Show WAS washington LETTER washing ton P C dec I 1 the capitol is deserted today to day not more than a dozen congressmen were there the wat watchman chinal 1 the man who sells you photographs of general harrison that make him look 1001 like a sexton and half a dozen tourists have the building 0 to themselves tile statesmen will not be at work again until january 2 and nearly all have rons gon home hoine even mr heed of maine lias dared to go home ionic and leave liis his fil lit to take care of itself the T he other candidates with more caution reir remain ain on guard christmas in not in any sense the important event in washinton alan that it is in new york but IV aleh if ah ington aern remains ains steadfast to now naw year in everything it is tile the beginning of its social season proper and no other day reaches its im porta nep cp the giving of presents to general acquaintances as well as to your dear ones onea has not yet become a custom so christmas if deprived deprive d of some of its it charms is no less deprived ot of its terrors ors cirs in the gay days that follow the presidents new year reception cep tion even georgetown wakes up and the ghosts of its dead all and gone society stalk through a its streets on every wednesday each cabinet officers wife hab bab left her a coup couple I 1 e of thousand cards and wonders if it can betrue that mrs hamilton fish was able to return all the calls made upon her ber the dread of the social season w was as probably in the presidents mind when he be wrote to it a buffalo friend lat last week 1 I look forward longingly connit counting alig the days clays until march 4 when I 1 shall be free the demands of society are severe enough upon an idle man and are sufficient to exhaust a buzy busy one washington socie society tyis s fast following european fashionable excesses without regard to the fact that avi th all the tha millionaires million airs who conic come here for the winter there here is unlike in european Ca capitals cahhal phal no DO absolutely idle class of men the nearest approach to an unoccupied class are the members bers of tile the foreign legations static stationed ned liere here wilo who do nothing a but attend to socie tys demands lea dea and do that most suen successfully ess tomorrows to morrows work has no terrors for them the lie tariff debate in tile the senate is a afar far more dagni dignified fled affair th alian n xv 0 Q I t to 0 it I 1 ing rig c f fist sand pounding of desks is ie missing in measured periods peric ds tile the senators call each othor other liars they do no not come out boldly with it of course senator edmunds edmund leads the debates as the lest best dom socratic speaker on ali jhb tariff senator beek beck is ill senators vest veat vance and reagan do their best to make up foghis for his aall absence ence but three quick quck tempered men have but a sorry timo time handling a sharp vermont icicle tir sir edmunds thoroughly hughly y enjoys it and meets everything formal protest the democrat iab who 0 will conic come out of the debate with most honor I 1 fancy will be mr reagan who is rapidly gaining ground i in ii the senate without reference ti the n gerits of the merits of the case one cannot but admire tho the slashing sla hing retort to senator ed edmunds in ands made by senor aar coke on friday it was in response to air I 1 picture of the prosperous american workingman mr coke described a mule spinner or of fall river mass living on 1550 par year mill two pounds of pork and n nj other meat in a month picking up drift ciriot wood for winter fires and hunting along the shore on oil sunday for shell fish to eat cat tile the senator from texas conch concluded ded by remarking that hat he be did not know what was the matter what was wrong but he be would not be surprised if it were the tha tariff the bill went over until after the holidays mr coke asked t thy lie vexed question in lis bis tariff speech touched the made jean veljean Vf ljean sound when lie s said ald there is something wro wrong afy in n a country when able and ml avil in ing g 1 inen I ar ars without work woric and yet the wisest legislation cannot make all rnea wealthy there is in washington a winter nights bolg ing house no person is allowed thele who is drunk or a chronic guv pauper r or vermin vermin ridden last eve a score awaited the opening of ortho the door and in in all seventy eight there if tile the people of are as aa jr is provenir pro proven venir more prosperous than those of any european city what be the poverty of Lo coadou atlon tile most meat perennially ambitious nian in washington today is commissioner MiSs ionar of pensions Pen siong blade black across tile desert waste of the he next four years lie ho eca fees tile the fair promise pro inise of ofa 02 glowing in the morning g light ligh t of his ill s imagination lie ile fondly hoac hoped d thit it would bo be cleveland and black at st louis and new lie ho dreams of a tiel ticket ot to bo be hill and black ile ho alone of all the leading democratic departs Depar departmental tm nt 1 officials lips has not for a tildo hiruo laid aside csida political icil his dream is unbroken ile ho is busy patching patchin t ill up old breeches between himself and many of the democratic leaders who had opposed his ln a ambition for the vice vicc presidency or had disagreed with him in the management of his bureau his hopes ulay be vain but in times time like these his courage is almost sub linie |