National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-02-04
ON THE AVENUE.
Small Talk About Men aud Measures


Small Talk About Men aud Measures.
They were talking about the honesty Of
congressman. One gentleman remarked that
members Of the committees on public lands,
| banking, and currency, and others, which
had TO do with legislation Affecting tho value
Of stocks, had splendid opportunities to make
money by selling or buying according to the
report which their committees would mako
Said the gentleman from Alabama: "Thats
what tho New York legislature thought
once good many years ago.
Some bright genius went around among
the legislators and explained that by
pressing a bill laying. very grevious
burdens on the Harlem railroad they could
drive tho stock of that road clear down into
| the ground. All they had to do was to sell
Harlem short before the public got an ink
ling Of the bill. All thelegislators sold Har.
lem short and then passed the bill, but the
queer thing was that Harlem stock went
away up instead of down. Tho legislators
found out that old Commodore Vanderbilt
had bought all that they had sold on margins
of course, and after putting the price at II
| frightlully high figure was calling on the leg
islators to deliver the stock. Thoy couldn't
get the stock to deliver, and Vanderbilt had
them cornercd. He did not lot up on them
until they had passed another bill, not only
relieving the Harlem road of the burdens
which they had just imposed upon it, but
granting it great privileges which 1t did not
before possess"
~.
"I don't believe" said the gentleman from
Pennsylvania, that any other state legisla-
ture in this union can be bought and sold
like that Of New York. There are recognized
brokers at Albany who secure or prevent
legislation according to the money offered
A man goes to one of these brokers and says
he wants such measure passed. The broker
makes some figures and says, That will cost
you so much If he gets the money he never
fails to carry out his contract. 1t seems to be
generally understood that legislation at AL
bany is to be secured by bribery, and I
haven't seen many New Workers who appeared
to be ashamed of it. Once upon time jim
Fisk had been selling more Erie stock than
there was Vanderbilt had been buying,
and had got Fisk cornered. Fisk went to
the nearest printing press and had the printer
print for him $10000,000 worth of nice, new,
fresh Erie stock. He offered this worthless
stuff to Vanderbilt as o delivery of what he
had sold. OF course Vanderbilt refused it,
and the matter got into the courts. Before it
could be there settled the legislature met,
and Fisk undertook to get his $10000,000
issue legali2ed. Vanderbilt tried to prevent
it. That was the harvest for legislators.
One man told me something of it. He was
on a subcommittee which considered the bill.
He got well paid for reporting tho
bill favorably to tho full committee, and
then he got better paid from tho other side
for voting, in the full committee, against his
own report. When it came to the passage of
the bill this man saw, as the voting went on,
that it was likely to be tie. He sneaked of
in the cloak room with representatives OF
both parties after him. 1t was tie with
his vote, and he got $4,000 to vote for and
carry the bill l don't know. how much he
had previously received from both sides, but
this was the final plum. 1t explains why
men are so anxious to get into the New York
legislature"
~
A leading merchant from a western city,
, who has been here for week past to per-
sonally investigate the prospect Of the bill ex'
tending the bonded period on whisky becoming
law, left yesterday morning for his home
Previous to his departure he had conference:
with those members of congress and Others
, who are supporting this measure, and says
| that he could not extract one atom of com.
fort from what they had to report as to the
possibility of passing the bill Said he: II am
now going home and am going to devote myself
tospreparing for the crash in the price of fine
WHISTLES that is inevitable. I have made
heavy advances in this line of goods, and
propose to get o market for the greater por
ton of them as soon as / can. 1t is utter folly
for those Of us who are financially interested
in the whisky that must come out of bonC
between this and the first week in July mex
, to expect any relief whatever at the hands o
, congress- There is not the remotest possibilit.
, of the passage of a whisky bill.
a@a
One of the characters of Fifteenth street j
a Banana jake" who dispenses faded tropica
o fruit, peanuts and fossilized taffy to tn
t crowd of messenger boys, bootblacks, an
q gamins who haunt the corner near tn
Western Union telegraph office. Jake exert
- himself to please his customers and to kee
& the tagging clear Of banana skins, an
S usually succeeds in doing both. One da
last week, however, the polishing brigad
a got up run on peanuts, and single pee
/, escaped the old Italians eye. A slim tailor
sign of the purest type Of "Dude" cam
" mincing along and fell with a terrible THUG
completely annihilating q wide-brimmed sill
hat, which he set down upon with fore
enough to have sent a hemlock pile out
sight in the stifIest mud on the Potoma
flats. When the exquisite recovered his voiC
> he proceeded to abuse Jake and his customer
;, with fuency that made tho cab drive
u halt aud prepare to add new abjurgations
10 their stock in trade for future use. Jah
~ stood all this and only smiled, until tn
: battered dude began to reflect upon the frui
j. Then the Neapolitan's swarthy face flushed
. and, with a warning glitter in his eyes, h
% exclaimed "Goulaway, goulaway, Maledeto
- Ifa hada my stilletto, Ida sticka yobela full
- holas"
vs. 80
H. "Come with me-" said the old resident
iS land will give you faint idea of the dee
~ hold that Anglophobism and dudism hav
40 taken in this city. This is Connection
q avenue, and on any clear Sunday afternoo
it is always thronged, just as it is to-da
You SEQ that group there, stretc
at ing clear across the pavemen
Il ~