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Story
April 26, 1877
The Cheyenne Daily Leader
Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming
What is this article about?
Anecdote of Congressman John Covode discovering a colleague stealing his hidden rye whiskey from a committee room washstand in the House of Representatives by lifting the marble top, leading to a humorous concession.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
A Story of John Covode.
"Perley" relates the following story in the Boston Journal:
"Strolling through the basement story in the House of Representatives, I saw through the open door of a committee room a marble top wash stand, which reminded me of a good story told about John Covode when he occupied that room.
He used to have some very nice old rye whisky sent him from Pennsylvania, and to keep it for his own use, he had a lock put on the door to a receptacle under the washstand, where he used to stow a couple of demijohns.
In some mysterious way, however, the whisky used to disappear. He had the locks changed, but still the demijohn which would be locked up in the wash stand full in the morning, would be empty at night.
One evening at the beginning of a roll-call, he noticed a member who was on his committee get together a small party of friends and leave the hall. Mr. Covode prided himself on always being in his seat to answer to his name, but instead of waiting to vote, he soon went down to his committee room, and suddenly entered with his key.
He took in the situation at a glance. His friend had lifted the marble top from the wash stand, and thus obtained ready access to the receptacles beneath, from which he had taken the demijohn.
Caught in the act he began to apologize, but Mr. Covode said, 'Go ahead boys. Help yourselves. I see now how I am in the wholesale liquor trade.'"
"Perley" relates the following story in the Boston Journal:
"Strolling through the basement story in the House of Representatives, I saw through the open door of a committee room a marble top wash stand, which reminded me of a good story told about John Covode when he occupied that room.
He used to have some very nice old rye whisky sent him from Pennsylvania, and to keep it for his own use, he had a lock put on the door to a receptacle under the washstand, where he used to stow a couple of demijohns.
In some mysterious way, however, the whisky used to disappear. He had the locks changed, but still the demijohn which would be locked up in the wash stand full in the morning, would be empty at night.
One evening at the beginning of a roll-call, he noticed a member who was on his committee get together a small party of friends and leave the hall. Mr. Covode prided himself on always being in his seat to answer to his name, but instead of waiting to vote, he soon went down to his committee room, and suddenly entered with his key.
He took in the situation at a glance. His friend had lifted the marble top from the wash stand, and thus obtained ready access to the receptacles beneath, from which he had taken the demijohn.
Caught in the act he began to apologize, but Mr. Covode said, 'Go ahead boys. Help yourselves. I see now how I am in the wholesale liquor trade.'"
What sub-type of article is it?
Biography
Deception Fraud
Crime Story
What themes does it cover?
Deception
What keywords are associated?
John Covode
Whiskey Theft
Committee Room
Demijohn
House Representatives
What entities or persons were involved?
John Covode
A Member Who Was On His Committee
Where did it happen?
House Of Representatives, Committee Room
Story Details
Key Persons
John Covode
A Member Who Was On His Committee
Location
House Of Representatives, Committee Room
Story Details
John Covode hides whiskey under a locked washstand in his committee room, but it disappears despite changing locks. He catches a committee member lifting the marble top to steal a demijohn during a roll-call and humorously allows them to take it.