LIFE IN WASHINGTON
One of the best-known American authors has immortalized the Chinaman in
some of his verses. It was some time before I understood the smile which
went around when some one in my presence suggested a game of poker. I
need not repeat the poem, but the essence of it is that the "Heathen
Chinee is peculiar." Doubtless Mr. Harte is right, but the Chinaman and
his ways are not more peculiar to the American than American customs and
contradictions are to the Chinaman. If there is any race on the earth
that is peculiar, it is the "Heathen Yankee," the good-hearted,
ingenuous product of all the nations of the earth--black, red, white,
brown, all but "yellow." Imagine yourself going out to what they call a
"stag" dinner, and having an officer of the ranking of lieutenant shout,
"Hi, John, pass the wine!"
Washington can not be said to be a typical American city. It is the
center of _official_ life, and abounds in statesmen of all grades. I
have attended one of the President's receptions, to which the diplomats
went in a body; then followed the army and navy, General Miles, a
good-looking, soldier-like man, leading the former, and Admiral Dewey
the latter, a fine body of men, all in full uniform, unpretentious, and
quiet compared to similar men in other nations. I passed in line, and
found the President, standing with several persons, the center of a
group. The announcement and presentation were made by an officer in full
uniform, and beyond this there was no formality, indeed, an abundance
of republican simplicity; only the uniforms saved it from the
commonplace.
The President is a man of medium size, thick-set, and inclined to be
fleshy, with an interesting, smooth face, eye clear and glance alert. He
grasped me quickly by the hand, but shook it gingerly, giving the
impression that he was endeavoring to anticipate me, called me by name,
and made a pleasant allusion to ---- of ----. He has a high forehead and
what you would term an intelligent face, but not one you would pick out
as that of a great man; and from a study of his work I should say that
he is of a class of advanced politicians, clever in political intrigue,
quick to grasp the best situation for himself or party; a man of high
moral character, but not a great statesman, only a man with high ideals
and sentiments and the faculty of impressing the masses that he is
great. The really intelligent class regard him as a useful man, and
safe. It is a curious fact that the chief appreciation of President
McKinley, I was informed, came from the masses, who say, "He is so kind
to his wife" (a great invalid); or "He is a model husband." Why there
should be anything remarkable in a man's being kind, attentive, and
loyal to an invalid spouse I could not see. Her influence with him is
said to be remarkable. One day she asked the President to promote a
certain officer, the son of one of the greatest of American generals, to
a very high rank. He did so, despite the fact that, as an officer said,
the army roared with laughter and rage.
The influence of women is an important factor in Washington life. I was
presented to an officer who obtained his commission in the following
manner: Two very attractive ladies in Washington were discussing their
relative influence with the powers that be, when one remarked, "To show
you what I can do, name a man and I will obtain a commission in the army
for him." The other lady named a private soldier, whose stupidity was a
matter of record, and a few days later he became an officer; but the
story leaked out.
President McKinley is a popular President with the masses, but the
aristocrats regard him with indifference. It is a singular fact, but the
Vice-President, Mr. Roosevelt, attracts more attention than the
President. He is a type that is appreciated in America, what they term
in the West a "hustler"; active, wide-awake, intense, "strenuous," all
these terms are applied to him. Said an officer in the field service to
me, "Roosevelt is playing on a ninety-nine-year run of luck; he always
lands on his feet at the right time and place." "What they call a man
of destiny," I suggested. "Yes," he replied; "he is the Yankee Oliver
Cromwell. He can't help 'getting there,' and he has a sturdy, evident
honesty of purpose that carries him through. A team of six horses won't
keep him out of the White House." This is the general opinion regarding
the Vice-President, that while he is not a remarkable statesman, he
already overshadows the President in the eyes of the public. I think the
secret is that he is young and a hero, and what the Americans call an
all-around man; not brilliant in any particular line, but a man of
energy, like our ----.
He looks it. A smooth face, square, determined jaw, with a look about
the eye suggestive that he would ride you down if you stood in the way.
I judge him to be a man of honor, high purpose, as my friend said, of
the Cromwell type, inclined to preach, and who also has what the
Americans call the "get-there" quality. In conversation Vice-President
Roosevelt is hearty and open, a poor diplomat, but a talker who comes to
the point. He says what he thinks, and asks no favor. He acts as though
he wished to clap you on the shoulder and be familiar. It will be
difficult for you to understand that such a man is second in rank in
this great nation. There are no imposing surroundings, no glamor of
attendance, only Roosevelt, strong as a water-ox in a rice-field,
smiling, all on the surface, ready to fight for his friend or his
country. Author, cowboy, stockman, soldier, essayist, historian,
sportsman, clever with the boxing-gloves or saber, hurdle-jumper, crack
revolver and rifle shot, naturalist and aristocrat, such is the
all-around Vice-President of the United States--a man who will make a
strong impression upon the history of the century if he is not shot by
Socialists.
I have it from those who know, that President McKinley would be killed
in less than a week if the guards about the White House were removed. He
never makes a move without guards or detectives, and the secret-service
men surround him as carefully as possible. It would be an easy matter to
kill him. Like all officials, he is accessible to almost any one with an
apparently legitimate object. Two Presidents have been murdered; all are
threatened continually by half-insane people called "cranks," and by the
professional Socialists, mainly foreigners. Both the President and
Vice-President are well-dressed men. President McKinley, when I was
granted an audience, wore a long-tailed black "frock coat" and vest,
light trousers, and patent leather or varnished shoes, and standing
collar. The Vice-President was similarly dressed, but with a "turn-down"
collar. The two men are said to make a "strong team," and it is a
foregone conclusion that the Vice-President will succeed President
McKinley. This is already talked of by the society people at Newport.
"It is a long time," said a lady at Newport, "since we have had a
President who represented an old and distinguished family. The McKinleys
were from the ordinary ranks of life, but eminently respectable, while
Roosevelt is an old and honored name in New York, identified with the
history of the State; in a word, typical of the American aristocracy,
bearing arms by right of heritage."
I have frequently met Admiral Dewey, already so well known in China. He
is a small man, with bright eyes, who already shows the effects of
years. Nothing could illustrate the volatile, uncertain character of the
American than the downfall of the admiral as a popular idol. Here a
"peculiarity" of the American is seen. Carried away by political and
public adulation, the old sailor's new wife, the sister of a prominent
politician, became seized with a desire to make him President. Then the
hero lovers raised a large sum and purchased a house for the admiral;
but the politicians ignored him as a candidate, which was a humiliation,
and the donors of the house demanded their money returned when the
admiral placed the gift in the name of his wife; and so for a while the
entire people turned against the gallant sailor, who was criticized,
jeered at, and ridiculed. All he had accomplished in one of the most
remarkable victories in the history of modern warfare was forgotten in
a moment, to the lasting disgrace of his critics.
One of the interesting places in Washington is the Capitol, perhaps the
most splendid building in any land. Here we see the men whom the
Americans select to make laws for them. The looker-on is impressed with
the singular fact that most of the senators are very wealthy men; and it
is said that they seek the position for the honor and power it confers.
I was told that so many are millionaires that it gave rise to the
suspicion that they bought their way in, and this has been boldly
claimed as to many of them. This may be the treasonable suggestion of
some enemy; but that money plays a part in some elections there is
little doubt. I believe this is so in England, where elections have
often been carried by money.
The American Senate is a dignified body, and I doubt if it have a peer
in the world. The men are elected by the State legislatures, not by the
people at large, a method which makes it easy for an unprincipled
millionaire or his political manager to buy votes sufficient to seat his
patron. The fact that senators are mainly rich does not imply unfitness,
but quite the contrary. Only a genius can become a multi-millionaire in
America, and hence the senators are in the main bright men. When
observing these men and enabled to look into their records, I was
impressed by the fact that, despite the advantages of education, this
wonderful country has produced few really great men, and there is not at
this time a great man on the horizon.
America has no Gladstone, no Salisbury, no Bright. Lincoln, Blaine and
Sumner are names which impress me as approximating greatness; they made
an impression on American history that will be enduring. Then there are
Frye, Reed, Garfield, McKinley, Cleveland, who were little great men,
and following them a distinguished company, as Hanna, Conkling, Hay,
Hayes, and others, who were superior men of affairs. A distinctly great
national figure has not appeared in America since Daniel Webster, Henry
Clay, and Rufus Choate--all men too great to become President. It
appears to be the fate of the republic not to place its greatest men in
the White House, and by this I mean great statesmen. General Grant was a
great man, a heroic figure, but not a statesman. Lincoln is considered a
great man. He is called the "Liberator"; but I can conceive that none
but a very crude mind, inspired by a false sentiment, could have made a
horde of slaves, the most ignorant people on the globe, the political
equals of the American people. A great man in such a crisis would have
resisted popular clamor and have refused them suffrage until they had
been prepared to receive it by at least some education. Americans are
prone to call their great politicians statesmen. Blaine, Reed, Conkling,
Harrison were types of statesmen; Hanna, Quay, and others are
politicians.
The Lower House was a disappointment to me. There are too many ordinary
men there. They do not look great, and at the present time there is not
a really great man in the Lower House. There are too many cheap lawyers
and third-rate politicians there. Good business men are required, but
such men can not afford to take the position. I heard a great captain of
industry, who had been before Congress with a committee, say that he
never saw "so many asses together in all his life"; but this was an
extreme view. The House may not compare intellectually with the House of
Commons, but it contains many bright men. A fool could hardly get in,
though the labor unions have placed some vicious representatives there.
The lack of manners distressed a lady acquaintance of mine, who, in a
burst of indignation at seeing a congressman sitting with his feet on
his desk, said that there was not a man in Congress who had any social
position in Washington or at home, which, let us trust, is not true.
As I came from the White House some days ago I met a delegation of
native Indians going in, a sad sight. In Indian affairs occurs a page of
national history which the Americans are not proud of. In less than four
hundred years they have almost literally been wiped from the face of the
earth; the whites have waged a war of extermination, and the pitiful
remnant now left is fast disappearing. In no land has the survival of
the fittest found a more remarkable illustration. But the Indians are
having their revenge. The Americans long ago brought over Africans as
slaves; then, as the result of a war of words and war of fact, suddenly
released them all, and, at one fell move, in obedience to the hysterical
cries of their people, gave these ignorant semisavages and slaves the
same political rights as themselves.
Imagine the condition of things! The most ignorant and debased of races
suddenly receives rights and privileges and is made the equal of
American citizens. So strange a move was never seen or heard of
elsewhere, and the result has been relations more than strained and
always increasing between the whites and the blacks in the South. As
voters the negroes secure many positions in the South above their old
masters. I have seen a negro[2] sitting in the Vice-President's chair in
the United States Senate; while white Southern senators were pacing the
outer corridors in rage and disgust. There are generally one or more
black men in Congress, and they are given a few offices as a sop. With
one hand the Americans place millions of them on a plane with themselves
as free and independent citizens, and with the other refuse them the
privileges of such citizenship. They may enter the army as privates, but
any attempt to make them officers is a failure--white officers will not
associate with them. It is impossible for a negro to graduate from the
Naval Academy, though he has the right to do so. I was told that white
sailors would shoot him if placed over them. Several negroes have been
appointed as students, but none as yet have been able to pass the
examination. Here we see the strange and contradictory nature of the
Americans. The white master of the South had the black woman nurse his
children. Thousands of mulattoes in the country show that the whites
took advantage of the women in other ways, marriage between blacks and
whites being prohibited. When it comes to according the blacks
recognition as social equals, the people North and South resent even the
thought. The negro woman may provide the sustenance of life for the
white baby, but I venture to say that any Southern man, or Northern one
for that matter, would rather see his daughter die than be married to a
negro. So strong is this feeling that I believe in the extreme South if
a negro persisted in his addresses to a white woman he would be shot,
and no jury or judge could be found to convict the white man.
In the North the negro has certain rights. He can ride in the
street-cars, go to the theater, enter restaurants, but I doubt if large
hotels would entertain him. In the South every train has its separate
cars for negroes; every station its waiting-room for them; even on the
street-cars they are divided off by a wire rail or screen, and sit
beneath a sign, which advertises this free, independent, but black
American voter as being not fit to sit by the side of his political
brother. This causes a bitter feeling, and the time is coming when the
blacks will revolt. Already criminal attacks upon white women are not
uncommon, and a virtual reign of terror exists in some portions of the
South, where it is said that white women are never left unprotected; and
the negro, if he attacks a white woman, is almost invariably burned
alive, with the horrible ghastly features that attend an Indian
scalping. The crowd carry off bits of skin, hair, finger-nails, and rope
as trophies. In fact, these "burnings" are the most extraordinary
features in this "enlightened" country. The papers denounce them and
compare the people to ghouls; yet these same people accuse the Chinese
of being cruel, barbarous, insensible to cruelty, and "pagans." It is
true we have pirates and criminals, but the horrible features of the
lynchings in America during the last ten years I believe have no
counterpart in the history of China in the last five hundred.
In Washington the servants are blacks; irresponsible, childlike, aping
the vanities of the white people. They are "niggers"; the mulattoes, the
illegitimate offspring of whites, form another and totally distinct
class of colored society, and are the aristocracy. Rarely will a mulatto
girl marry a black man, and _vice versa_. They have their clubs and
their functions, their professional men, including lawyers and doctors,
as have the white people. They present a strange and singular feature.
Despised by their fathers, half-sisters, and brothers, denied any social
recognition, hating their black ancestry, they are socially "between the
devil and the deep sea." The negro question constitutes the gravest one
now before the American people. He is increasing rapidly, but in the
years since the civil war no pure-blooded negro has given evidence of
brilliant attainments. Frederick Douglas, Senator Bruce, and Booker T.
Washington rank with many white Americans in authorship, diplomacy, and
scholarship; but Douglas and Bruce were mulattoes, and Booker
Washington's father was an unknown white man. These men are held in high
esteem, but the social line has been drawn against them, though Douglas
married a white woman.
Balls are a feature of life in Washington. The women appear in full
dress, which means that the arms and neck are exposed, and the men wear
evening dress. The dances are mostly "round." The man takes a lady to
the ball, and when he dances seizes her in an embrace which would be
considered highly improper under ordinary circumstances, but the
etiquette of the dance makes it permissible. He places his right arm
around her waist, takes her left hand in his, holds her close to him,
and both begin to move around to the special music designed for this
peculiar motion, which may be a "waltz," or a "two-step," or a "gallop,"
or a "schottische," all being different and having different music or
time, or there may be various kinds of music for each. At times the
music is varied, being a gliding, scooping, swooping slide,
indescribable. When the dancers feel the approach of giddiness they
reverse the whirl or move backward.
Many Washington men have become famous as dancers, and quite outshadow
war heroes. All the officers of the army and navy are taught these
dances at the Military and Naval Academies, it being a national policy
to be agreeable to ladies; at least this must be so, as the men never
dance together. To see several hundred people whirling about, as I have
seen them at the inaugural of the President, is one of the most
remarkable scenes to be observed in America. The man in Washington who
can not dance is a "wallflower"--that is, he never leaves the wall.
There is a professional champion who has danced eight out of
twenty-four hours without stopping. A yearly convention of
dancing-school professors is held. These men, with much dignity, meet in
various cities and discuss various dances, how to grasp the partner, and
other important questions. Some time ago the question was whether the
"gent" should hold a handkerchief in the hand he pressed upon the back
of the lady, a professor having testified before the convention that he
had seen the imprint of a man's hand on the white dress of a lady. The
acumen displayed at these conventions is profound and impressive. Here
you observe a singular fact. The good dancer may be an officer of high
social standing, but the dancing-teacher, even though he be famous as
such, is _persona non grata_, so far as society is concerned. A
professional dancer, fighter, wrestler, cook, musician, and a hundred
more are not acceptable in society except in the strict line of their
profession; but a professional civil or naval engineer, an organist, an
artist, a decorator (household), and an architect are received by the
elect in Washington.
I have alluded to the craze for joking among young ladies in society. At
a dinner a reigning beauty, and daughter of ----, who sat next to me,
talked with me on dancing. She told me all about it, and, pointing to a
tall, distinguished-looking man near by, said that he had received his
degree of D. D. (Doctor of Dancing) from Harvard University, and was
extremely proud of it; and, furthermore, it would please him to have me
mention it. I did not enlighten the young lady, and allowed her to
continue, that I might enjoy her animation and superb "nerve" (this is
the American slang word for her attitude). The gentleman was her uncle,
a doctor of divinity, who was constitutionally opposed to dancing; and I
learned later that he had a cork leg. Such are some of the pitfalls in
Washington set for the pagan Oriental by charming Americans.
Dancing parties, in fact, all functions, are seized upon by young men
and women who anticipate marriage as especially favorable occasions for
"courtship." The parents apparently have absolutely nothing to do with
the affair, this being a free country. The girl "falls in love" with
some one, and the courtship begins. In the lower classes the girl is
said to be "keeping company" with so and so, or he is "her steady
company." In higher circles the admirer is "devoted to the lady." This
lasts for a year, perhaps longer, the man monopolizing the young lady's
time, calling so many times a week, as the case may be, the familiarity
between the two increasing until they finally exchange kisses--a
popular greeting in America. About now they become affianced or
"engaged," and the man is supposed to ask the consent of the parents. In
France the latter is supposed to give a _dot_; in America it is not
thought of. In time the wedding occurs, amid much ceremony, the bride's
parents bearing all the expense; the groom is relieving them of a future
expense, and is naturally not burdened. The married young people then go
upon a "honeymoon," the month succeeding the wedding, and this is long
or brief, according to the wealth of the parties. When they return they
usually live by themselves, the bride resenting any advice or espionage
from her husband's mother, who is the mother-in-law, a relation as much
joked about in America as revered in China.
Sometimes the "engaged" couple do not marry. The man perhaps in his
long courtship discovers traits that weary him, and he breaks off the
match. If he is wealthy the average American girl may sue him for
damages, for laceration of the affections. One woman in the State of New
York sued for the value of over two thousand kisses her "steady company"
had taken during a number of years' courtship, and was awarded three
thousand dollars. The journal from which I took this made an estimate
that the kisses had cost the man one dollar and a half each! Sometimes
the girl breaks the engagement, and if presents have been given she
returns them, the man rarely suing; but I have seen record of a case
where the girl refused to return the presents, and the man sued for
them; but no jury could be found to decide in his favor. A distinguished
physician has written a book on falling in love. It is recognized as a
contagious disease; men and women often die of it, and commit the most
extraordinary acts when under its influence. I have observed it, and,
all things considered, it has no advantages over the Chinese method of
attaining the marriage state. The wisdom of some older person is
certainly better than what the American would call the "snap judgment"
of two young people carried away by passion. One might find the chief
cause of divorce in America to lie in this strange custom.
I was invited by a famous wag last week to meet a man who could claim
that he was the father of fifty-three children and several hundred
grandchildren. I fully expected to see the _Gaikwar of Baroda_, or some
such celebrity, but found a tall, ministerial, typical American, with
long beard, whom ---- introduced to me as a Mormon bishop, who, he
said, had a virtual _conge d'elire_ in the Church, at the same time
referring to me as a Chinese Mormon with "fifty wives." I endeavored to
protest, but ---- explained to the bishop that I was merely modest. The
Mormons are a sect who believe in polygamy. Each man has as many wives
as he can support, and the population increases rapidly where they
settle. The ludicrous feature of Mormonism is that the Government has
failed to stop it, though it has legislated against it; but it is well
known that the Mormon allows nothing to interfere with his
"revelations," which are on "tap" in Utah.
I was much amused at the bishop's remarks. He said that if the American
politicians who were endeavoring to kill them off would marry their
actual concubines, and _all_ Americans would do the same, the United
States would have a Mormon majority the next day. The bishop had the
frailties and moral lapses of prominent people in all lands at his
fingers' ends, and his claim was that the whole civilized world was
practising polygamy, but doing it illegally, and the Mormons were the
only ones who had the honor to legitimatize it. The joke was on ----,
who was literally bottled up by the flow of facts from the bishop, who
referred to me to substantiate him, which I pretended to do, in order
totally to crush ----, who had tried to make me a party to his joke. The
bishop, who invited me to call upon him in Utah, said that he hoped some
time to be a United States senator, though he supposed the women of the
East could create public sentiment sufficient to defeat him.
I once stopped over in Utah and visited the great Mormon Temple, and I
must say that the Mormon women are far below the average in
intelligence, that is, if personal appearances count. I understand they
are recruited from the lowest and most ignorant classes in Europe, where
there are thousands of women who would rather have a fifth of a husband
than work in the field. In the language of American slang, I imagine the
Americans are "up against it," as the country avowedly offers an asylum
for all seeking religious liberty, and the Mormons claim polygamy as a
divine revelation and a part of their doctrine.
The bishop, I believe, was not a bishop, but a proselyting elder, or
something of the kind. The man who introduced me to him was a type
peculiar to America, a so-called "good fellow." People called him by his
first name, and he returned the favor. The second time I met him he
called me Count, and upon my replying that I was not a count he said,
"Well, you look it, anyway," and he has always called me Count. He knows
every one, and every one knows him--a good-hearted man, a spendthrift,
yet a power in politics; a _remarkable_ poker player, a friend worth
knowing, the kind of man you like to meet, and there are many such in
this country.
FOOTNOTE:
[2] Probably Senator Bruce.