OCR Text |
Show WASHINGTON'S WHEELS The Rational Capital a Great Place For . " . ;' Bioyples and Biocle : ."V; 'y: Clabs. ' PLEHTT OF 0 ABEIAGES THESE, And Street Can Beyond Counting Who Keep Good Horsee and Carriages ' , and Who Do Not. Special Correspondence. ', WaSHINOTON, Oct. 16. The capital is distinctively a city on wheels. We who ran the government, or who watch those who do run it, are a lazy lot. We won't walk if we can help it. The smooth, clean streets tempt one to purchase a convey-. convey-. ance, or at least to hire one. In no other ' city of this country, or any other country, , probably, is there such a large number of handsome equipages in proportion to the total population. In no other city do so many persons ride about for the fun of riding. Biding here is not only pleasant, without the jiggle-joggle of a cobblo most antiqnated and degenerate publio conveyance is good enough for him. Roswell P. Flower, the New York millionaire, is another statesman who appears to have a fancy for ancient and worm eaten vehicles. All summer he had a contract with a solemn old Jehu who drove one of the most ricketty outfits out-fits ever seen on Pennsylvania avenue. In striking contrast with Mr. Flower's turn out is the equipage of Vice President Presi-dent Morton, which is by long odds the finest in town. No landau, no brougham, so regal as his not even the London made coat-of-arms stamped carriage recently re-cently imported by Sir Julian Paunce-fote. Paunce-fote. No footman so stiff, so stylishly dressed as the vice president's; no coachman coach-man so austere, so correct as Mr. Morton's Mor-ton's whip. ; The name of the latter is White, and he used to.be coachman for the Marquis of Lome when that royal gentleman was governor general of Canada. Can-ada. . Since poor Hawkins was deposed from the presidential box White is the king of whips in Washington, and Lord Pauncefote's coachman is the only contemporary con-temporary with whom he condescends to associate. Our aristocratic . friends, the foreign ministers, are .howling swells in recep tion parlors, but they do not allow np well on the avenue. -With a few excep tions they hire, carriages by the month instead of keeping stables of their own. Explanation of this is to be found probably prob-ably in the excessive thrift which characterizes char-acterizes the diplomatic corps here, for these gentry are more eager to 6ave of their salaries than the poorest congressman, congress-man, who have managed to. get one team, but are very doubtful about another. an-other. Neither the present Chinese minister min-ister nor his predecessor has thought it worth while to keep a carriage, inasmuch inas-much as there was a. cab stand at the legation door. The present minister is a rich man; his predecessor was one of the twenty richest men in the world. Yet he appeared to share the prejudice of all his countrymen that America is not a good country in which to spend money. He not only would not keep a stable, but the hackmen at Dupont circle declare he drove very hard bargains with them.: Tho attaches of the Chinese legation lega-tion are very fond of riding about the city in an open carriage. ' The Japanese legation, which is superior su-perior in personnel and in every way to the Chinese legation, has some exceed; ingly fine carriages of American make. One brougham must have cost $3,000. Rut tt?e Yankee horse trader h tsJa in some one connected with that legation, lega-tion, for it must be admitted the horses behind which the Japanese ride ars al- ; together unworthy the vehicles. That picturesque Russian drosky which an I attache of the czar's legation used to I drive about tho streets has disappeared i altogether, and no member of the diplomatic diplo-matic corps rides in a vehicle characteristic character-istic of the country which he represents. Senator Stanford keeps a good stable here, and Senator Edmunds has one of the finest pair of carriage horses in the city. Mr. Blaine's great friend, Representative Repre-sentative Hitt, of Illinois, has the finest stable of which the popular branch of congress can boast, though Mr. Hayes, of Iowa, has the fastest homes, and the greatest number of them. He is a breedei of trotting stock. The great variety of vehicles owned by Uncle Sam must not be forgciten in an account of the appearance of Washington Wash-ington on wheels. In addition to the large number of department wagons of all sizes and shapes, innumerable senate and house mail wagons, postoffice delivery deliv-ery carta and collection ambulances and military post carryalls, we see here every day a very strange government vehicle a steel box on wheels, guarded front and rear by heavy metal bar work, and also by five or six armed men. This is the treasury department money wagon, which often rolls down the street with five or ten millions of dollars aboard. Few American cities have more street cars than Washington. Here the surface sur-face cars run in every conceivable direction, direc-tion, and a belt liue wabbles about, hit ting all points of interest, till it has described de-scribed a circle around the city, and you are carried around for a 6ingle fare. Ou the other lines transfer tickets are given, so that one may ride three or fonr miles east or vest, and then as many more north or south, for a single fare. There are herdio lines, too, which do the same thing; and now that the wave of activity activ-ity has at last struck sleepy old Washington Wash-ington there are admirable electrio railways rail-ways to some of the suburbs, rvd jtfe-in jtfe-in a year or two all those beautiful nil,'? with which the capital is surrounded will be traversed by other roads. This city on wheels keeps mora bicycles bicy-cles than any other city in ratio to population. pop-ulation. n almost every family among the well to do or middle classes there is either a horse and carriage or a bicycle. In the capital all sorts of people ride wheels women, old and young, gray haired men, children, even babies, colored col-ored persons of both sexes, men with high hats, and even men in dress coats nd patent leathers on their way to dinners or receptions. WaIiTKB Wellhan. Lawn chairs 75 cents, at the Fair. SENATOR STKWAET'S HIGH STEPPERS. paved city like New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, but it is cheap. Hackmen are everywhere, with a wonderful variety of vehicles, and moderate charges always. al-ways. They will flit you a mile in a hurry for a twenty-five cent piece, or ! they will take a party of four or five of you a three hour drive about the city and suburbs at. the rate of, a dollar an hour. The driver will act kS guide without with-out extra charge, and pay more attention to you, while regaling you with his descriptions de-scriptions and pointing with his whip as he talks, than to his horses. In the wide streets of Washington there is room enough for all, and a jehu may be reck-' reck-' less or indifferent without serious consequences. conse-quences. Cabs and all sorts of publio vehicles , are so cheap and plentiful here that even economical congressmen make a practice of riding to and from the Capitol.- Some of the vehicles are shabby old things, and some of the horses poor, stiff, spavined, knee sprung, rib showing veterans, but they get there just:the same. ' You rarely or never see a breakdown break-down in the streets here; : That is because be-cause the streets are like floors. - A vehicle vehi-cle that would be shaken to pieces id a month m New York or Philadelphia here lasts a year or two. : Consequently this is tbe paradise of dealers in what is known rtfcetbryor cftfp'txjTia baggies and carta. Only the rich or 'extravagant 'extrava-gant buy the most expensive vehicles, for cheaper ones will look just as well and wear almost as long. It thus comes about that with a very small capital to spare one may buy a carriage in Washington, Wash-ington, and of course it follows that thousands upon thousands of persons in moderate circumstances avail themselves of the opportunity. Horses are cheap, too. Virginia is a great breeder of fairly good roadsters, which are sold in Wash-' Wash-' ington at prices varying from $125 to '$250. Here one may buy a horse that will do very nicely, and a pretty, convenient con-venient surrey and harness for $250. Nor does it cost much to keep a horse. Stable help is cheap, thanks to the redundancy re-dundancy of the colored population. Feed is hardly as costly as in larger cities. One of the most picturesque figures to be seen on the streets of Washington ' when congress is in session is that of Senator Stewart, of Nevada. The old senator is passionately fond of driving, and driving hard and fast. He is said to wear out a pair of horses every three months, but as he is able to afford the luxury, that is his business and not ours. The senator uses a light buggy, just large enough for himself, so that he is never bothered with company. Then ha puts on a grat coat that comes up about his ears, an enormous White slouch hat that is almost a sombrero, huge gloves and plenty of blankets, and away he goes in all sorts of weather and over all sorts of roads, driving like a madman. mad-man. He keeps a span of roadsters that are able to do their mile in three min- ntes or less, and he pushes them nearly tip to that speed for an hour or two. His drives are short ones, as a rule, but very lively. If the white bearded old senator couldn't pass every one on the road he would quit driving. Senator Hearst, of California, owns a great stable of race horses. In Washington Wash-ington one expects to see him dashing tJNCLS SAM'S TBEASUBK CABT. about behind fleet and showy roadsters. But yon don't see anything of the sort. If there is hanging about the Capitol an old weather beaten carryall, with lop rnded springs and frayed upholstering, upholster-ing, and drawn by an ancient horse who hangs his head humbly and trots as if he had corns on his heels, you may be sure that is the conveyance which Senator Hearst will drive down town in. As like as not he will have two or tireat senatorial friends with him, and they will stop at Cnamberlin's and spend more money for terrapin and other re-I re-I freshmen te than the equipage which I stands waiting for them is worth. Mrs. I Hearst has a fur pair of carriage horses I and a fashionable Tariety -of vehicles, |