| Show t THEIR AUTOGRAPHS A Glimpses Character as Shown i in Handwriting J MBS SPEAKER HEEDS SIGNATURE Women as Autograph Collectors Those Who Stick to Their Maiden Names A CosUy Autograph r t WASHINGTON June 25 1690 Special correspondence of THE HERALD Washington J Wash-ington is one of the greatest autograph tentres of the United States Every ocitty lady has her autograph and the popes of Congress got aa income equal to their salaries by carrying around autograph auto-graph books to the Senators Representatives I Representa-tives and supreme court judges The charges of one of them is 3 for the Senate Sen-ate 3 for the suprcmecourt and more than this amount for tho House The President receives hundreds of applications forauto r I graphs every day and I saw a pile of Morocco Mo-rocco bound volumes lying on his messengers f messen-gers desk when I went to the White I House this afternoon S IlLS HAllKISOXS AUTOGRAPH Is quite as much in demand as the Presidents Presi-dents but it is not so easily gotten She I writes a fine small hand slanting her I strokes in the true Spencerian manner and running the rs of the Harrison very much I together The most of her correspondence is done on the paper of the executive mansion man-sion and these two cords form the die of silver and gold at the head of her sheets Shortly before President Harrisons inauguration in-auguration n letter was written by one of r his family saying that he would patronize American papermakers He does so to a certain extent but suortly after be got into the White House an order was given fort for-t some royal Irish linen which is the most t popular paper with our society ladies A great part of Airs Harrisons correspondence correspond-ence goes out in the handwriting of her I private secretary She can dictate a letter quite as well as she can write it and she Attends to the most of her Immense correspondence corre-spondence herself writing answers only to t the letters of her friends < and others when it is necessary A great part of MRS HARIIISOXS COHRESPOXDEXCE ROCS inrougu the lianas ot Her daughter Mrs McKee and she saves the Presidents wife much time Mar Harrison McKee is u beautiful writer There is just a trace of her mothers hand in her penmanship but her lines are tine and welt drawn and one of her letters looks like copperplate She signs herself Yours most sincerely when writing to her intimate friends and always puts the Harrison in her name The cabinet ministers are almost as much tethered for autographs as the President and it is almost impossible to get the signa tures of the cabinet ministers wives The cabinet ministers are in some instances chary about sending out their signatures broadcast and none of them likes to give his autograph on blank sheets of paper President Cleveland would not write his autograph anywhere except in a book for the reason he said that something might be written over his signature by an unscrupulous un-scrupulous person and used as an endorsement endorse-ment Still it is not hard to get a signa J ture like that of Jeremiah Rusk the bluff t old secretary of agriculture who writes a big round schoolboy hand You could crowd three of his wifes signatures into one of his and Mrs Rusk writes a plain oldfashioned screed with no frills or fur belows about it It is much like herself and looks like the signature of a good motherly lady of the old school Mrs Secretary Wmdom would make a good writing teacher She has an elegant handwriting hand-writing and her lines are as regular as those of a copybook Every stroke Is care fully made and one of her letters looks as though it might have been engraved IT IS DIFFJ EXT with the wife of the secretary of the inter ior Mrs Noble seems to have no rule whatever as to the formation of her letters and it would take an expert forger to counterfeit one of her signatures She is very decided in her views is a woman of ideas and you cau almost read her charac ter in her handwriting She signs herself Lizabeth H Noble uses plain paper and answer all of her correspondences herself She is a very bright woman and is very popular in Washington society By all odds the most aristocratic clement outside of the diplomatic counts of our Washington circle is that of the supreme court The justices are sure of 10090 a year for life and they know they are bound to have enough to live in style to the end of I their days In time I A CEKTAIX CODE OF ETIQUETTE has grown up around them and the L supreme court circle is like none other here The Tiutographs of the old judges are very easy to get with one or two excep tions for the brainy ones among them are good natured and arc always willing to oblige the autograph hunter There is one i crusty man among them however and that Is Justice Gray of Massachusetts who goes out hunting in an English shootine costume and has lots English fads about him extending to that of exclusiveness This exclusiveness prevents him from giv jug out his autographs promiscuously and I leads himself to act at times in a most obnoxious ob-noxious way His wife however is the daughter of tho late Stanley Matthews and she probably has more of the Democratic Demo-cratic manners of Ohio about her Mrs Stanley Matthews is not at all snobbish and she is one of the popular woman of thu supreme court circle She is a good correspondent corre-spondent and she writes on linen paper in a straight up and down hand SIUS JUSTICE VATTn EWS was married twice and her first husbam I was JudgeTlieaker who was cominisslone r of patents under President Lincoln and was a very distinguished man at the Urn of the war rhis writing of autographs makes me think of a story he once told me E I met him hero at Washington and know ing that ho came from Ohio asked him if h a was acquainted with Tom Corwin Yes t be replied I knew Tom Corwin very well 1 and I have in fact one of his autograph ti in iny pocket which cost me 5500 I1Ii How is that judge said LIt J L-It is just this ho said and he thereupon J S there-upon pulled out his pocket book and showed I 9 we a note of CorwIns In which he prom i ised to pay Judge Theaker goo within 1 iz thirty days I pave Hr Corwin this S tr money continued Mr Tbeaker when I I h was commissioner of patents He cam a into my office and told mo that he wan to I t it I had no bank account in the city and I told him I had not tha money He replied that if he could raise It in threo days hi > S coud save himself 2000 and he said lie could raise this if i he had my check for 50C I I gave him tho check on condition thut h < a would not present it for two days and slier to left 1 borrowed tho money and placed it i to my credit in the bank It was duly drawn and a few days later Corwin went back to Ohio This was in October a l ivs la December ho died and that was the last I saw cf my money He was always L al-ways endorsing for other people and kept himself poor by paying bail debts t Five hundred dollars is a pretty price to pay for an autograph Still a man offered that much for ONE OF ants GROVER CLEVELANDS SIOSA TUllES when she was in the White House and at an autograph sale in Now York not long ago one of Martha Washingtons letters sold for 15L A manuscript of Harriet Beechcr Stowes brought 0 and other t specimens of the penmanship of noted i 4 women brought equally high prices Queen i Victoria is a great autograph hunter and I sbe has ono of the most remarkable collections collec-tions cf autographs In existence Sbo has i t autographs ot many of the noted leaders i and generals of tho late civil war and Col I cool rlotcl2r who was a member of the I confederate Congress end who served hero in the deportment of justice added to her collection not long ago by sending her a I letter written by Stonewall Jackson to him while ho was a member of the confederate Congress in which Jackson said he hoped that Congress wouH pass a bill prohibiting the delivery of mails on Sunday Bottler was on Jack ns stuff and ho sat sihat Tackaon i would do nothing on Sunday and would not mall a letter at such time that It would have to travel on Sunday toreach its destination I We have in Washington many society lad QS who think they CAX HEAD CHARACTER THROUGH AUTOGRAPHS and they claim that they can tell ns much about a person from his handwriting as from his or her photograph This is true to certain extent Tho positive nature of Senator Cojkrells wife may be seen in tho bold up and down strokes with which sho pens her name and by looking at the signature signa-ture of the wile of Senator Blair you may see the influence the Green mountains of New Hampshire and of the association with n man who has made himself famous in educational legislation Mrs Blairs signature is vmy plain The strokes are well made and the letters arc black Mrs Senator Sherman writes a hand not unlike her husband and the penmanship of Mrs IJoutcllo is not much different from that of the statesman of Maine wlo acts as the head of her household One of the most striking signatures among the Senators wives is that of Mrs Davis Her linos arc like her features free open and handsome and you see fellowwellmet in every stroke THE NOTED SOUTHERN IADIE3 of Washington society are as a rule good writer The most of them arc finely edu cited They come of good families and are women of culture Mrs Senator But ler writes a straight up and down bandand is one of the congressional ladies who uses her husbands initials and puts the term Mrs before them This is the same with the Wife of George T Barnes of Georgia Mrs Senator Jones of Arkansas and Mrs Petttgicw of South Dakota Mrs Silver Dollar Bland uses her husbands Initials and so does Mrs General Lee The wife of the Senator from Texas acts as her hus bands pr secretary Hbe knows quite as well how to mlnr hill n Tnhn i1 Reagan and she can write a business letter which would read well in a business col lego She getp 6 a day for helping her husband in this way and her hand is straight up and one of that nature that he who runs may read She sighs herself Mrs John H Ueasnin Mrs Carlisle signs herself with her husbands initials and so does Mrs Representative Caruth and Mrs Senator Bate One of the characteristic signatures of Washington Is that of SIRS ADMIRIL DAIILGREN She signs herself Madeline Vinton Dahl gren and she writes in bold letters on smooth heavy paper On state occasions she uses tho admirals device at the head of her letters She writes very easily and she has dono considerable in literature The word Yinton in her name comes from her father who was a noted congressman congress-man from near Zancsville Ohio nearly a generation ago Mrs Senator Ingalls writes a good hand She ends her letters to her friends with Very cordially yours and uses the initials of her maiden name h A L C which I suppose stands for Ann Louisa Cneesebrough Mrs Senator Blackburn writes a very fair band and sho signs herself Serene G Blackburn Mrs General Greeley ends her letters in theme sa the-me manner that Mrs Ingalls does andes us and-es her maiden name of Henrietta in her signature Mrs Senator Frye ends her letters with Yours sincerely Caroline F Fryo She writes one of the best hands among the senatorial ladies and makes her capitals with a flourish Mrs General Logan is making lots of money by her ren Her paper has reached a circulation I am told of nearly 100000 copies and she spends a part of every day in editorial work She is very particular as to the paper she uses in her writing and is fond of the tinted variety Her private letters have a silver die at tho head of the first sheet and on the last page you will see in bold letters the signature Mary S Logan MRS SPEAKER REED is a rood writer and if her signature is inv index she has quite as much character is her husband She writes a straight Und > a U-nd down hand uses her own initiate and a iways puts a period at the end of her signature sig-nature Among other coed writers in the House are Mrs Payson the wife of the member from Illinois who has made himself him-self famous in land legislation Mrs La Follettc the wife of the little orator from Wisconsin and Mrs Washington whoso husband is Joseph Washington of Tennessee lntt see and who lUiS some of tho old Washing = ton family in his veins Mrs Washington however has the nama of Washingtons mother rather than Washingtons wife Sho signs herself Mary B Washingtonbut whether the middle B stands for Ball as i it did in the case of George AVashlngtons mother or not I do not know Mrs Senator Sena-tor Spooner writes a very fair hand She comes of a literary family and has more than ordinary literary ability She uses I plain paper and signs herself Annie M I Spoonerl One of the wealthiest ladies of Washing ton is MRS ROS7VELL P FLOWER Her husband Is worth 810000000 and Mrs Flowers check is good for 100000 any day of the week She is very liberal in her charities and a great many checks signed by her find their way to poor people She signs herself Saran M Flower and she spends a good deal on paper She uses the best paper and her invitations and dinner cards during a session cost as much as a clerks salary Mrs Joseph li McDonald writes a very nice band and it is a curious tiling that her first name Is the feminine of husbands Ho is i Joseph and she is Josephine Jose-phine l and he signs herself Joseph E McDonald Mc-Donald She is a beautiful woman and she Is fond of Washington society Another An-other Indiana woman of prominence here is I Mrs W Uyiiiim and a third Indianapolis lady is Mrs Senator Turplc who writes a plain round band and whose signature ir i Mary E i Turplo DIE OF THE ricer ACTOGKirfl COLLECTIONS of Washington was that of Ben Perley Poores which sod for a SOUR after his death Ho had about twenty thousand signatures sig-natures of prominent men in this country and Europe and ho bad the handwriting of tho most noted ladies of tho past century The most indefatigable collector among the Senators was Tabor of Colorado who had a book as big as a family Bible nnd whi vent around during tho Senate session I asking his brother Senators to sign for him I 1 His beautiful wife sat and looked on from I the gallery and Tabor would point her out to the Senators as ho went around Sons I I of the Ssnators do not like to alan in thce I autograph books and some noted jatlics will ri not give their autograph When Clove laud drat cinio to this White House tho do I inand for autojrapbs AMS so great that it i was sJspcstU that Cleveland let one of the clerks sign Lit name for him Ho refused to do this nail 51IJ I are ablo to use my right baud and arm and It does not take long to sign my name If such a 1 little thing i ilciiscs the people 1 wilt lo it Ho then had a lot of cards made with the exc mtivc mansion tiriuldl in one corner and ho sijrneil these and nave them to his score tory to seed away in response to applications applica-tions by mall Tho diplomats are often asked for autographs and ono lady notion rico got n picture f one of the members of tho Chinese Icsatlon and tim young man put his autograph on the back of It together with a lot of characters which ho called Chinese poetry The girl who got the pi Uire went to a Chinese scholar and got him to translate this Tho Chinese gentleman lIed written the follnwinpInthe Celestial Emnire where people called Pagans toil it i is not considered becoming to a maiden task t-ask for the piftura of n young man and such ns would do so would be punished for immodesty but in this land where civilization civiliza-tion is at its height young ladles permit themselves to do things which their heathen sisters would blush oven to mention men-tion Whether tho girl kept the picture or not after this I do not know but I dont believe she valued tim autograph Do you Miss GRUNDY JR |
