Hardly. If you could afford a dynamo capa- ble of generating an alternating current of, say 10 volts, immediate death to the bugs would be the result, supposing that each beetle’s re- sistance is not more than 25 ohms; but the pense of such an’ apparatus would be greater, perhaps, than the profit on a patch of potatoes that you have to hoe yourself would warrant, It was announced recently by @ learned ento- mologist, however, that the lopment of the potato bug had been found to be hindered by electro-magnetic currents, and it is this dis- covery that has been applied by the eradicator Lam selling. Although the electric fluid, con- ducted in this way, will not actually destro the lives of the bugs, their development sutticiently impeded by it to deprive them of their destructive power. You can readily un- derstand how the constitution of even the most robust Colorado beetle would be slowly yet surely undermined by a current of electricity continually passing through him. It is easy to comprehend how he would gradually droop, lose his appetite and shrivel up until there was very little of him left to do any harm.” wit be great,” admitted the newspaper is eradicator of Pbhes Unfortunately, I haven't afoot of land to grow potatoes or anything else upon, That patch, which you evidently supposed was mine, belongs to the next door neighbor.” “You might have told me that before,” said the agent, replacing the diabolical looking con- trivance in his gripsack, ‘You may think gas is cheap, and I won't deny that such is the case; but you would find the truth a painful one if you were in my business,” “Why, isn’t it profitable?” oN, There used to be money in it fifteen ‘Naw. years ago, but there isso much competition nowadays that you may consider yourself at the ce of the profession if you earn $25 a week.” “And yet I seo advertisements in the papers every day guaranteeing from @50 to $100 a week to agents who will drum for one thing or another.” FIGURES THAT LURE, “That's only a bait hung out by le who want to get their stock on the market Pe haps you don’t know that there are 100,000 canvassers and traveling salesmen in the United States today. 650,000 of them are book agents agd next in point of numbers come the fellows who sell patented articles, like myself. This sort of canvassing has increased so much during the last few years, you know, that at present nearly uch articles are sent out that way. A traveling agent sells on the install- ment pian or for cash, If he sellea for cash he gets 40 per cent as commission: on the installment plan he receives 20 per cent upon delivering the order to his frm. There are 10,000 women canvassers in the country; they feo confine themselves to such things as books, photograph albums, silver ware, cor- sets, and dress: ig charts. They do not care to sell heavy books, scientific, s and the like, but only light li such as poems and the latest novels.” “Don’t the people who buy on installments often che: “Quite frequently, The firms that do an in- stalmlent business count upon losing about 8 per Aeoe aS sales — way; ier beng ¢ make - up by adding some! more than 8 per cent to the price of everything. The inebalment folks don’t get left to any great extent, you can depend. A few threats, are in most cases, ef- fective, where prompt payments are not made. The dealers have the law all on their side. In- stallment Lapin always su; thatan ar- ticle bought in that manner and half paid for ives him the chance. profit by doing business in rs classes of are never sold to on installments because they Ligibagereavers nog ron fe mtonsy pred Prep dcpelgplicpy et jects wait Se ere and stable men. But I see your next door neighbor who owns po- tato patch coming out of his house. I m catch him on the fly and sell him a bug cator if I can; 80 ta-ta." ——— Written for Tux Evesme §1an, Child Faith. How beautiful to see the little child, Beside its mother, low in prayer, ‘While through the casement pour the moonbeams mild, Upon it kneeling there, . As though with each low lisping word it read Strange truths, unknown to coarser clay. As though some angel on its face had shed ‘Its own celestial ray. OHARACTER IN FEET. s —¥* A Washingtoa Crispin Who Can Read the Soles of Shoes. the inconsiderate shoe off the young man’s foot the artisan inserted a small iron last, from which protruded s long iron rod with a handle toit. Giving the rods vigorous twist, which expanded the last, he then hammered the shoe a little at the objective point and returned it to the owner, who squeezed it on and stood up apparently comfortable. ‘Just put that on my little account, you know,” remarked after stamping his footto satisfy himself that the job was moreay, done, closing the door be- hind him as he said it, “That young man,” said the shoe artist to Tue Stan reporter, tomers ant ireckon and it coste aim 25 cents Like many others he wears his every time, shoes too tight, consequently is constantly dropping in e to get this or that place ‘eased up a little.’ Ido it by rnnning in that iron last with holes scattered about in it. With this small oval piece of iron to which is at- tached a pin that fits the holes I can force a projection at any given point, and by dampen- ing and hammering the shoe at that place the leatheF is stretched so that pressure on the foot can be relieved temporarily. Of course it draws back again and inashort time I get another pull at the same job. This bear | man buys a pair of store shoes at 96 to $7 and I get about that much or more in the end out of him for ‘fixing’ them so that they won't hurt. HUNDREDS OF THE SAME SORT. “Many of that kind? Why hundreds of them, but they are not always good pay. Several times I have had to keep shoes to get anything at all, though they would not pay, if sold, half the arrearages, “Ladies? Yes, indeed, you would be as- tounded at the number of ladies who have their shoes ‘eased’ four or five times a week. Asa rule they have more corns than men though not such bad ones. The most of ladies’ corns are on the little toes from wearing shoes en- tirely too narrow, and the next greatest num- ber are on the bottoms of the feet from wear- ing thin sole shoes, Blogs pee make lotsof money out of romen, but not so much as formerly. The signs are a dead give away so they are on the look out for plain shoe makers who understand ‘xing’ up their feet. There is one thing ough * A WOMAN I8 MIGHTY TOUCHY AsovT, even with us shoe makers, and that is the num- ber of the shoe she wears, when it is not below the average. I get shoes to mend sometimes with the number cut bodily out. Iread an article the other day which stated that some manu- facturers were thinking of excluding numbers from ladi hoes entirely, so that a dealer can take the measure of a foot and know what size is actually worn, but can call a number four shoe a three or two anda half if he wants to. My! What a great scheme that would be and how it would lighten the labors and lessen the lies of the clerks. They would only have one lie to tell then and could sell a pair of shoes in one- fourth of the time.” A BHOE MAKER'S OBSERVATIONS, All this was said by a Washington professor of shoeology to a Star reporter who was hay- ing an old pair of No. 8's and a bunion repaired athis shop. This deciple of Crispin is an in- telligent, well-read man and evidently a student of the foot as well as of the face divin “You may talk abo eB wears, the eye or even the palm of the hand as a delin of character, but shoeclogy or footology, whichever you chose to call it,“said he, ‘is not a whit behind them. Show me a person's foot-covering after two months’ wear, or even in much less time than that in most cases, and I will tell you pretty well what kind of an individual that somebody is. Now, if both heel and sole are worn off evenly the wearer is clear-headed, decisive and resolute, a good business man or woman, and an excel- lent person to be with in many ways, If thi outside sole: is out through, the wearer, if a mau, is inclined to be adventurous, unrelia- ble and spasmodic in his actions; if a woman, predisposed to boldnessand a good person to be shy of. £f the inside of the sole is worn through it generally indicates weakness and vacillation in a man, but modesty in a woman.” “Take this shoe of yours forinstance, the sole is cut through on the inside, you see, ‘and, what is unusual when such is the case, it is run down on the outside at the heel, and what is more each shoe is wearing off differently, Be- sides vacillation I observe irresolution and a tendency toward negligence, evasion of un- pleasant duties, occasional spells of moroseness and an inclination to pens. Let me tell you something,” said he quickly with an air of confidential kindness that scattered a gather- ing cloud of resentment in that neighborhodd, “‘a certain young man up in the northwest sec- tion, who has been @ patron of mine for years was PAYING ATTENTION TO TWO GIRLS atthe same time, also customers of mine, I noticed that one of them wore out her shoes on the sole first, while the other stepped squarely and wore down heel and sole alike. I always had a liking for that young man, and knowing that his affections were sec-sa between the two damsels I took him in the shop one night and showed him the shoes which his flames had left to be repaired and told him what I have told ygu. The result was he marrie: ste) aay ond tay are happy and have a dear lide whose shoes I mended yesterday. The other girl allowed her affections to go all to poe oe New e ecnpzeera pune Gone off timnore an married every- ut their own, and neither of afterward, ®0ME GOOD ADVICE, “There now, sir, your job is done and I hope these shoes will run you along smoothly till spring; then you can put on those low-quarter fellows be, poy mended for you last summer. If you be careful in crowds to keep pedes- trians off your feet that bunion of yours will getalong all right. So willyou. Sorry I could ae @ better character, but I am noth- ing if not truthful and a good shoe maker and never ? Thirty-five cents to you; to an; one else it would be sixty, but I awe oe y—' But the door shut out the fad- ing schosdiet Toollnttegs " footeteps shambling up the street, ~ —-—_—_ Mulhattan’s Fame as a Liar. From the Louisville Post. I was sorry to see it announced that Col. Joe Mulbattan has shaken the dust of Kentucky off his feet to become a New Mexican. Louisville needs all her celebrities and hates to lose any of them, No doubt weehall hear of some wonderful caves and mines bevigied body's wishes them did well 8 | cif z i i | | i : ¢ ri ij a i f H : Hf ti iT A BUDGET FROM GOTHAM. ‘WASHINGTON a8 A CONVENTION PLACE Correspondence of Taz Evertne Stan. New Yont, October 25. New York bhs done nothing on the world’s fair for a fortnight except to make fuss, Ite spectacular but useless exertions remind one of nothing so much as the melo- dramatic rumpus which a freight engine makes in starting a heavy train up a steep grade on & wet day, There is a prodigious puffing and the wheels go around with dagzling rapidity, but the train doesn't move. Will the million- aires sprinkle the necessary sand on the track or hitch on the extra power requisite to extri- cate the laboring machine from its present ridiculous position? A few days now will tell the story. THE SITE PROBLEM. While the financial aspectof the fair is in this questionable shape the committee are in equal anxiety about the site. They are now about ready to relinquish the choicest section of the chosen tract—the high land on the Bloomingdale asylum heights, The trustees of the Watts orphan asylum, which occupies the site of the future cathedral and which is the finest part of the grounds, are not disposed to hurry or bother themselves and more than in- timate that they will not give up their land | unless ordered to do so by the courts. The committee are laboring with them, but thus far without effect. If fair is restricted for land to the vacant space immediatly north of Central park it will be very much crowded and the temptation will be almost irresistible to cross the Rubicon into the sacred reserva- tion and by that act alienate one of the most influential elements in the community, So it cannot be claimed for New York that the out- look is altogether serene even if we ignore out- side rivals, THE EPISOOPAL CONVENTION. The Episcopal convention, which adjourned yesterday after a three weeks’ session, attracted mort attention from the public and their giass— the newspapers-##han any religious assembly that has gathered here for many years. No doubt its triennial character invested it with peculiar weight, but, more than this, it challenge: general attention by the dignity and the interest of -its proceedings. The Episcopal church ranks next to the Roman Cathohe church of this city in activity and strength of organization. Of the Protestant denominations ite ratio of growth is highest, and its progress as depicted in new and splen- did buildings is most observable. The recent convention in its spirit was in accord with these surroundings, being alert, aggressive and yet in the main kindly. In a social sense the meet- ing together of so many distinguished bishops. clergymen and laymen made the month quite unique. TRE SOUTHEN CLUB. Not the least interesting of these social items was @ reception given during the week to the southern bishops at the Southern club, This organization from small innings has mightily increased and multiplied, until now it is ranking with the stronger clubs of the town, It shows the carpet-bagging quality of New York that a club of this sort can so soon take root and flourish. The number of bright and agreeable southerners who are at present liv- ing here is remarkable, They are found at the ffont in all the professions and gentlemanly occupations, and as a class they are very popu- lar for their manners as well as for their abili- ties. LANGUID INTEREST IN POLITICA. We have been trying very hard this week to manufacture a little political interest, but thus far with only moderate success, A state ticket and a local ticket are before the citizens for their action, but in neither case are the offices of the greatest importance, and it is in politics something asin the opera or in base ball, the Americans will pay anything for the best’ and will not patronize mediocrity at any price. Hence there is only a languid interest in the pending elections, although the politicians are very anxious about the fate of the nation. That or old nation! How often its crises come! jut, fortunately, thréatened men live long, GEORGE VANDERBILT'S CHATEAU. The Vanderbilts have succeeded in astonish- ing the public in a new light. One of the younger generation, George W. Vanderbilt, has bought a tract of 5,000 acres at Ashville, N. C., overlooking the valley of the French Broad anda panorama of mountains and will build there a superb country seat on the model of a French chateau. Expense is not to be considered, and the idea is to make the conspicuous oye | among the elegant mansions of our nabobs for the splendor of its architecture and the beauty of the great park that will surround it, Five thousand acres will make a tidy building lot. Central park covers 820 acres and Fairmount park, which seems so endless, only embraces 2,400 acres, epoch J Mr. Vanderbilt and the guests he asks to his chateau will have plenty of elbow room. THE ARCHITECTS AND WASHINGTON, Next month at Cincinnati the two great architectural societies of the country—the American institute of architects and the west- ern association—meet in joint convention to form one national organization. Mr. Bloor, the secretary of the American institute, voices the general sentiment of his associates when he says that he hopes to sce the central home of the new leag located at Washing- ton, The secre of the western as- sociation is Mr. rmand 8, Patson, so leasantly remembered in fre. too, would naturally favor that city. Wash- ington is rapidly acquiring a great reputation among social and learned societies all over the country as the ideal place for gather: ofa national character. Apart from the obvious propriety in a political sense of holding such meetings at the national capital the fame of the beauty of the city and the gracious hospi- tality of food yreaoe bas gone abroad through the land forme an irresistible magnet. The day of the gibe, more or less ill-natured, at Washington, has gone by. I assure you that you are quite the fashion. MEUCCI AND GARIBALDI's HOUSE. Poor old Meucci, who was known in Wash- ington from his connection with the telephone, died this week in the Casa Garibaldi, on Staten Island, the house where Garibaldi lived while in this country. In 1882 a Mr. Bachmann, who owned the house, gave it to the Italian colony of New York. Here Meuceilived by grace of the colony and paid no rent. The idea, of course, was that the site as well as the dwelling was in- cluded in But now the thrifty Mr. It is absurd weather for ball playing, but sonainas attend the matches the feeling ——— coed grey apn og Hesay B. Ex.iot. e i i E E i ry ! i Written for Tee Evaxime Stak PRETTY THINGS FOR CHRISTMAB, Dainty Ways of Decorating Picture Boxes and Photograph Cases. WHAT CAN BE DOXE WITH A PLAIN PASTEBOARD BOK WITH A“WOMAN WHO BAS 4 WHA ARD ON ASPORTRENT OF OOLORS—TASTEFUL DESIONS SERN IX THE ART Rooms. With the insatiable thirst for novelty that ROW prevails it is quite wonderful to see how the supply keeps up with the demand. In ra shop every department is crewded with articles fitted to tempt the unwary passer-by. Especially full of taricus wares are the pisces where household art is the main thing catered to. The array is fairly bewildering of things large end small that inventive minds end skilled hands have produced to add to the beauty and comfort of homes or to bring additional care taking, which, perhaps, is the way some bur- dened housewives may look at it, “Something more to dust,” accompanied by an inward groan, is the exclamation over a new aoquisi- tion, However, the majority of women with homes like to acquire and a large choice is of- fered this autumn in every line of furnish for houses. the art rooms especially voted to woman's handiwork there are number- less articles, attractive and useful or decorative, Among the small things SUITABLE FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS are the pretty photograph bores and cases, Every one has quantites—more or less—of beautiful photographs to which they are cou- tinually adding, and with albums so iy oat of fashion, itis a puzale often to know what to do with them to make them more effective than simply packing them away in « drawer. The boxes are the most capacious of any re- ceptacie in fancy style that Tae been invented, A pasteboard box of any desired size and shape may be the foundation, but tin is much better and more durable, The weight of « dozen or two photographs is not inconsidera- ble, and pasteboard soon breaks, At any tin shop pieces of the right size can be cut to make «a box, something « little larger than cabinet sized ir tographs being the best. The inside of the box is generally silk, and the outside of some very pretty ones bas been made of heavy linen or fine crash. On this the decoration may be either painting or embroidery. If the former is chosen a good combination is to use both tapestry dyes and lustra paints, A conventional rare is best, something suggesting « flower is good, either singly, scattered about or in These are lovely tinted with the dyes delicate shades—yellow and pink on one for instance, old pink and yellow-green on another, or light pink or blue together. The silk lining is chosen in one of the shades on the outside, and all the flowers have a heavy outline IX BAIKED GOLD in the Iustra paint. Connecting lines or ten- drils are added at will, though overdecoration in to be avoided, Sometimes the word “‘photo- graphs” is painted in gold-raised letters of rustic form. After the painting is done on the various pieces of linen, which were first cut the <7 size for covering the tin box, they and the lining are basted to- gether andsewed in an overhand seam, ribbons or gold cord, whatever one fancies, being added to fasten the lid down when desired. The boxes are also quite extensively used as bou-bop boxes, but something less delicate in material and of less work is preferable, A box to hold a collection of foreign for instance, might be made very handsome covered with brocade in the beautiful striped or flowered effects used now so much for furni- ture covering, or with the lovely “shadow silks.” If a person has no gift for painting, a box made in this way might be accomplished Without any strain of the inventive faculty. Still another effective decoration is embroidery, This takes more time, but powdered small flowers, or a branch with blossoms on it, give very good results. The dyes could be ui in another way than with the gold paint by oat- lining the flower forms with silk or gold thread. The heavy couching cord which is SOMETHING KEW THIS SEASON, and very easily applied, would be @ very effective decoration in curving lines and ten- drils with no other designs, On gold-colored silk for the tapestry woave, and with gold couching silk, a really lovely box might be made to delight some friend's heart at ‘the ap- proaching holidays, The same heavy cord should be bound around it with ends left to tie in loops asa finish and to fasten it. For a friend Fecently returned from foreign travel such a gift would be especially appro- priate to hold some of the mating proto- graphs a wanderer slways colle traveling. PHOTOGRAPH CASES haye been popular for some time and still are if one may judge by the pretty ones offered for sale in lare numbers at the art societies and in shops. The folding ones to stand on mantel or chiffonier, helding from one to half a dozea pictures, are shown in every color, and covered with various materials, India silk prevails ex- tensively and is very suitable for boudoir or bed room, where such trifles generally find lace. One on which a little more time had een expended than on the figured silk ones was of India silk in a crinkled finish of « pearly white. This had been painted before making up with a epray of poppy-sbaped flowers. In the lower left hand corner the flowers and leaves clustered quite thickly, while a single spray of bud end lect appenced in the upper right hand corner beyond the opening for the photograph. It was for a single cabinetsized picture and very attractive. To holda picture of some pretty girl in her wedding gown, for instance, would be @ fitting use to put it to and make its daintiness ———— The poppy blossoms were not in the glaring red the name would imply but in softest tone of old pini with leaves of olive green, and a light gol edge was outlined to all in lustra paint, A NEWER WAY to make up these folding cases is to have them arranged panel-wise and bung fiat on the wall, The opening for the picture in this case is put pendicular as they hang, In some narrow space or on a door this is a pr novelty in their use. The photograph holders, to lie about on tables or to carry pictures while traveling, are nothing aay new but always useful little articles and so in favor, The foid- ing ones are rather giving place to the single oblong Sn aon drawa up on strings, ever—which are cousiderabiy larger pictures and hold more without the aor. | ones. Plush, with ite map and ci ging lights. is very these affairs, Lined with satin with cord they are easily made handsome from the materials used. likes the bag may be left open on one two inches and the corner turned the satin lint the plush, This -back corner lighted off with fine gold thread pi filigree pattern, or rather, no quirl it as often as le ip cove din order to have it catch the cases, _ are ornamented . both in dyes or lustra or both combi avery much in the style of the boxes described above. Any worker with a little ingenuity of her may get pF siedeated ae it it é rl & UNIQUE EFFECTS in such work, which gives it m¢ once, than to followin arut ever i i : E ai