The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-29
THE NEW CONGRESSMAN.
DANGERS THAT USUALLY BssEr
THEIR PATH
One Hundred and Twenty-four New
Members Who VIII Have to Beware
of All Sorts of Peril-Blackmaii.

members VINO VIII Have to Beware
of All Sorts of Peril-Blackmaii.
From the Philadelphia Press.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.-One hundred and
twenty-four new congressman have come
to Washington this month. with their trials
and Temptations all before them. That
certain percentage of them will not come
unscathed through the trying ordeal to
which fresh senator or representative here
Is almost inevitably exposed may be pre-
dicted with reasonable confidence, for there
are dangers of no ordinary sort that lark
along the path of the novice in legislative
craft at this capital, against which neither
wisdom of books nor worldly experience
will thoroughly fortify him. In converse
ton on this subject, an old member of ma
tional reputation said:
There is one respect in which Washing
ton is the worst and most dangerous city
on earth-and know whereof | speak, for
I have lived in all the gay capitals of the
world. One fearful peril here besets the
new-comer-more particularly the member
of congress-and the peril is in petticoats
You suppose, naturally, that / refer to
women of notorious character; but l do
not. 1t is not they who make things extra
hazardous for the green congressman; the
females he has reason to fear are. so far as
appearances are concerned, reputable.
There are at this moment 1900 women in
this town, of ostensible respectability, who
get a living by preying upon the weak
nesses and fears of men; their
business is blackmail in the most
abominable guise. and the victims
they particularly seek are fresh congress-
men. No sooner does the representative or
senator arrive here for the first time than
%<@f ss~k1,-
TO these adventuresses, several of whom are
likely to make it their special task to entrap
him. However much he may be on his
guard, he is never safe. They find out about
his circumstances, his way of living, and
what sort of man he is--it doesn't make the
slightest difference to them whether he is
married or not-and on these points of in
formation they weave their webs. The
first thing necessary in the process of
ensnaring the quarry is to make his
acquaintance"
A HANDSOME YOUNG WIDOW.
ST should think the attempt would put
him on his guard at once" was suggested.
"Why so! These women, you must remen-
Der, have mostly an altogether respectable
air. Many of them are of most iadylike
exterior, the majority are decidedly pretty,
and not few are really beautiful. Has the
congressman any reason to suspect anything
wrong when handsome young widow, for
instance, seemingly lady and in deep
mourning, calls upon him with request
that he will help her with his influence to
put through certain bill in which she pro-
fesses to be interested Such thing might
occur a score of times in entire good faith
But a representative from my own state
had a visitor of just that description one
day; she came three times, walking up to
his rooms at clearinghouse without send
ing her card ahead, and was on each occa-
sion received with formal courtesy merely.
At the end of a fortnight she sent a lawyer.
announcing that suit for breach of promise
of marriage would be brought Immediately
unless 81 900 was paid to her In response
to my friends indignant protests the shyster
simply said that a gentleman who received
visits from lady alone in his private apart
ments was assuredly subject to unfortunate
misconstruction, and that a lady would be
apt to regard it in the same light; the gen.
tleman might kick him down stairs, it was
true, but that would merely complicate the
case by the addition of an action for as
saut.
I'm many similar case-for breach of
promise is great dodge with these women
congressman have permitted themselves
to be robbed, in order to avoid scandal.
True, the chances were that the action
against them would never be carried
through; but the very report of such a
thing would damage them more than the
moneys worth with their constituents, and
they have preferred to pay. Where the
victim is a bachelor, of course, the game
must be varied; but it is even more readily
played in another shape against man who
has a family and is therefore more anxious
about his reputation. 1t is so easy to get
the prey alone and then threaten to scream
unless he gives money, or, better still, to
get him into a compromising situation, or,
hast Of oil fn tci mic IF ZIG m
writing from him. A large number of
these adventuresses have men with them,
often their husbands, whom they support
by their nefarious trade. Most OF them
preserve all the appearances OF outward
responsibility they are not, in fact, dis
reputa BILE women in the ordinary sense of
the word at ali. Not few of them you
will find at receptions and other social
gatherings, minging unsuspected with
decent people. All the skilled
adventuresses in the country seem to gravi-
tate to Washington, owing to the excep-
tional opportunities for their work offered
here. The men assist them as partners, to
lead the quarry into the traps, or in spying
upon intended prey. often to discover
secrets the keeping of which is worth
money. It does not matter if a man says
he has no money; they reply, You must get
it. and person in such plight will often
60 farther to obtain the cash, even by beg
ging of his friends, than he would under
any other circumstances.
CONGRESSMAN GAMBLERS.
''And this Is only one of the perils,
suppose, to which green congressman are
expoSedW
at is the most serious Of all. Other
dangers and temptations. of course. assali
them in city like this, where life is so gay
and bright that the very atmosphere one
breathes seems stimulating. A member of
congress is so borne along on the rapid
swim of affairs here that his ordinary
routine existence is in a manner feverish,
and for amusement be is apt to seek some
thing extra exciting. Gambling is Sc
duction, and poker-playing especially is a
favorite species of entertainment with con-
gressmen, though play, in general, is no
longer the all-absorbing vice it used to be
In Washington. Popular sentiment gradu-
ally turned against the evil, until at the
present day there are no banking games
played in tie city or district, and if you
want to indulge in faro, roulette, hazard or
rouge-et-noir, you must go across the Poto-
mac to the Virginia shore. At the other
end of the Fourteenth street bridge, or not
far from it, is an unpretentious-looking
farmhouse. With a proper introduction,
you can gain admittance, and the Tiger
will welcome You suitably. Many congress-
men go over there to play. The driving
- L.. .~nw~ @lAv@- n