Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 March 1892 — WASHINGTON GOSSIP. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WASHINGTON GOSSIP.

THE GAMUT OF GASTRONOMY RUN BY STATESMEN. Secret* of the Restaurant—Solons Who Live on Bread and Mllk-Dtstlngnlshed Politicians Who Regale Themselves on Turkey—The Pork and Bean Eaters. Senatorial Snacks.

> UT a knifo to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite,” said Solomon. Some of the people who live in this year of grace do not think the advice good. Neither suicide nor eating with a kni f e i s good form in these ; days. It must be evident even to the casual visitor at the Senate restaurant that the wise man was not addressing his remarks to United States Senators.

No self-respecting Senator ever allows his knife to get within a foot of his jugular. Members of the House may, perhaps, elevate their pork and beans to the mouth level without the assistance of a fork, but the dignified Senator never permits the glittering steel greater altitude than the third button on his vest. The day for eating with your knife was cut short by that happy invention—the four-pronged fork. Popular interest in Senators increases in a greater ratio than does the number of those more or less distinguished legislators. The thousands of visitors who daily tramp through and around and about the Capitol delight in prying into the senatorial existence; they occupy the Senate floor until removed by the opening of the session and the energy of several omployes; they survey Senators from the galleries and criticise their respective and generally respectable appearance; they peep through halfopened committee-room doors and reach the apex of the tourist's bliss when they behold a Senator engaged in the consumption of food. “He’s eatin’ raw oysters,” said a stranger to his wife tho other day. The couple had, from afar, followed one of the Senators who represent their State, to the Senate restaurant. The male tourist watched tho alleged legislator commence feeding, and then reported to the waiting but equally curious female. The Senate restaurant is an interesting place. Business does not really commence until noon, but for half an hour thereafter there is no rush. Then

comes the crowd of hungry ones, and from 12:30 until after two o’clock the waiters hardly have time to perspire. Every table has its quota of occupants, and the string t f humanity that leans up against the long counter is tolerably continuous. It is a good place to find almost any lost one, whether Senate or Senator employe, to say nothing of the liberal sprinkling of newspaper men who hurry in and out, combining the hasty pleasure of eating with tho business of gathering information. To feed all these hungry ones Mr. Page has to employ about thirty people—twelve of them in the kitchen—and they all have reasonable opportunity to 4arn their recompense. Three dusky retainers attend to {he customers at the lunch counter, transmit orders of waiters to the kitchen and hand, out the tangible responses. Of these James Lewis is chief. He is invariably designated “Lewis,” and he probably would not know that he .was being spoken to if otherwise addressed. His business-liko silence is as marked as his businesslike ability. But it was not the average luncher th§t a \Vashington Star reporter became interested in. He had both eyes on Senators and on the men who do their bidding in the private diningrooms—from Head Waiter Dick Shaw, portly, suave and eolidy respectable, down to the latest of Mr. Pfcge’s appointees. There is abroad in the land a vague Impression to the effect that Senators subsist principally on terrapin and champagne. It may be necessary to state that this impression is erroneous. Senators eat just about as do other men whose circumstances are on about the same financial lovel—they seem to have in them a great deal of human nature. More democratic, broadly speaking, and more simple in his stomachic uppetite than any other Senator is Senator

Coke of Texas. He is a regular caller at the restaurant, but when he does put In an appearance his invariable desire is for pie—pi«3:e of pie and a glass of water. He might enjoy these life sustainers In the comparative privacy of the senatorial rooms, but he prefers to stand right up against the counter and there wash down large chunks of highgrade pie with the assistance of clear spring water. Senator Blair used to do the same thing, but he did it regularly and perhaps a little more stylishly: he always drank milk with his pie and the pie was either apple or custard. Many a good news paragraph has the author and finisher of the education bill given •way while rubbing elbows with a newspaper oorrespoudent «t that restaurant

counter. Mr. Blair’s departure from the Senate leaves Senator Coke in undisputed possession of that counter. But there are good feeders in the Senate and the kinds of luncheon they daily dispose of could not be served on the counter. Perhaps the most consistently “good” are Senators McMillan, Washburn. Hoar and Squire. McMillan and Washburn generally lunch together, and they eat steaks and chops and salads and such like solid goods. Senator Squire believes in the same sort of food. Senator Hoar once excited much popular commiseration by stating that codfiish was his staple article of diet. That may be the main source of his nutriment at home, but in the Senate his tendencies are toward tarrapin or broiled oysters; • none of the waiters ever heard him mention codfish. Blackburn’s favorite dish is deviled ham. Teller manages to. get along very nicely with a modicum of cold tongue or corned beef. Sawyer-is devoted to custard pie and milk; he likes a liberal sprinkling of cheese with his pie. Another lover of pie is Wilson; the variety is apple, and it must be hot. Frye believes broiled oysters to be satisfactory, but Stanford prefers lamb chops or calves’ liver and bacon. Fulton is very fond of pork and beans. Sanders, like nearly all the other Northwestern Senators, consumes oysters; he likes them raw—the rawer the better. Davis lives well; sirloin steaks are his weakness. Manderson is also properly fed; oysters are a specialty, and a chafing dish stew is the

favorite. Hawley consumes oysters. Allison thrives on graham bread toast and a pot of tea. Hale wants a bowl of custard and a glass of milk. Gorman figures out the moves on the national <hess beard while disposing of cold turkey. Harris has an affec'.ion for oysters that have been broil d. Vance eats but little. He is satisfied generally with a sandwliich, a glass of milk and, sometimes, an apple. Faulkner devout s the raw oyster; Blodgett, the sirloin steak. Cockrell is an infrequent visitor. He eut3 the simplest fare. MoPhersbn is very regular on baked apple dumpling. Dawes delights in a corned bo of sandwich and a glass of milk. Do’ph wants, and gets, broiled oysters and custard pie. Mitchell loves oyster stew, Proctor eats oysters. So does Kyle. Palmer favors lamb chops. Bnee leins toward oyster patties. Colquitt lias three menus. Sometimes his choice is cold turkey, sometimes corned beds, sometimes a glass of milk and a bowl cf custard. Bansom is of opinion that nothing is so good as quail on toast. Vico President Morton strengthens the inner man with raw or broiled oysters at times; occasionally ho is satisfied 'with a piece of pie and a glass of milk. Sherman is a pie arid milk enthusiast, but once in a while he tries raw oysters. Hill has been absent from the city most of the time since he left the gubernatorial chair at Albany; he has been in the restaurant, however, and his preference so far seems to bo for cold turkey and a pot of coffee. Keen-witted political prophets may do well to note the fact that Gorman and Hill both eat cold turkey—turkey th it might properly be termed “stuffed.” Jones of Nevada swears by broiled black bass. B6rry likes broiled oysters. Cameron has to have the largest raw oysters that are available; occasionally he partakes of a chafing-dish stew. Quay, like Gorman and Hill, is all right when supplied with cold trukey and cos-

fee. Stoskbridge can get along very nicely on pie and milk, with broiled oysters for a change once or so in a week. Power is an oyster man. Higgins consumes baked appl s and cream. Wolcott keeps up his avoirdupois on hot roast turkey and broiled oysters. Casey smiles through (he day with the help of raw or broiled oysters. Chilton, too, likes raw oysters. Shoup is a firm believer in the virtues of bread and milk. Dubois likes cold tongue or cold roast beef. Carlisle, who has not been around very much this session, is enamored of chops. Voorhees is a light eater; a sandwich is his average. White wants porterhouse steak and is supplied.*^

George indulges in broiled oysters and a glass of milk. Walthall is another oyster lover, and Warren and Carey are lilce-minded. Stewart pays Cashier Birn?for a stew or a reasonable quantity of either corned beef or roast beef, cold; he drinks a pot of tea. Oyster stew is Turpic’s favorite beverage. Paddock devotes himself to raw oysters or to baked apples with cream. Chandler lives well; a chafing-dish stew suits his coinplaint most days; occasionally he prefers a bowl of bread and milk. Pettigrew does not starve; he eats steak or chops. Hiscock is not a regular luneher; when he does go, down he rarely eats anything but a bowl of bread and milk. Platt is a regular boarder; he, too, likes bread and milk, but not always; sometimes it is a bowl of custard or a select stew. Daniel eats raw oysters. So does Perkins. Likewise Vest. When Vest wants raw oysters he eats them at the oyster counter. When his appetite is not oyster struck he goes into the private diningroom and waits while a cook broils a large slice of cold roast beef. Veryfew of the Senators eat dessert when their luncheon is of the solid sort; very few of them have ladies to lunch with them.

Titk New York Express intimates that there are 14,000 girls at work in that city simply to get more expensive clothes than could otherwise he affordel, and they are taking the plate of boys who would make the occupations a life-work and pursue them to support others. The girl bas crowded the bov to the walL

SENATOR COKE IS A PIE EATER

FELTON LIKES PORK AND BEANS.

PROCTOR AND KYLE EAT OYSTERS.

ALLISON TAKES G. AHAM BREAD AND TEA.