Washington politicians hang out at Harvey’s and the Occidental. They don’t mind the insults. Some of the better food is at Olmsted’s. The tax-payers foot the losses of the dining-rooms in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Baltimore politicians dine in the back room of the Emerson; the ward heelers eat at Bickford’s, called “No. 10 Downing Street.”
There are no swank dining places of the grade of El Morocco, the Colony or 21 in Washington or Baltimore. The elite in government service eat lunch in their own private dining-rooms and dinner at their clubs.
Divorce
The divorce rate in the District, as well as in Maryland and Virginia, is considerably below the national average, though the grounds are not particularly oppressive. At this writing there are 4,000 divorced males in the District of Columbia and 8,000 divorced females.
All three jurisdictions require one year’s residence before beginning a divorce action, which eliminates them from competition with Nevada or Florida. If the grounds are out-of-state, it’s two years in D.C. You have to wait six months after a District decree before remarriage.
Grounds for divorce in the District are adultery, desertion for two years, conviction for felony, and living apart five years. Maryland adds impotence and insanity. Virginia also grants divorce for impotence, pregnancy of wife at time of marriage and wife’s unchastity, as well as all causes specified in the District.
Some smart lawyers know how to beat the residence provisions, but if you can afford that kind of a lawyer you’re much better off going to states that specialize in hot-cake divorces.
Guns
You require a license to carry a concealed weapon, but no one enforces the law if you keep a dozen machine-guns in your house. The courts have ruled you are not carrying a concealed weapon if you have a gun in the glove compartment of your car or if you have an unloaded one in your pocket, even if you have cartridges on you. Cops can’t pinch you without a search warrant.