The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1884-05-31
Its Good and Bad Members-The Re
markabIe Experiences Of a Close
Observer of Its Workings
During a Long Residence
at Washington.

has larger noatlng population than
Washington. 1t is estimated that during |
the sessions of congress twenty-five |
thousand people, whose homes are in va
rious parts of this and other countries |
make this city their place of residence.
Some come here, attracted by the advant- |
ages the city offers for making the ac-
quaintance of public men; others have va
rious claims which they wish to present |
while the great majority gather here, as
the crows flock to the carrion, for the sole |
purpose of getting a morsel at the public |
crib. The latter class, as general thing, |
originate the many schemes which termi- |
nate in vicious bills, all of which are
neither directed at the public treasury, or
toward that revenue which the black
mailing of corporations or private enter |
prises may bring.
While walking down Pennsylvania ave-
nue. the other day met Mr.. William M.
Ashley, formerly of your city, whose long
residence here has made him unusually
well acquainted with the operations of
the lobby.
Having made my wants in this particu-
lar direction known, in answer to an in
terrogative, Mr.. Ashley said:
Yes, during my residence here / have
become well acquainted with the workings
of the Third House, as it is termed, and
could tell you of numerous jobs, which,
like the Heather Chinee, are peculiar"
Va v.
vicious, do your
''Not necessarily so. There are good and
bad men comprising that body; yet there
have been times when it must be admit
ted that the combined power of the Third
| House has overridden the will of the peo-
| pie. The bad influence of the lobby can be
seen in the numerous blood-bills that are
| introduced at every session.
NBut how can these be discovered?'
! Easily enough, to the person who has
made the thing a study. / can detect them
at glance"
''Tell me, to what bills do you refer?"
"Well, take the annual gas bills, for in
stance. They are introduced for the pur-
pose of bleeding the Washington Gas-light
Company. TRey usually result in an in n
vestigating committee which never
amounts to anything more than a draft
upon the public treasury for the expenses
of the investigation. Another squeeze is
the abattoir bills, as they are called
These, of course, are fought by the butch
force bill of this description was in 1877.
when prominent Washington politician
offered a fabulous sum for the franchise"
'Anything else in this line that you
think of, Mr.. Ashley"
eyes, there's the job to reclaim the Po-
tomac flats, which, had it become a law,
would have resulted in an enormous steal
|
ernment itself, and will rid the place of
that malarial atmosphere of which we
hear so much outside the city"
During your residence here have you
experienced the bad results of living in
this climate9"
"Well while have not at all times en-.
joyed good health, / am certain that the
difficulty which laid me up SO long was
not malarial. 1t was something that had
troubled me for years. A shooting, sting
ing pain that at times attacked different
parts of my body. One day my right arm
ard leg would torture me with pain, there
would be great redness, heat and swelling
of the parts; and perhaps the next day the
left arm and leg would be similarly affect
ed. Then again it would locate in some
particular part of my body and produce a
tenderness which would well nigh drive
me frantic. There would be weeks at a
time that | would be afflicted with an in
! termittent kind of pain that would come
on every afternoon and leave me compar-
atively free from suffering during the bal
/ ance of the twenty-four hours. Then l
would have terrible paroxysms of pain
coming on at any time during the day or
night when would be obliged to lie upon
my back for hours and keep as motien1ess
as possible. Every time | attempted to
move chilly sensation would pass over
my body, or would faint from hot flashes.
| suffered from spasmodic contraction
of the muscles and a soreness of the back
, and bowels, and even my eyeballs become
sore and distressed me greatly whenever
| wiped my face. | became ill-tempered,
peevish, fretful, irritable and desperately
>despondent."
"0f course you consulted the doctors re-
garding the difficulty"
Consulted them2 well / should say I
did. Some told me l had neuralgia; 9TH
ers that | had infiammatory rheumatism,
for which there was no cure, that would
, be afflicted all my life, and that time alone
would mitigate my sufferings."
But didn't they try to relieve your mis-
eries?"
eyes, they vomited and physiced me-
blistered and b1ed me, plastered and oiled
; me, sweat, steamed and everything but
froze me, but without avail"
'But how did you finally recover?"
Il had friend living in Michigan who
, had been afflicted in similar way and
; had been cured. He wrote me regarding
his recovery and advised me to try the
! remedy which cured him. | procured q
+ bottle and commenced it's use, taking g
tablespoonful after each meal and at bee
!. time. | had used it about week when
:. noticed a decrease of the soreness of the
Joints and general feeling of relief
persevered in it's use and finally got so
could move around without limping, wher
. | told my friends that it was Warmers
Safe Rheumatic Cure that had put me or
my feet"
"And do you regard your cure as perma
nent2"
, Certainly; / haven't been so well in
: years as | am now, and although / have
, been subjected to frequent and severe
changes of weather this winter, have not
felt the first intimation of the return Of
my rheumatic trouble"
: 'sDo you object to the publication of this
interview, Mr.. Ashley"
mot at all, sir. / look upon it as a duty
1 | owe my fellow creatures to alleviate thell
= sutferings so far as | am able, and any
communication regarding my symptoms
, and cure that may be sent to me at 5Ot
Maine avenue will receive prompt and
careful attention.
+, Judging from your recital, Mr.. Ashley
there must be wonderful curative proper
, ties about this medicine"
Indeed, there is, sir, for no man suffer
. ed more nor longer than l did before this
y remedy gave me relief.
!, ''ro go back to the original subject, Mr.
y Ashley, suppose you see the same famil
) lar faces about the lobby session after
;, session.
i, 'No, not so much as you might think
New faces are constantly seen and old ones
disappear. The strain upon lobbyists is
! necessarily very great, and when you ado
to this the demoralizing effect of late hours
, and incorporate habits and the fact that
they are after found out in their steals
their disappearance can easily be account
+; ed for
''What proportion of these blood bills
4 are successfulf'
"a very small percentage, sir. Notwith.
standing the power and the influence oi
the lobby, but few of these vicious meas
ures pass. Were they successful it would
, be a sad commentary upon our system OF
government, and would virtually annihil.
!, ate one branch of it. The great majority
J; of them are either reported adversely OF
smothered in committee by the watchful