The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-08-13
NUMBER 80.
LOBBYING As 4 FINE ARR.
The Dark side Of Congregational and
State I.eElsfatiOn.

lobbying. The persons who follow il
claim for it considerable antiquity, and
they sTe always endeavoriGg to impress
upon the public mind that the business
OF politics never was carried on without
the aid of lobbyists, and never can be.
There are lobbyists who are never
guilty of double dealing or cheating
But we have never heard of these men
making fortunes. One does not see
them with town or country residences,
or hear of their driving fast trotters.
| The " square" sort of lobbyist has little
| political influence, and certainly is not
able to "plant" all his relations and
dependents comfortably in public Of
fees. The truly hourishing lobbyist
| plays his cards in q different way. His
| plan of operations is generally some.
Il thing like this He manages to obtain
control-by fair means or foul-usually
by foul-of newspaper. This is his
/ step. Country uISnabers OF the leesnla-
tlIre are apt to attach much importance
to seeing their names in q newspaper
! it does not much matter what sort of a
| newspaper it is. Upon this weakness
the rising lobbyist takes care to play,
with what Judgment and skill he may
possess. He praises his patrons, and
abuses all who refuse to intrust to him
their " business" he forges letters, in
vents ISLANDERS, and Is particularly ex-
pert in accusing his enemy of being in
volved in some disreputable intrigue
with a woman. The lobbyist who owns
newspaper knows that this is a sort
of charge which scares nine men out of
ten out of their wits for there is gen.
orally no way of disproving If, and the
world is always ready to believe the
worst of a man. That is a character
e. ~ hsrr,,or, vantanPa vuhlnh the lnhhv-
ist turns to excellent account, so far as
his own interests are concerned.
1t is clear, then, that newspaper be-
comes an important aid to the lobbyist
at the outset of his career, and the
longer he can retain control of it the
more advantageous it Will be to him.
The majority of men do not like to have
lies published about them, or to see
their families made the subject of vile
and cowardly ISLANDERS. The lobbyist
knows this, and seldom fails to drive
his antagonist out of the field. We
have no libel law worth mentioning, and
the lobbyist makes the most of this
convenient circumstance. He accuses
one man of starving his children, and
then of carrying on intrigues with
somebody else's wife-in short, there is
no crime which he is not ready to charge
against anybody who presumes to in
terfere with his operations. Two per-
sons who are slandered might enter
suits for libel, but they cannot bring
their cases to final hearing in less than
FIVE or six years at the earliest. In the
meanwhile, the lobbyist can go on re-
peating filthy calumnies as fast as he
can invent them. The result, in the
majority of instances, is that the VIC
tins ''knucKle down." 1t begins to be
said by the persons who are attacked,
'So-and-so is a Dangerous man; he
does not care what he says about you.
It is best 10 let him alone" And so he
is let alone, and goes on rolling mp a
fortune which honest and hard-working
professional men seldom have a chance
of acquiring. One of the Albany lob
byists is said to be worth S40O. 900 an
other has made at least $500, 900 in the
course OF few years, and there is moth
ing to prevent him doubling it-unless
we undertake to expose him throughout
each session of the legislature. And
this we certainly intend to do. He viii
'take it out of us" in his newspaper"
but we are used to that.
The lobbyists regular source of in
come is, of course, derived from his
supposed knowledge of the art of put
ting out money "where it will do the
most good" He knows who viii take
a bribe, and how much the amount |
must be. II a company wishes to get a |
bill passed, or to prevent some obIec- /
tionable bill from passing, it summons |
the Lobbyist to its assistance. But, ont |
side of this kind of work, there are nu- |
InerOus devices for reaping s large in |
come. When trade is slack, the lobby |
lists get together and concoct a bill aim |
ing at the rights or privileges enjoyed |
by some company already in existence. |
They pay a member of the legislature |
to introduce this bill, and then go to |
the threatened company and tell it the |
measure is sure to pass if money is not |
sent to Albany to defeat it. They name |
their own sum it is generally paid |
and the dreaded bill is no more heard /
Of Then the lobbyist has another plan /
of making hay while the sun shines.
A company, let MS say, applies to him to
get bill passed. He tells the agents
he shall want at least $4,000. The /
money is paid, and he goes to Albany /
with it and pays out say S5, 600 among /
the bribable members. The remaining /
Sl5, 900 he quietly put into his own
pocket. If the bill passes, the COM
pany are satisfied and never ask a ques-
tion about the affair. If It does not /
pass, they may ask questions, but they |
will get no information out Of the lob
byist Where did you pay out the |
money ?" he may be asked. His reply, |
expressed in warm terms of indigna-
ton, is usually in this vein "Dou
yeu think I will tell you the names OF /
the members whom / have bribed No; i
1 am bound TO protect them. What do /
you take me for ? I would have you /
know that am an honorable man, and /
/ trust you will never insult me in this 1
way again" The head of the company /
begins to feel that he really has acted |
very shabbily, and the lobbyist goes !
forth with his IS per cent. plunder |
comfortably slowed away in his pock- |
cts. It is q game in which there is /
scarcely the least probability Of his /
being found out-certainly not one /
chance in a thousand.
BY these means almost any man who /
follows up the trade flor a few years
may amass from $500, 900 to S400, 900. |
It may involve certain loss of charao- /
ter. but not very much People may /
look askance at the lobbyist, but gen.
orally they viii be too much afraid Of /
him and his newspaper TO say what they 1
think of him. And then he has money, |
and will buy almost anything. The |
lobbyist gets all the society he wants /
and even boast-as one did the other /
day-Of being asked to dinner by the
president and by " Mr.. George W. /
Childs, of Philadelphia Surely that |
is enough to satisfy any mans social |
ambition. And even il these privileges /
we're denied to the lobbyist, he would |
probably not take the loss much to |
heart. From baEefooted and ragged !
breeched boy he has been transformed /
into q wealthy American citizen, owning
houses and lands, with all his poor
relations provided for by a generous
public and with the prospect before
him of ending his d Us as a millionaire
in "palssiai mansion" instead Of dy-
ing pauper in an Irish ditch. Such a
reward as this is quite sufficient 70 make
the trade of lobbying one Of the most
popular Of the day, and its brilliant
success is oBe-of the signs By which we
may judge Of the improvements which
We are making in the political and moral
ideas and principles bequeathed to us
by the Fathers. ''-NedD York Times.
KNo CHRISTIAN VIII, of Denmark,
has determined to visit Iceland this