The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-02-22
Cur,osi,,ss OF Lssasl.t,on a, wa.n,nx.oo,

Psny no IL 40 sum than ten Thousand dollars -Wash
"sfon Correspondence.
The public schools are among the noblest nstl-
tutions of this country. We can point, also, to
large number of collegiate establishments which
have attained the highest character for learning
and usefulness. Almost everything that the en-
Gghtened benevoence of the State and the dis
interested liberalty of individuals can ATTEMPT,
has been done order to soften the asperlties Of
grammar, and safely conduct the daring student
through the darkest passages OF Euclid and the
classics The inestlmable treasures OF ortho-
graphy, etymology, syntax, and prosody, are
within the reach of the offspring of the poorest
citizen; WHILE by the praisewo rthy labors OF peri
patetic professors" the higher departments of
the bellies ietyss are rendered accessible to the en-
tire community for the small charge Of fifty cents,
at the door OF Clinton Hall or the Tabernacle.
Philosophical systems are manufactured 10 or
der, as expedltously and cheaply as "those
five dollar suits" In Chatham street or the Bowery.
The New England States turn out dozen Platos
per annum, and Arisotles are as plenty as black
berries, at Harvard and Yale. Columbia College
annually gives us scores OF philosophers, who want
nothing but boards to be fully equal to Socrates );
while Rutgers Institute, with all the punctuaity
finished" young ladies, to whom
"Latin Is more difioe
Than to o black bird tits to whistle"
Yet. with all our unparalleled progress in moral
philosophy, grammar, spelling, and other occult
subjects Of study, are, In some respects, profound
ly ignorant OF several branches of knowledge which
constitute the cu,ricuium of the National College
at Washington. Nor is this strange. Under all
,ha fo,,no of nv ms nj from,
age to age, have been made happy, there have been
mysteries too sacred for the common and vulgar
eye Like the invisible manager of that exciting
domestic drama in which Mr.. Punch has for so
long period delighted the public, there are
agencies, performing most important part at
Washington, of which the dear people know about
as much as they do of the mystic lore of Corne-
Illus Agnppa For instance-pray, what do the
great mass of the people know of that remarkable
parsonage obscurely limited at In the extract from
our Washington correspondence, at the head OF this
article and who is occasionally heard OF under the
mysterious sobriquet of " the lobby Member?"
The whole career OF the lobby member" APP
pears to be involved IL doubt and uncertainty.
No one knows where he first saw the light His
birth, parentage, and education are concealed by
an obscurty Impenetrable even by the optics of
Dominic GrIswold, who has written the biogra-
plies o. the seventy and seven hundred native poets
OF America and can tell you precisely when, where
and how every precious mothers son of them was
weaned, breeched, and saved from the whooping
cough. The "lobby member" is short, thick
set man. of about five and forty years of age, sal
low omplexion, and rather an obtrusve appear
ance. There Is nothing very remarkable in his
&l,aa !.
and quiet; and the nose, which is of fiery red
ness, flames out like beacon on treacherous
shore. The Z" lobby member" Is emphaticay
man of the world--that is to say, a man of the
Washington world. He has perfect self-possesslon;
he is completely master of the fashionable games
Of "poker and &C t-throat;" and since the la
mentabe decease Of the celebrated General O'Don-
nell, he alone can lay any half doze members of
Congress under the table. Ii Is not to be wonder
ed at, then, that possessing so many accomplish
ments, the " lobby member" is, at Washington,
almost omnipotent He thoroughly understands
his materials. Thus, he cajoes youthful Congress
men into the library, and introduces them to the
fatal Establishments of shrewd politicians with
bright eyes and pink bonnets. He overcomes all
the scrupes of an obstinate Senator by an excel
lent dinner at Coenan's. judlcIous whisper
behind the Speakers chair has often decided the
fate OF bill. There is no knowing what has
been done, or what has not been done, at a snug
supper at Copp's and it need hardly be said that
the " lobby member" knows very well when to
lose money at billiards.
Private bills are under the special surveillance
Of the ''lobby member" He is always prepared to
prosecute claim against the general government
IIa orao, I'll ~
various departments; and when unsuccessful in
these interesting historical searches, he invents
new ones. For horse killed In the Florida war,
he promises you from two hundred to five hundred
dollars, minus the trfng commission OF sixty per
cent. Out of the French spoliations prior to the
year eighteen hundred, he will assure you of quite a
respectable fortune. For the services of your ex.
cellent uncle, who got his leg broken at the battle
of Chippewa, he can get handsome pension for
his suffering widow. The letters and papers of
your wfes respectable grandfather, who sold b sef
and pork to General Washington's army, can be
readily disposed OF to Congress, he says, and bring,
at the lowest, ten thousand dollars.
But the great source of revenue to the "lobby
member" Is that derived from Fictitious opposl-
ton to government contracts. When any impor-
tant project is submitted to the general government
In the execution of which Its aid Is sought, the
"lobby member" ID Immediately prepared with a
rva scheme and rival set of projectors. Not that
our hero, or his associates, has the remotest
thought of carrying this scheme into effect Not
at all. The object to create an interest In Con.
gress sufficiently powerful to defeat the project
which Is submitted on the other side, In
all good faith and sincerity. A sufficient
number Of members Of Congress are lnge.
nlously hoodwInked; and honestly believing
that the pretended scheme is likely to be much
more beneficial to the country than the other, they
vote accordingly, and the result is that neither
scheme can succeed And now the genius of the
lobby member shines forth in all its respondent
lusre. He sees only one way of adjusting the
matter. Let there be compromise. He is all
magnanmiy. He will withdraw his scheme
/" for a confederation" The bargain ia struck