Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1890-04-20
VOLUME AND QUALITY OF THE CORRESPOND
ENCE IN THE HOUSE
Letters Circulars and ewspapers-Political and
Religious Tracts-Washington's Pin and
Jacks0ns Cane-Iroubles Of God
love Ortiz.

Sgecin Covesp0ndlace ofthe Register.
WASHINGTON. ID. c., April lS.-About
five thousand letters a day are received by
the members of the House. Prominent
representatives, average daily from twenty
five TO one hundred letters. \ chairman Of
q prominent committee gets more than one
of the minority Of the Committee on RcvO-
utionary Claims Gen Harry Bingham,
chairman of the Postotiicc Committee,
averages fifty Il day. Gen. Ben Butter
worth. Chairman of the Committee on
Patents receives a larger number Ma
jOr Mckinley. chairman OF the Committee
ON WAYS and Means, is overwhelmed
with letters from the people. \ new mem
Der receives eight or ten letters day at
the beginning of his career in Congress.
The number gradually increases. II he re
mains in the House half a dozen terms IL
will nearly double with each succeeding
term. With the letters come scores OF pub
lie Documents and quantities of newspapers.
AT times the desk of a member resembles
the exchange" table of a rural editor The
exchanges are thrown i'm heap under his
desk as fast as they are opened and perused.
The pages gather them in and they are sold
for old paper Letters sent TO Represcn-
tatiVcs i'm Congress- come from men repre-
scntiug nearly every trade and profession
I'm life. Some are written i'm beautiful
hand. while others are fearful scrawls. \
few are pointed and pithy, but many are
verbose and unmeaniug
Quaint and funny letters are scattered
through "a Congressman mail The Rep
rcscutative is beset by many correspond
cnts seeking financial aid. More than this,
the managers of fairs and festivals for be
nevOlent. religious and other purposes send
him scores of tickets and request him 10
remit the money for them. He gets them
not ONLY from his own district, but also
from the District of Columbia. Washing
ton levics personal tax upon all Congress
men. Ii charges them more for board and
rooms than others are charged. II takes
one day in twelve I'm the House Of legisla-
tion i'm its interest. II has lately, to use a
sentcntiOus slang expression. got onto the
ticket racket and is working it for all II is
WORTH
Along with the letters come scores of cir
culars, gaudily printed and otherwise.
Taiiors. jewellers, real estate men, caterers.
printers. cOrn-d0ctors, clcrgymen. racing
associations. distillcrs. type-writers, claim
agents and others seek patronage Political
and religious tracts and woman suffrage
and prohibition circulars load down his
mails There are protests from farmers,
Knights of Labor. postonice clerks print
crs. pilots and hundreds of others against
legislation threatening their intcrerts. The
tariff agitation brings him communications
from "a thousand trades and Industries inn
ploring attention They range from the
great iron manufacturer down 20 the makers
of tooth picks and corss
4 wise Congressman never allows ms
mail To accumulate. He Sits 10 every day
and answers his letters promptly. In this
way he pleases his correspondents and
saves much time and annoyance for himself.
Some of the mis5ives received are very
amusing. Not LONG ago Representative
from a Gulf State opened letter while Sit
ting at his desk. He smiled and passed 1t
TO "a brother member. 10 came from a con-
stituent. The writer was evidently a
poor man on the lookout for "a fortune AT
Ter "a long preface about his health and the
health of his family he came 10 business.
He said that his wife had big gold breast
pin with "a wooden back. Upon the back
were carved the initials, &c. w He
claimed that the carving was done 10y
George Washington himself at Mt Yer
non. soon after the revolution. He had
tried TO sell the pin I'm the county where he
lived. but had never been offered more than
I two dollars for il.
zone man. " ne said. "tricd to swap a hoe
for the pin. but ] got shut of him mighty
quick. ] done reckoncd that YOU, bcin' a
/ Congressman. knowcd some milyOnarc up
I'm the House who comes from Moo York
or Boston, who would be right glad 10 pay
fore or five hundrid dollars for the pin"
He added that If his Congressman could
find such % man he would be will
ing TO pay him five dollars for his trouble.
He wanted To- hear from him right away.
| not ., the laffnrs
This letter was shown i'm the cloak
room during "a dull debate. 10 brought
ont another letter received by "a Florida
hc understood there was reward Of five
hundred dollars offered for duplicate of
the cane carried by General jackson
while he lived M the White House. He
added that me had lately heard that
this cane was on exhibition I'm the Ma
tional Museum iu Washington. He be-
sought his Congressman TO hire photog-
raphcr and 90 down 10 the museum and
take a big photograph of the cane. Then
hc could send him the photograph. and ne
thought me could make perfect duplicate
with his jack knife. His confidence i'm his
whiting powers was so great that he
promised TO pay all the expenses of the
Congressman and % give him fifteen dol
lars besides if hc would forward the photo
graph and find the man who offered the five
hundred dollars for the duplicate
The writer was anxious that the Repre-
sentative should go 10 work as soon as pos
sible as he wanted 10 invest the money In
some iron land near Rome, Ga
The exhibition of this letter evoked an-
other received by North Carolina Repre-
sentative A few weeks ago be found i'm
mis- mail letter from the wife of a consti-
tucut i'm the mountains. She was making
"a crazy quilt. She besought him 10 90 10
the President the members of the Cabinet.
the General of the Army. the Admiral of
the Navy. the Justices of the supreme
Court. and all the Senators and Congress
men and get AN old tie from each one She
asked that he would do so immediately and
forward the ties by express. They would
bee used I'm making the quilt. The quilt
could then bee sold al "a church fair and
enough money raised 20 buy new Bible
for the preacher.
Another member displayed "a letter re
ceived from West Virginia. 4 square Of
white silk was mclOscd. The writer was "A
young lady who was getting up an auto
graph quilt for church fair She asked
that the Representative would put his auto
graph upon the strip of silk and give TWEEN
tv-fve cents 10 have 10 sewed into thcqullt
He was 10 wrap the twenty-five cents in the
silk and inclose IL In "A letter. The Repre-
sentative did as requested. II each Repre-
sentative sent his sample and quarter the
Young lady received four hundred and nine
teen autographs and one hundred ana four
dollars and seventy-tye cents.
Benton McMillin retailed an amusing
story which he said be had heard from the
lips of Godlovc = Ortiz, formerly we'll
known Representative from Indiana. soon
after the beginning of the war an old Hoo
sier. who lived in his district. wrote him a
letter II was addressed 20 the
UONRIBEL GODDESS S. ORTIZ,
ulI-E az Ru-.