Evening Star Newspaper, October 18, 1890, Page 9

- Ys BEHIND THE CABINET. Bright Young Men Who Pull the Wires of Government THE PRIVATE SECRETARIES. —__._— Lives Devoted to the Service of Their Great Chicty—Mr. Halford and His Dutles—Heow Cabinet Ministers Are Mept Posted and Assisted. —_——_>—— NOTED POLITICIAN as he cameaway from the White Houso one day said: “If I could tend that side door into the President's room I wouldn't care acent who made platforms or politics.” That was in the piping period when Dan. La- mont was “premier” of the Cloveland admin- istration. Coming to the White House after a long experience in New York politics, Lamont was first to invest the office of private secretary with a personal importance that the political public had to respect. Yet itis true of every other private secretary to the chiefs of the va- Fious departments that they wield an influence and perform services invaluable alike to their Superiors and to the government All are young men. Most of them are newspaper men, as Lamont was. Nearly all of them are expert shorthand writera and, as they ha well demonstrated. they possess special talents for ecutive business. The world might be trav- tled over till doomsday to find a more polite or Painsteking set of young men than those who stand between the cabimet ministers and the public. No matter whether it is finances you are looking into in Secretary Windom's depart- ment, beet sugar in Uncle Jerry Rusk’s, big ns in Gen. Tracy's, postal routes in Mr. anamaker's, consulships in Mr. Blaine’s or Sppointments at the White House, everywhere = will receive the utmost politeness and all attention it is possible to give. ‘Mn. HALFORD. At the White House Elijah Halford, familiarly Called ‘Lije. presides now over the “side door.” Mr. Halford is specially agreeable to everybody who comes up against him in public business, and probably exerts an influence on _appoint- Ments quite as great as Lamont's. But it isa different influence, just as Halford and Lamont are different. The hoosier secretary does not ask himself every half minute what the political effect of every pen stroke in the day's business isto be. He is industrious to a fault, putting Bights and days into his work for bis chief without stint or thought of personal sacrifice. He is, too, a thoughtful and religiously minded man, who stops now and then to think how he can do more good in one way than another. To his credit is the fact that the caricatures of the day pass him by. He cares little for fame, is duty to his old friend and townsman, ident, is his chief ambition for the time that now is. His salary is the highest of any paid a private secretary—25,000—which is augmented by some indefinite sum from the President's pocket, Whatit is only Haltord aod Harrison know, for the President is both Hberal and unostentatious. PRIVATE SECRETARY LA DOW. ‘The oldest of cabinet private secretaries in Service is O.D. LaDow of the Agricultaral De- partment. If Dickens were alive now and @mong us to know what this great American republic really is he could find no better bird’s- ese realization of its extent and business than to spend a few hours in the big agricultural building and take ob: ations for a chapter that he could head up as “A Day with LaDow.” Sittmg on his leathered settee David Copper- field would see about 9 o'clock a little brown- eyed man step nimbly into the office and glide across the room tc a row of telegraph instru- ments. With a click anda thump here and there he has found whether the rest of the ernment is up and ready for business, Then fl"teres round, and, like a thousand other bandsome men in this great government, faces ® pretty typewriter at the other side of his broad flat desk. Although himself an expert letter writer, stenographer, typewriter and telegrapher, ~ LaDow has to have more bands than bis own two to do the work of his ‘Very important office. “Miss . please remind me of Prof. At- ‘water's letter about pear scab.” Business has begun. “John, take these bagas—to Prof. Wil them or eat them, I don't care which. Five times a day the mail wagons dump onto e private secretary specimen beets, cabbages, Parsnips, rutabegas, potatoes, squashes and Various other products of husbandry. Some re from government stations and are reeeived i:@houors, carefully taken apart by a high- Priced chemist and reduced to long columns Of figures and percentages. All this Mr. LaDow | fees to. and upon it depends a great deal of rofitable industry from one end of the coun- 5 to the other. “Send Senator —— a full set of circulars and Lae on beet sugar machinery and write im we are all out of silk worm seed.” ‘The silk worm cocoons of the department are fm great demand. “Make @ brief note to Representative Phila- Duster saying that the Secretary remembers bis request for a place for Mrs. Smith, who is the wid voldier, and will write him tor -——- we don’t want his n the department during the recewa. This isn't a hack stand.” “Memoranda: Send Colorado applies to Hend- ley for models. Inquire about lithographs for ennual report—will probably print 500,000 this Year. Letter to J.J. Hill about quarantine Fules. Crop reports m this month. Letter to Gen. New about foreign crop reports, Wisconsin smut circular. Send it be out the 9th of | has also been connected with the New York Tribune bureau at Washingtoa for nearly nine years, Apart of his duties while private sec- retary to the commissioners has been to report conventions held either under the aus; the department or called in the interest of sub- fects which the department was investigating, and he has reported many such. It is needless to say his relations with his chicf are perhaps as close, intimate and confidential as those of any Private secretary in the government, MR. BLAINE'S RIGHT HAND MAN, If there is any private secretary in Wash- ington who has a pleasant berth it is Louis A. Dent, who has for several years been Mr. Blaine’s right hand. He is the youngest of all the secretaries to the cabinet. having been born just as Mr. Blaine was looking after his first re-election to Congress. Mr. Dent has lived nearly all his life in W«shington, where his father, Gen. Dent, came to reside after the war. Atthe age of seventecn Dent became stenographer to the auditor of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, and for five long, weary years he was a reporter in the law courts of the District. In 1883 he became pri- yate secretary to Congressman Robert R. Hitt, Mr. Blaine’s warm friend, and through his suggestion in 1885 he was employed by Mr. Blaine asa stenographer. Mr. Dent contin- ued with Mr. Blaine during the preparation of the second volume of his “Twenty Y of Congre nd also during the compilation by Mr. Blaine of his speeches and addresses, In 1886-7, while up in Maine, Dent became offi- cial reporter of the Maine house of representa- tive When Mr. Blaine entered the State De- partment he appointed Mr. Dent as his stenog- rapher, Mr. Sherman being his private secre- tary. Upon Mr. Sherman's appointment as consul at Liverpool Mr. Dent succeeded him as P pikes secretary, which position he hes held ever since. MR. RAYMOND. Henry Warren Raymond, private secretary to the Secretary of the Navy, is the only living son of the late Henry J. Raymond, founder and editor of the New York 7% mond was born in New York city September 10, 1843, When eleven years old he was taken to Europe with his family and studied there for the next three years in different schools in France and Germany. Returning home about the time of the outbreak of the war, and being too young to enter the military service, he ob- tained a place on the sanitary commission steamer Daniel Webster as assistant to Dr, Grimes and was afterward transferred to the transport Arago, acting as captain's clerk. AS a boy Mr. Raymond had been interested in the ublication of a boys’ paper, The Firrside, but his first profitable newspaper work was a letter written home describing attack on Fort Sumter, which his father without his knowledge published in the Times and for which, to his surprise, he re- ceived a check for $15. After that Mr. Ray- mond wrote several letters from the south and then went to Middletown, Conn., to prepare for Yale College, from which he graduated in 1869. Mr. Raymond was always fond of athletic sports. While in Paris asa boy he took the first prize in fencing at the school where he was studying and in college took the first prize in broadsword in a class of 120. Mr. Raymond also pulled bow oar in one of his class crews until obliged to give up by a severe attack of typhoid fever. Mr, Raymond took eight prizes for literary work during his college course and the ‘degree of A.M. in 1872. He went to California for the New York Times on the first through train and subsequently lectured on “The Overland Journey and a Visit to the Mormons.” He studied law in Columbia College and in the office of Scudder Carter in New York: took the degree of L.L.B. in 1871; was admitted to the United States courts in 1876, and practiced law in Chicago as a mem- ber of the firm of McConnell, Raymond & Rog- ers for about two years. He was on the New York Zimes, begiuuing axa reporter and theu as editor, for three years, writing correspond- ent’s letters during the summer months. He made a tour of the southern states, interview- ing the governors and also A. H. Stephens in a series of letters, which were widely quoted at the time. Lectured before the Y. M. C. A. of New York and Newark on “Popular Supersti- tions.” From the Times he went to the Evening Post with Chariton T. Lewis as exchange editor and editorial writer, and when he left that paper went to the Brooklyn Union for @ few months as law reporter and editorial writer. He went to Europe for his health, which had been much impaired by overwork, and returning home was married in Brooklyn and went to Chicago. An investment in a book publishing concern there proved unfortunate. Mr. Raymond lost nearly all his property and again turned to journalism, becoming literary editor for the Chicago Tribune, and holding that position and also that of musical critic for three years and over and for ashort time acting as dramatic ritic also, occasionally writing editorial matter ‘and articles ou ting topica, Several of his magazine articles were published in the Cei tury and Lippincott’s during this time and the five chapters on Chicago homes in Appleton’s magnificent work on American homes were written by Mr. Raymond, Mr. Ray- mond has made some political speeches, was often a delegate to local pohtical conventions in Chicago and was also a member of the Blaine executive committee in that city, but has never taken an especially active part in politics, although an earnest republican. In 1885, through the assistance of Mr. Geo. W. Childs, he purchased the German- town Telegraph, & weekly family and agricul- tural paper published in Germantown, Pa., and the oldest of ite class in the country. of which he is still the editor and proprietor. He was appointed private secretary to the Secretary of the Navy on the 28th of March, 1889. Gen. Tracy and Henry J. Raymond we sonal friends, which fact led to th the son for a position of so confidential a nature. Mr, Raymond bas always been fond of the water, and at one time held a license as master for yachts up to fifty tons and bi owned and sailed the steam launch Gracie and the sloop yacht Avalon. He sailed from Greenpoint, L.L, to Chicago, Ill, im the schooner yacht Viking, a voyage of over twenty copies beet sugar bulletin to Hon. John Bmith. Get the Secretary's tickets to Omaha— Here there is « long peal of the electric bell. “Heigho! The Secretary's come,” and the Bervy little secretary disappears through the side door as a number of employes and several callers throng in to worry him with questions end errands innumerable. The memoranda are left to alater and more aus; us occasion. LaDow was called into the Agricultural De- | apogee in 1377 by the immortal LeDuc and the only private secretary the department basever known. He was born in Saratoga . im 1852, received an academic . followed telegraphy and electricity as « profession and was manager of the At- lantic and Pacific telegraph office in Washing- ton when Gen. LeDuc became agricultural secretary. In addition to the duties of private secretary Mr. LaDow has also to perform the duties of appointment clerk and look aftor the Gifferent electrical machines and devices of the department. He has been chairman of the board of examiners of the civil service com- mission in stenography and typewriting and telegraph since that board was formed. He 3,000 miles around Nova Scotia, This fondness for the water fits him all the better for his offi- cial duties. ‘MR. CHAS. M. RENDLEY. Secretary Noble is getting along without a —— secretary. ly last year he selected jorton Pope, son of Maj. Gen. John Pope, for the place. Mr. Pope came here and filled the | position for « few months and then resigned to resume his law practice in St. Louis, Attorney General Miiler is also getting along without @ rivate secretary and is not hkely to have one, ts jor there aro probably young men enough 10 Indiana of surpassing ability who would like to take a tur the place Mr. ‘ashington life to have secured y this time if it were at all possible. iler and Mr. Noble have clerks assigned day to day when they need nt Kes, bat more disadvantages. A cabinet minister cannot carry all the details of his work in his own head, and he is so interrupted by matters entirely foreign to the routine of his official work that he needs an assistant whose indi- vidual ibility is to look after office business. retary Windom has in Mr. Chas, M. Hendley an ideal right-hand man. In the first place he knows every prominent man in the United States. Desides this he has an ‘MR. CHAS. M, HENDLEY, aptitude for dispatching executive business rapidly and smoothly, so that he lifts from his chief's shoulders what would be for him a ter- rible burden of responsibility. Mr. Hendl was born in Cincinnati, where his chi hood was spent, and in 1881 came with his parents to Washington. For a time he attended Columbian College in this city. Entering on departmental life fora few months he was employed in the office of the Secretary of the Interior and in 1876 was secretary to the In- dian commission which visited all the Sioux Indians and negotiated a treaty for the relin- quishment of the Black Hills. At the beginning of the Hayes administration he went to the White House ina clerical capacity and soon thereafter was appointed executive clerk. This position he held for twelve years, contin- uing throughout four administrations, Dur- ing all this time he was in close relations with jent’s private secretary and handled osed of ina great measure the Presi- dent's Business and s When Mrs. Cleveland was first lady vitations were addressed in Mr. Hendley’s graceful penma manship. Upon the advent of the present ministration Mr. Hendley left the White House to accept his present place, which brought to him a larger compensation and a broader field of usefulness, His long experience with simi- lar work at the Executive Mansion fits him for the duties of private secretary, and he has proved himself capable, and possesses qualitics which make his services very valuable to Mr. Windom, whose confidenve he enjoys and with whom he is on terms of intimacy, MARSHAL CUSHING, John Wanamaker’s co-laborer is Marshal Cushing, editor of the Politician, the good- natured little comic republican organ. He is a Harvard man, who during his college career displayed a passion for, newspaper “work, be- coming first freshman editor of the Harvard Echo, the first college daily at Cambridge, and afterward secretary of the board of editors of the Harvard Advccate, one of the brightest and best known of all college publications in this ATTRACTIVE HOMES. Making the Rooms Cheerful andCom- fortable for Winter. LAMPS AND OPEN FIREPLACES Some Effective Lamp Shadcsand How to Make Them at Small Expense—The Most Satisfactory Colors—Fireplaces Written for Tae Evenrxa Stam. ITH THE cool autumn evenings a lamp is a comforting piece of turnish- ing in more than one. Even be- fore itis chilly enough to have a fire alittle warmth is grateful as evening closes in, and the heat from one large lamp will temper the atmosphere to quite an appre- ciable extent. Above all, the cheerfulness of the lighted lamps does much to counteract the rain and wind that may be prevailing outside. The uso of lamps is almost universal now, and there is no comparison between the light of one and gas for reading, writing or work. A drop light from a gas fixtare, while it brings the light toa more convenient height, has to havo its awkward length of tube attached, and often, too, the flame flickers too much for the good of the eyes in close application. Student lamps were hailed with joy when they came into general use somo years ago, but there was nothing pretty or attractive in their appearance, and for « long time an ornamental lamp was sure to be a poor burner, even when double wicks were used. Now, however, it seems as if one could secure perfection, both in looks and action, and scarcely any one single object can be put into aroom which will repay the necessary outlay, both for day and night effect, asa pretty lamp. As the shops are full of them it is not worth while to describe sty) but for those who aspire to have pretty shades on their lamps and do not want to pay the ex- tromely high prices asked for them ready made I will tell of a few that have recently been con- cocted at home by clever fingera, PREITY HOME-MADE SHADES. The wire frames must first be bought, but lone are not very costly, nor is the ilk and lace by the yard, but it takes a good many dollars to buy an outfit for lamps ready made, The wire frame in umbrella shape is what is wanted, and itcan be bent by hand into a much prettier shape than it comes in, somewhat resembling a Chinese pagoda, One thing has proved disastrous heretofore, and that is the scorching of the silk or lace, coming too close as it does to the chimney. With other improvements that has not been forgotten, and now &@ wire frame comes, to which is fitted an over chimney,as it were, of mica, which effoctu- ally protects the gauzy covering. The frames with the mica are $2.75, but with a lamp hay- ing a large baso, for its chimney I think the mica could be used with the frame already on the lamp, the mica costing $1 by itself. With tho melancholy experience which so many country, Graduating in 1883 be began to] people have had in having their pretty shades study law, but kept on doing newspaper work ina local way for the Cambridge 7riuneand Boston (lobe. Naturally enough he was drawn on tothe Globe staff and abandoned all thought of the law. He became night editor and state house reporter and spent four years making a valuable acquaintance among public men. In 1887 he came to Washington as private secre- tary to Henry Cabot Lodge. The following spring he went to New York and during the summer devoted himself to political correspondence from Indiananapolis for New York and Boston papers, In January, 1889, he came to Wash- ington as correspondent for the Boston Adver- tiser, Last November be was invited into the Post Oftice Department by Mr. Wanamaker. He has there shown how well a newspaper man is adapted to official life. He has the room form- erly occupied by the Postmaster General and he receives and entertains apd and unofticial callers there ina st; him master of the situation, To maker he is invaluable both for his quick sense of the right thing in routine work and for his wide knowledge of publicmen. No other de- partmentin the government is so close to the politician and the people as Mr. Wanamaker's and he needs a trae re’ like Cushing to keep step tothe music of the times In person Cushing is short, broad shouldered and ath- letic, His face mooth and usually lighted up by the mirthful beginning of a smile, As a writer he is graphic and witty.while his knowl- edge of men and affairs is both extensive and accurate, He is more than a routine assistant to the Postmaster General and gives a good deal of his time to booking up on questions of im- portance to the department, such as postal telegraphy, penny postage, foreign mails and all that. it would surprise the country to learn how much of the statetuanship evolved from the vari- ous departments really comes from the keen- witted private secretary intellectually alert to seize the opportunities that will make a good record for EE chief. Itis through just such young men as Messrs. Hendley, LaDow, Cush- ing and the rest that progressive ideas in public business are brought to the front, They stand where they can see what is wanted; they have the good name and fame of their’ respective cabinet ministers at heart and they use their influence honestly and effectively. Their im- ress on passing affairs may not make them | oar: any more than scores of private secre- taries of presidents and cabinet ministers be- fore them achieved fame, but while they are in the swim they have the fun and lots of hard work and the satisfaction of being on the in- de of the government. The pay of these private socretaries is very low. It ranges from $1,600 to €2.400, and then, in the case of Mr. Halford, jump up to @5,000. Any one of them works as hard or harder than a member of Congress and the pay ought to be somewhere near the same. ——___ He Dyed r Poodle. In the “Sovereigns of Europe,” a series of sketches published in the Leisure Hour, an amusing anecdote is told of the royal family of pears that Queen Margherita was anxious that Umberto, her royal consort, should follow the example of his father and the fash- ton common among elderly Piedmontese offi- his hair, which has become quite gs were in vain, Umberto isan honest nature that does not love these ubterfuges, So the queen had recourse to stratagem. She caused a quantity of fine hair dye to be sent from Paris and put in the king’s dressing room, together with directions for its use, making, however, no allusion to the sub- ject, The king, too, said nothing, though he could not fail to see the pigments. Now, the queen has a large white poodle of which she is very foud. What was her horror a few days later to see her pet come running into her boudoir with his snowy locks of the deepest black hue. a Ae eects hg nded sp dyes upon changing the color of the poodle’s hi irom that day forth the subject of hair dyeing was dropped between the royal couple, see. Shocking Cruelty to a Horse. Charles F. Bates of New York city was ar- rested Wednesday charged with cruelty toa horse in Newport recently. While Mr. and Mrs. Bates were in New York city about Octo- ber 1, according to the story told in Newport, young Mr. Bates went driving with one of his or's horses. It balked and he is said to have poured alcohol on the horse’s hind quar- ters and set fire to it The maddened horse dashed the vehicle against'a lamp Young Mr. Bates denies that thore is serious in the charge. His father said ht be that the Laer gong & eon was mueb injured, catch fire, or scorch ail their beauty away, it is @ comfort to know there is a prevention in the market, A VERY SATISFACTORY SHADE has lately been made at a Washington home in old pink. Itis of the thin China silk which allows the light to filter through merely soft- ened, not dimmed, and when lighted gives the loveliest glow imaginable. The silk is shirred fullat the top and also on the edge of the frame, from which it fails in a ruffle or flounce about eight inches deep, A white silk lace covers this fall, and at its heading, on the outer wire of the frame, is a narrow double rufile of silk shirred in the middle with its lower edge fringed out, the bottom of the silk flounce be- ing finished in the same way. This is set on an octagonal table covered with a fringed silk spread, the same color as the Jamp shade, and the i p itself, quite high and graceful i is particularly well placed amid all these pink surroundings. A large black wicker chair with pink cushions stends at the side of the table, and a collection of pretty trifles decorates the table top, making an attractive spot out of the naturally darkest corner of the room. Another lamp shade made by the same industrious house mistress is similar in shape, covered with lemon yellow silk and trimmed with black lace in Vandyke pattern, the paints falling over a heavy yellow silk fringe two inches deep, which finishes the silk fall, APTER SEVERAL YEAUS' USE, A shade that has been in use several years is as good today as ever, and as it requires no frame and is noticeably pregty, I will descril This shade is of lace entirely, black Chantilly, ina fine pattern some eight inches deep. Into the bottom scallops are crocheted several rows of orange silk, following the curves of the lace edge, and into this silk edge is tied a heavy fringe of the orange silk three inches deep. A single row of the crochet atthe top makes a beading through which t# run narrow orange ribbon, which shirs it up to the size needed to fitany globe. Ithus been placed on various white globes—on the center light over a dining table was once its position—and always is admired and never has become soiled, two great points its favor. THE COLORED LACES and nets that come now will give a great va- riety if one is secking different tints for special places, or with tapestry dyes, any lace, silk, cotton or linen can be tinted to match silk. Among the novelties in ready-made shades are the ones of cretonne, so very pretty ior bed room lamps, with the light showing through the flowered surface with its voluminous plait- ings. ‘Lhe silk shades that one can buy, if one has plenty of money, are exquisite to look at, and as infinite in make and coloring as the lamps themselves, ° THE SMALL CRYSTAL LAMP. One of the newest things—and this is for bed room or boudoir use—is a small crystal lamp with shade for which a small mica chimney comes, only this size and the one larger being procurable. The lamp is merely a small globe, Pointed at the bottom, and the standard is » candlestick, the lamp ‘fitting into any candlo- stick of the right size and being easily trans- ferable, A charming one has just been bought for a young girl’s room, with pink silk fluted shade and Dresden candlestick to set it in, Hanging lamps and side-bracket lamps are made in most attractive shapes, whilo the pedestal and banquet lumps are as popular as ever, When one secs whole shops filled with nothing but lamps and cach one with its de orated or decorative shades one realizes the extent to which lamps of all kinds are used, Even the plain nickel Rochester lamps can be transformed by # pretty shade made by in- genious hands out of some “left over,” perhaps, so that it willbe as attractive to look at as §rateful to use. cozy OPEN Fings. Another theme which chimes in with the season is the grate or fireplace and its eur- roundings. No house seems complete when it is impossible to have an open fire, and the more there are the better. Most artistic are the mantels, the hearths, the finishing of the fireplace itsclf andthe andirons and imple- ments belonging thereto, ‘The iron fire back is excellent and such a variety of styles and decorative subjects is offered that ali tastes must be suited. The mediwval, the Florentine, the Moorish, the old Dutch and Elizabethan styles can all be seen as well as more modern ideas. Elihu Vedder's designs are well known and popular, Andirons are in man: apes also, antique and modern, the iron ones bein; much in demand, When old silver sconces ai chandeliers used, andirons inold silver look appropriate, these being finished so that they keep their dull luster without cleaning, Some massive and ornate andirons are in ilt—real gold plating, in fact--and these, too, eep their first brightness for » much longer time than would be supposed possible. Brass, too, holds its own for fire “*fitments” and when kept as brass should be is always inviting. The lacquered brass, of course, needs no scouring, but solid brass of the old-fashioned order needs plenty of rubbing at times to keep it up to ite ) coogped brilliancy. One beautiful fire set complete, andirons, fender, stand with shovel and tongs and ali, is in one of the handsome drawing rooms here in Washington. just as good as when they adorned the fireplace of the Present owner’s grandfather relics aro ay prized nowadays and fit into modern life with the best possible grace, TERRA COTTA shares with iron in populerity for finishing. It is made very effectiv. many places, One of the prettiest hall this mantel is hung with soft red velours from coiling to a low broad seatpwhich extends from the mantel on one side of the hall toa bay window on the nextat about the same dis- The seat is cushioned and balanced @ same velours with large, loose pil- red with silk in brocaded designe On the velours wall hanging, which is in large plaits, is a single picture, a ly less thi i Florentine frame, This “bit” is only one ef- fective corner of the samo beantifui hall in which is the upholstered piano, which was illus- trated in “‘Attractive Homes” a few weeks ago. A NOVEL SITTING ROOM sUELF, Anovel ideal heard of tho other day is a narrow shelf ranning all around a sitting room, on which now photographs, a few books here and thero and any ornaments suitable for the room, vases, &c. It was about four feet trom the floor and of wood to match whatever was used in the room. It can be used with or with- out a dado or wainscot, though I think either would add to the shelf, which is after all only an elaboration of a chair rail. Ina very prett dining room I once saw, which was very smail likewise. o high oak wainscoting was sur- mounted by a narrow sheif with tiny molding on the outer edge, and on this were piates of all kinds, curious and pretty, all around the room. They were decorative in the extreme, and where space for china cabinets could uot be spared served to display china which oth r- wise mast have been hidden away in a closet, Any one or two odd wall spaces ina dining room could be arranged in this way, 80 as to be an addition in beautifying the room. A PRETTY CORNBR DIVAN has a wooden arm on the shorter of the un- equal ends and above this tho wall space is covered for some four fect high with some fabric or leather and above that isa narrow shelf just the same length, on which ments. On the leather panel below aro pict- ures which aro too small, perhaps, to show off ona larger surface and one or two plaques, This breaks up& wall space that may be monot- onously long and in some places is a good ar- rangement, ——_— 159 BROOMS THAT SWEEP CLEAN. How They Are Turned Out by Thousands From a Georgetown Factory. Written for Tar Evenino Stan. OW MANY housekeepers in Washington who do some sweeping themselvos or have other people to do it for them ever take the trouble to consider how s broom is made? To begin with, the sticks mostly come from Michigan, They are made of basswood or maple, which grow plentifully in that state and afford a material that combines the advantages of lightness and strength. The wood is turned with lathes into broomsticks, with a hole Se through ench end—one of them intended for the housekeeper's string to bang the instrument up by. Some of tho sticks are leftof their natural hue and others are Painted red, to satisfy the tastesof all soris of purchasers. The rest of the broom is made of straw chiefly, and this material is obtained from a sort of corn plant grown expressly for the pur- pose. Doubtless you have noticed tho tassel on an ordinary corn staik. What the tassel is to the edible corn is fouad in the wisp that grows from the top of the broom corn. which bears no eargatall, There are two kinds of broom corn, roughly speaking—the coarse sort for ordinary sweeping and the fine dwarf sort for “parlor brooms” and whisks. The fine stuff is plucked by hand, while the coarse variety is cut with the knife. It is in bales of 300 pounds each that the material reaches such a factory as there is over im Georgetown, which produces 75,000 brooms every year to help scoop up the sweepings of the District of Columbia. HOW A BROOM I8 MADE. Perhaps you would like to know how r broom is made. To begin with the wisp tassels cut from the corn tops must be assorted as to length. This process is performed by an ex- pert who takes the wisps from the bal tributes them among a series of comp The broom wisps thus assorted go into tho hands of a man who holds the broomstick ina revolving vise with its end projecting—the end, that is to say, which isto be the broom. This operator first passes a fine wire through the hole in the end of the broomstick and by the aid of treadle makes the length of wood revolve unti it has taken up three or four bindings of the wire from @ great coil below. Then he grasps a number of wisps of long-stemmed broom corn, to serve for what is known technically as “handle stuff,” fastening them to the stick high up with windings of the wire, All the time while the wire is wrapping the straw upon the stick it is made to bind more tightly by blows fromahammer. Next is bound around the embryo broom what is called the ‘shoulder stuff,” with shorter stems, which, as was the case with the haudle stuff, is trimmed off close above the wire binding with a sharp knife. Stalks yet shorter, from which the stems have off entirely, aro finally wound upon le with more wire,and the whole business is clinched and fastened where the broom meets the stick with a strong belt of tinned brass, its corrugated edge bound down with the wire eo that the straw is made as much @ part of the broom handle as if it grew upon it, SEWED AND FINISHED. Now the broom goes to the sewer, who passes flaxen twine around its middle and pierces the substance of the broom through and through witha needle provided with similar fluxen cord, so as to bind the #traw together closely, Now it only remains to chop the straw ends of the brooms off even with a sort of cleaver knife and to comb the seeds out of them witha revolving machine armed with teeth, in order to make them ready for market. A first-rate broom is bought by dealers at from £3.25 to €4 a dozen and etail. Some brooms, for heavy sweeping of ships’ decks and outdoors, cost €6 a do: ‘Lhe course straw is best for those. You can calculate the profits of the manufacture for yourself when you are informed that broomsticks, white or red, cost $14.4 thousand, while the straw is 6'¢ cents a pound for the best of it, and an ordinary broom coutains 24, pounds of this latter material. Broom corn that is slightly green is much bet- ter for the purpose than the ripe material, be- cause the latter is brittle, and, on this account, to deceive purchasers, it used to be the custom for manufacturers of brooms to tint their material green with the fumes of brimstone. At present the same effect is more cheaply obtained by soaking the stuff in a cotored mix- ture. Supplies of broom corn for this country are chiefly secured from Chicago and Phil: delphia, to which points the farmers ship their broom corn product, consiguing it to commis- sion men, who sell it to the manufacturers, — eee Content. leased my neighbor Jim. hen it rained Ho never complained, But said we! weather suited him. “There's nover too much rain for me, And this is something like,” said he, When earth was dry asa powder mill, Ho did not sigh Because it wasdry, But said if he could have his will It would be his chiet, supreme delight To live where the sun shone day and night When winter came, with it snow and ice, He did not scold Because it was cold, But said: “Now this is real nice; If ever from home I'm forced to Tl move up orth with the Esq A cyclone whirled along its track; “and ald bios bara It broke his arm, And stripped the coat fiom off his back; “And 1 would give another limb To see such # blow again,” said Jim, And when at lencth his years were told, And his body bent, And his strength all spent, And Jim was very weak aud old. “1 have wanted to know,” he said, “How it fecls to die,” and Jim was dead. ‘The angolof death had summoned him ‘To heaven, or—well, T cannot tet But I know that the climate suited Jim; ‘And, cold or hot Ik taattered not— was to him long-sought «| Everything R AP, ‘From Puck. THE WEEK NEW YORK. Topics of Interest in the Big City on Manhattan Island. SWELL SUICIDES BECOMING COMMON—& MILLION CHECKS A DAY—CLEVELAND KERPING IX ToDCR WITH THE POESIDENT MAKERS—MANSFIELD AND THE DRAMA OF LIFE—LOCAL POLITICS, Special Correspondence of Tas EVExtvo Stan. New Yore, October 16, It looks somewhat as if this city were to have an epidemic of swell suicide, such as has been reported to be raging in Vienna. The public has scarcely forgotten the tragic death by his own hand of young Mr. Belmont a short time ago before it is again startled by an unexplain- abio suicide. Mr. W. QO, Kernochan, young, rich, surrounded by every luxury money could buy in this luxurious town, with the world be- fore him and everything to make life desirable, dines sumptuously in his faultless evening dress, sponds the evening at some place of amusement, goes to his elegant apartment at his club and puts a bullet through his brain. Whs? No one knows, Conjecture says a morbid anxiety about bis health, He himself died and made no sign. The servants say he walked the floor half the night’ What sorrow he faced, what problem he struggled with during those solitary hours no one will ever know. Atany rate he found death easier to face;he gave up the fight and ended the struggle with a bullet. It looks as if after all there was something unattainable to these ‘tted children of fortune, that the real joy in living which makes life sweet in s; of priva- tion and toil was something they did not know. They have everything they want, nothing to strive for, nothing to look forward to, and if perhaps some caprice is ungratified, some petty care is forced upon them, like the spoiled child who “won't play,” they simply step ont of life en- tirely. Even when dissipation of various kinds has not embittered life for them it is empty of all real purpose with no stimuius to occupation or effort, and with idlo hand and brains many @ rich young man finds before he has fairly be- gun to live that his doll is stuffed with sawdust aud throws it away. DRAWING CHECKS BY THE MILLION, New Yorkers write @ million checks a day. That is tho estimate given to me by one of the leading lithographers of the city, who deals largely with those favored classes that can draw checks, and when we begin to analyze the matter we are able to see that his estimate is notextravagant. There are single firms, according to this informant, who write from seventy to eighty thousand checks a year and thero are hundreds of business firms that use Some of Itis up @ large check book every week. the largest users of checks are broke: considered rather infra dig, for a bu man to draw a check for less than 25, to pay some petty charge of a routine char- acter, so We may assume that these one million checks represent exchanges high in the mil- lions of dollars daily. To supply the demand for these expensive little slips of paper fur- nishes business for a large number of concerns, some of which have found sach profit from the business that ther are themselves abl their own checks to a handsome a CLEVELAND STILL IN THE RUNNING, I asked a gentleman the other day, who is well posted in the inner gossip of politics, how well ex-President Cleveland was retaining his hold on the group of party leaders that really dictate nominations. He said that in his opin- 1on Cleveland was as strong with these lenders ashe ever was, He is keeping very quiet aud carefully avoiding factions, He has not, for example, taken any partin the present fight over local politics. But he keeps in touch with the twenty or thirty men who are necessary to acandidate and so long as this is the case ho must be regarded as well pls y taken for granted among ai! hat he is aiming at the nomination and expects to get i, MANSFIZLD IN THREE ROLES AT ONCE. ‘There was a curious drama enacted Wednes- day afternoon in two simultaneous scenes, both of which I happened to witness. On my way = town I steppedin at the Madison Square Theater, having tic to the extra maunce which Richard Mansfield gave of the which first brought him world-wide celebrity, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyd: Perhaps because Thad seen its horrors before the acting did not seom 80 terrific inits weird power as usual, Mansfield has not played the part for @ year, more or less, and he relinquichea it because he was weary of its drafts on his nerves and strength, I noticed several abriigments and softening, and even careless moments in the action. Quite possibly this was due to the progress of the second simultaneous scene in the drama of real life that was going on. Within two blocks of th and beginnmg at the same hour as the plas auction was held of ali the actor's cherished mementoes, which he had gathered lovingly for many years and which were knocked do’ the auctioneer's hammer today to pay his debts. Nodoubt the true actor loses iimeeif in his artand yet I fancy tha: both Dr, Jekyll and r. Hydy were wondering how much the precious vases and rugs and pictures were fetching round the corner at the wuction room. Assoon as the curtain dropped on the dead carcass of the maniac Hyde 7 cebek over te the auction rooms and watched the sale and quite expected to see the actor himself put in 4n appearance, but he did not care, apparently, to eee his bric-a-brac dispersed among stran- gers, THE BAGGAGE NUISANCE, There isno doubt about the fact that New York is oppressed with its own bigness and even yet has not quite learned to cope with it- self, Noone detail shows this more plainly than the total inadequacy and ludicrous unsat- isfactoriness of the baggage express. visitor who has been trammeled with trun arriving or departing from this city, has made the effort to get town in any particular time, no matter how long, will indorse me in the statement that there is only one thing certain about the New York baggage express, and that is that it will disappoint you. ‘There are any number of ex- presses; besides the big coucerns connected with the railroads there are innumerable local enterprises, scornfully denominated “McGinnis’ expresecs” by the principal companies. But one and all they are inflexible in their rule of always disappointing the customer. Of course, from the residence portion of the city to the stations and ferries is along distance over incredibly rough streets, but one would think the familiarity of would suggest to the practical mind cal trunks in good time. But such does not seem to be the case. The experienced traveler, who has endured all his nerves will stand of the agouizing alternations of hope and fear in watching for the expressmaa, now vacil between the two equally inconvenient de of sending his trunks before him or starting without them. Occasionally some unhardened sufferer breaks forth into joud lamentations in the paper, but, although this may be a relicf to his feelings, it serves no other purpose, for the express companies scorn to pay any atten- tion to these futile plaints, BUCKING THE POLITICAL TIGER. Citizens have been accustomed to gauge the interest feit in local politics by the registration, Adopting this test the interest over the pend- ing contest for mayor 1s almost unprecedented, as the registry lists are larger than ever kuown presidential year. This argues well forthe success of the anti-Tam- many combination. Moreover there isa very earnest spirit shown on every side, and while the ticket is not one to excite much enthusiasm it seems very likely that it will prove very strong at the polls. One incidental feature of the election, whatever the issue may be, comes out today in the estimate of expenses as pro- pared by the bureau of elections, the of which amounts to very nearly $400,000. Another large bill of expenses was set before the :taxpayers today in the table of estimates for the police. ‘Lhe finest” comes high, but we must have it, The tétal estimate for the lice force of the city for 1891 amount to 818,000. It seoms rather a large bill to pay for keeping the peace, but when we consider that the entire force consists of 3,500 men, besides commissioners and other salaried offi- cers, and that there must be constant expendi- tures for supplies, repairs and new b the total is not surprising. ‘THAT HARBOR OF OURS. Is looks a little ominous for New York's har- was ping there, How to get what it wants is not half such a problem to a big city like New York as how to get rid of what it "t want, but that even aconscience- less Racy pe ey! should FOOD FOR CHINESE SWELLS, Simply Beef, Pork and Mutton, and Not Cats and Dogs—How They Bay It. OME LADIES from China, three t number, were buying provisions from market east of Dupont Circle the other morning. Evidently they were not marketing in e general way for the legation household from which they came, be- cause cach of them selected only the particular things that she herscif liked. Am American woman picks out what her husband likea but ‘this was different, They teetered about the shop on their little feet, pecking @ peach bere, & chop there, or a bunch of grapes from “nother spot, until their purchases were in this way completed, “It is the way they always do,” nid the butcher. “The gentlemen of the legation market in the same manner, each taking what he prefers for himself. They never ask for dogs or rats; the dog eaten in China is an edi- ble variety of the beast, Pork chops are @ favorite article of dict at the legation.” This, by the way, 1# an interesting confirme tion of Charles Lamb's essay. It was found necessary by the Indies to hold on to the butcher's fixtures here and there far support while toddied about gathering what they wanted into heaps on the counter. Apparently it was a novel sort of amusement to them, for they did a great doal of giggling over it. They are domg their it to learn how to walk, but they find it difti Their feet having been tortured into mere stum| they can only balance along carefully on their strolls abroad. Usnaliy they are accompanied on such excursions by two or three of the men, who keep at some dis- tance, however. They wear dresses of very dark materials, purple and black, 80 as to be as inconspicuods as possible, | People im the neighborhood of Dupont Circle are much an- terested in the pedestrian efforts of these eas® ern females.whose crippling was not originally designed, as 18 common.y supposed, to indicate that they should be e! tly idle, but to pre vent them from getting away, the notion ben that the wife ought to be the sure property of her busband. The fect of these three Chinese women are very small, but they are not envied by the girls in t] icinity of Impont Circle, who say that they do not look like fect at all, but simply asifthey were aukles shod with little doll ¥ shoes, Members of the Chinese legation househeld buy their provisions each for himself or herself because it is their custom that at hours for re- freshment each shall be supplied with what ever be or she individually desires, Thus, one wishes veal cutlets and another ham and eggs, the order ia filled from the kitchen just asif the establishment wero aciub. In this way, by extending the same method to drinks, an ideal home life may be established, THE DUCHESSE D’UZES. Sketch of the Interesting Woman Whe Gave Boulanger $600,000. From the New York Sun The recent lifting of the curtain from Bou- langism in France has revealed no more inter- esting fizure on the bizarre stage betand it than that of the Duchesse D'Uzes. A born and bred aristocrat, of fine education, wide social expe- rience and immense wealth, she became infat- uated with an adventurous soldier, who had not the courage to meet the destiny he had him- self conjured up. The Duchesse D'Uzes is the great grand- daughter of Mme. Cliquot, whose mame has been carried over the world on quart bottles with gilded necks, She is a fervent Roman Catholic and an enthusiastic philanthropist, Yet she is fond of society and is a famous convere sationalist. Her salon has been one of the most celebrated in France. She it a splendid horsewoman and in season devotes most of her tune to hunting at Bonnelles,near Bambouillet, where for $2,500 a year she has rented the privilege of shooting in the royal forest. She was more than a millionaire before she met Boulanger and is yet very wealthy. Her infatuation for the Jersey general and her en- thusiasm in the cause of the royalists cost her $609,000, which she dirceved shouid be used to defray the expenses of Loulangist candi- dates, Through her Louise Michel was infla- enced to secure the support of the anarchists ulangism. She first met the little ane at the bedside of the dying woman, She was attracted by the tenderness of the forlorn little woman's heart and subsequently called on her. The sequel of this curious relationship came when Boulanger presented himself for election on January 27, 1889, “I do not love your Boulenger,” Michel then wrote to the duch your sake I will not attack him. Louise , “but for On the com trary he will have the suffrages of my friends.” Tie duchesse’s affection tor Gen, Boulanger is supposed to have sprung from her confidence in his personal courag she had ia ber salon the b: the Due d’Orleans, side by Jected to the striking incongruity of this ar- rangement. She reflected a moment, then summoned @ servant. and suld: “Take away the bust of le Due d'Orleaus and place it in the laundry. soo A Point for Educating Girls. From the Boston Gazette. Not long ago it the good fortune of the writer to attend @ base ball match between two nines composed of amateur players who years ago were famous at the bat, in the field and on the bases. As the men walked out upon the field in the uniforms that for years they had not worn certain peculiarities common to all of them attracted my attention, The gait was inclined to be mine: the waist line was under the armpits aud not over the hips, the head fell forward and the shoulders were ® little bowed and the back slightly humped; the forearms were thin and white, and the calvos of the legs had disappeared. The throwing and catching and running reminded me strongly of some other animal. For several innings I watched these gentle men, and as @ ballwas knocked at the short stop, and as he put out his hands timidly and then threw to first base a gently dropping ball instead of on a straight ine, the whole thi revealed itself to me. They looked and acted like women! There was the"same physical timidity, the same stilt-like running, the same awkwardness in any feat that demanded that the hands and arms be used over the head, the same care of legs end arms, as though they were brittle, which one may remark when a woman chases after a strect car or throws a ball, or attempts any unusual gymnastics, It occurred to me then and there that the early training of chil- dren was largely at fault in making these dif- ferences of physique between them. Ifase man ceases to exercise he becomes, in his moves ments, more and more feminine, it is plain that if he exercised in his boyhood and youth no more than the average girl he would grow up to be more like her in physique. And again, if exercise is so largely responsible for the difference, it must be true that the girl could be brought up, if not to the masculine standard, at auy rate to a much higher stand- ard of physical well-being. ‘A few months ago ts of Boulanger and ide, Her son ob-