The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-02-17
A Copgressnlan's Mail.

A Washington correspondent, describ-
ing the voluminous mail of the average
Congressman, writes:
The real curioslties of Congressman's
correspondence are to be found in his
letters, though. These cover every con.
ceiyable and many an inconceiyable sub.
iect, and are the work of all sorts of peo-
pie, from every hole aud corner of the
land. The oddities of one sessions cor.
respondence would make the most anus
ing volume ever published. only the
readers would be likely to think them
not authentic, but made up for the occa-
sion.
People write for copies of congressional
reports, documents and the like publica.
tions for information about tile govern
ment, which it would require whole
handbook to convey to them, and for in
formation of personal character, such
as "How old were you when you were
elected?" "What was your majority ?"
"What was your business before you
went into politics ?" These questions, as
a rule, are but for the purpose of deciding
bets. A very common request from
country people is for seeds and cuttings
of plants from the botanical gardens.
So also is that for an autograph. Many
enthusiastic autograph collectors send
their albums to be written in. Others
inclose slip of paper to bear the Gov
eted signature. Very common are the
letters Of tradesmcn, who send presents
of all sorts of commodities, from hair
pins and pearl powder to pianos, with
the request to be informed how the re-
cipient likes the gift, the hoped-for an.
swer to be, of course, used as an adver.
tisemeut. These communications 60 into
the waste basket without an exception.
The presents are we'll taken care of, how
ever.
Requests for positions of all sorts are
of course common. These come not only
to Congressman from their constituents,
but from utter strangers. Women are
heavy correspondents in this line. Many
letters give advice of q political sort,
some Of it very absurd aud laughable
indeed Correspondents send patents of
inventions which they want bills intro.
duced into Congress about, offering a
prospective share of the profits for the
favor. Once I found a request for the
introduction of patent clothes. s.wringer
into the army, with blank check for my
chief to fill out in whatever sum he chose
if he undertook to put it through. A
curious feature of our Congressmen's
correspondence is that there are people
who seem to do nothing else but write
letters to them.
One man in Boston has become famous
since long before the war for the liberal
ity of his correspondence with our law
makers. He has no political bias, writ,
ing to any one and every one, irrespective
of party. His hobby is advice rs to the
conduct of the nation, and he lards it
with long quotations from speeches by
Webster, Clay, Calhoun and other de-
parted statesmen. Another lunatic in
New York city writes in the same e1ten
siye way to get bill into Congress re.
moving the seat of government to thai
city. A Chicago man has invented @
balloon for war and surveying purposes
and for ten years has been trying to sell
the government the sole right to it.
remember one man who wrote from
Utah, almost daily, for the entire session
to get bill into Congress to afford him
government protection for the working ol
Il mine in that Territory, he being al
present greatly harrassed and annoyed ii
his labors by what he called his "onchris
tian and disgraceful surrendns." An
other had gotten up gorgeous scheme
for the government tc assume control o
all the railroads and telegraph lines
This genius had over hundred pages o
printed calculations, showing the cost o
the scheme, the immense profit to tht
nation, and tho benefit the people woule
derive from its execution.