The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-10-24

and forthwith calls upon them. In
very mysterious manner he intlmates
that he thinks he can defeat
Tor help pass, as the case may De,
the bill or bills in question. de
insinuates that ne is on very friendly
terms with several Senators and several
representatives., and that he is sure ne
could do great deal of good IN the
premises. OF course, the man IS more
or less a downright fraud, and tals lob
bying business is one of his schemes to
make living. He may have passing
acquaintance with one or two members
of Congress; he may know the senators
and members from his own State; yet
there is not one of them but would be
ashamed to be seen in his company.
His appearance is altogether against
him-shabby genteel, with a mark here
and there OF dissipation. I happen to
know several of these would-be lobbyists
by sight. One Of them comes wildly
before my mind at the present time. l
think he halls from Tennessee. He is a
man between fifty and sixty years of
age; small In stature; clean shaven face,
In which are set pair of small bllnky
! eyes; brown v ig covered by low felt
hat very much the worse for wear; his
clothes have seen better days, and they
are by 10 means cut in the lie ght of
fashion. This individual could be
seen strutting the Hobbies of the capitol
every day during the last session of
Congress, and he always seemed to
have something very particular on
hand, One very noticeable feature about
him was the enormous length of
tobacco pipe he cons autly carried
in the outside pocket Of his coat. The
STAN Of IT Innkn6 holt tho fhInknnSg of
a walking stick. and not less than IF
teen inches long! A beautiful speci-
men to do business with senators and
| representatives! The smell OF his
clothes must have reminded them of
Chinese opium joint. Yet this is
,pecimen of a class of people that are
drawn to the Capitol during a session
OF Congress, like moths to a lamp. 1t
is numerous class, too, and the only
wonder is how such individuals manage
to exc out an existence.
Taking the above individual as a
sample, it will be seen that the would
be lobbyist IS, as rule, q very seedy
persona thing to be avoided by all
means. Yet there are lobbyists VINO
occupy positions of the highest re
spectability. Notwithstanding that to
the term lobbyist" is always attached
more or less reproach. 1t is and always
has been considered somewhat dis
reputable for any person to frequent
the lobbies of a house of legislation for
the purpose of Influencing the action of
the members, or of securing their
votes tor (or against, as the
case may be- some particular
under consideration. Nevertheless,
that a system of lobbying is carried on
in the halls of the National Congress.
and elsewhere under the dome of the
national capital, is a fact that cannot
be gainsaid. The large railroad cor
porations, for instance, are notorious
for their employment of lobbyists, anu
some OF these very lobbyists, it is said,
actually occupy seats in the Senate and
House of Representatives, of me Ma
tional Legislature. 1t is even said that
such men as Jay Gould and other mil
lionaireS (whO are largely interested in
so many financial schemeS) cuntroI
quite number of men in Congress, and
for a consideration these men are quite
assiduous in attending 10 the interests OF
their employees. Many persons in
Washington to-day are known to have
amassed fortunes by this very profess
sion. 1t is impossible that they could
have made fortune in any other way.
Well Known doctors, lawyers, news
paper correspondents, editors, and
others too numerous to mention, are
accused of working in 1.-The lobby"
and their surroundings show that
they have been very successful.
Another class of individuals that are
inStinctively drawn to Washington
during a session of Congress is that
known as the Bohemian newspaper
correspondents Many of these are
very clever men, but for some reason
or other they are without regular en-
ployment upon any paper. They are
compelled to make a living by space
aud special work. The plan they gen
orally adopt is this: They spot GER
tain member of Congress whom they
think requires booming in his district,
or before the country generally. They
set to work and write up an interview,
or some other elaborate article about
the member in questisn-laudatory OF
course, as to his worth as q senator or
a representative-and they manage to
get it printed where it will exert the
most influence in a given direction.
The Bohemian anxiOusly awaits receipt
of the paper containing the article. When
it arrives he makes 1t point to call |
upon the member shows him the ar
ticle, and winds up by asking for the |
small sum Of $3.50. In many instances |
the labor goes for nothing; but. oc |
casionally, when the article possesses
merit, and ITS publication is likely |
to do good. the member willingly hands |
over a liberal fee. In this way these /
Bohemian correspondents manage to
make some kind of living; but as
rule they are improvident, and it is to
that their precarious occu-
patton can generally be traced. ASH
have said some of these are oddly clever.
but their passion for drink keeps them |
on the lowest round of the ladder.
They are eternally hardup; continually
borrowing money from anybody that
will lend It. Reputable newspaper men
are constantly bled by such men but they
are bled with their eyes open, for they
know they will never receive back the
they thus advance. As a gen
sral thing, however, newspaper men are
Kind and generous to a brother in dis
5ress, and they only refuse assis Ince
when a man becomes a thorough sot, a
iead-beat, and disgrace to the news
paper profession. That there are many
IF this latter class is too true. They
lrag out miserable existence. Occa-
,iODallV thew make "a raiSan nv tho an,