Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-12-12
FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER u, 1886.
Logpr AoEs4s 4 wAsnseroN-A private

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LosBY AGRsrs AT WAsHlSGToN.-A private
letter from our editorial correspondent enclcsess
the subjoincd extract, which wefarc assured is.
with due allowance for its New York Heraldism,
substantially true. Our correspondent has met
one OF two persons whom he knew to be specu-
latorsin the West, and who are now busily emu
ployed lobbying at Washington. The contem-
plated Pacific railroad scheme, whereby gov
eminent is to donate $50 millions of acres of the
public lands, and more than five millions of dol
lars each year, is certainly rich fund for these
political harpies to feed upon, and it is more
than probable that great deal of corruption
is rife among its advocates. We trust that our
representative from this district, who, by his
report last session, evinced clear understand
ing of all matters connected with the Pacific
rnilroad, will be on the alert TO scrutenize this
project We trust and believe that DIR. Kidwell
and Mr. Letcher, il not all the Virginia delega
ton, viii give these lobby chaps the cold
shoulder:
Lobby agents is term very familiar in this
CITY, and in all out OF it who read or hear of the
doings of Congress. The species know Is not
peculiar to this capital alone. Unfortunately
L
Of legislation in every State in the Union, and
even in the chambers of municipal bodies
Your City Hall in New York is, ] understand,
not exempt from the plague of lobby agents, and
the consequences is that here, there, and every.
where throughout the. country, scheming and
cheating enters largely into our legislation. =
Washington, however, is the grand centre of
operations for this body, which is facetiously
known as the "Third House., Here they are
in their element Here they flourish and thrive
to tie disgrace of the national representatives,
and to the injury of the peoples interests
They contaminate everything with which they
come in contact Laws, in the passage ofwhich
they have an interest, are by that very fact
stamped with the brand of unfairness, and it is
enough to damn any measure in the eyes of an
honest representative to know that it has en-
listed in its favor one or more OF those unprin.
cipled schemers denominated .slobby agents.
The Herald asked yesterday for the names of
those Washington operators. / will leave to
some other correspondent the task of furnishing
their names, and will, for my part, try to strike
off few pen and ink sketches of some of them.
Lobby agents are supplied from three or four
sources, and are thus capable of9classifcations.
The first and worst class is composed of men
who have been formerly members of Congress,
and who, from that fact, entitled to the priv
ileges of the hoor-that is, to the right of adj
mission into the hall of the House of Represen-i
tatives. The Senate is more exclusive and does
not ndmit such characters on the floor. There
they must be content with seats in the gallery
but for the matter of that they don't seem TO
care much about the Senate. That body can
always be relied on for passing any sort of mca-
sure whereby the public lands are to be bestow-
ed on corporations or the treasury depleted for
the benefit of individuals. The Senate has got
a quiet, easy respectable sort of disposition,
sud seems to attach toitsef no manner of res
possibility for measures of that kind. And so
the operations of lobby agents are for the most
part confined to the House.
Another class of lobby agents consists of pet
bfoggiug lawyers-some resident in Washing
ton, and some merely migratory. These are
generally interested in some minor matters such
rs engineering through claims against govern
pent for French spoliations, imaginary losses
in'the Revolutionary war or WAT OF 1872, in-
creased compensation for mail contractors, re-
funding duties on goods destroyed by fire. and
snch like. Another class are not locatable any
where. They are neither cx-members nor law
Yers. Thoy are gassy politicians, with the mil
itary prefix to their name of captain major CO.
lionel, or general Where they came from, or
what they have ever done in life nobody knows
and nobody cares. They are supposed to have
the car of members, and hence are indispensa-
BILE aids to, people who wants to get through
measures which have recommendation in
themselves The last class-though, perhaps,
the most numerous and inhnential--is compo-
sed of newspaper correspondents The rep
course IN the preponderancc; but there is not
one of those writers, even though his lucubra-
tons may only see the light away in some coup=
try village, who does not place a certain value
upon the influence which he is able to exercise.
i should say, indeed, that those agents who are
notex-menibefs manage to procure admission
into the hall, on the pretcnce that they are
newspaper, correspondents. So Ha
have never reckoned the number Of lobby
agents here They would count probably from
forty to eighty. You do not find them, all in
Washington at the same time, They come and
go just as their business requires them. When
there is any grand scheme up, such as land
grants to railroads, renewaliof valuable patents
French spoliation bills, &C., they flock in insueh
numbers as to block up the lobby and interfere
with free locomotion. But at other times, when
political subjects merely are on the tapis, they
do not trouble the House with their presence
and members breathe more freely = ,ifl
q The ex-memberlobby agent has the conscious
ness of his power stamped upon his ilabby face
lie moves III and out with his hat on his head
and his two hands stuck in his ltrowsers poels-
cts. He disrcgards outward appearances in the
matter of dress; and to show his familiarity with
members, walks within the bar and seats him.
Selffon one of their chairs When any subject
is up in which he has an interest, he has no hes
itation in drnmmingu up members who are loiter-
ing outside, smoking segars or chatting, and
warning them that their votes are required He
has been at this trade MANY years-so many in
deed that he has arrived at an age when men
generally give over dishonest pursuits. Butth
business pays well, and 50 long as he and the
system is tolerated he will not abandon it,
There are other types of the same class, western
men generally, who, while in Congress did not
enjoy ahigh reputation for integrity, and now
that they are out OF it have taken to this most
eongenial pursuit. Their principal efforts in it
are directed to the matter of the public lands
In ttx.n Orf
profit on which men of moderate expectations
would equite satisfied to retire; but thesefel-
lows are Unsuitable; and until some of the few
honest representatives, Disguised with their
presence, succeed in establishing a rule that will
really keep Them out, they win continue to OBJ
yrude themselves there, and poison the very
fount of legislation. So