The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-12-01
FOR WINNING VOTES.
NOVEL SCHEMES OF CONGRESSMAN
TO SECURE POPULARITY.

Yet Their Lots Are Not Happy-Errani
Boys and Lead Dogs Lives-Oueer Expe
dents to Gain Good VILLA Desperate
Case.
| WASHINGTON, Nov. 90. = Especial. j
The senators and representatives are com
ing back to town for the long winter ses
sion. Many of them bring their wives and
families, and soon the social season will
be in full blast. The regular social sea-
son in Washington is ushered in by New
Years day, but all through December
there will be many dinners and small par
ties. A larger number of congressman
I'll nm ever before will live in hotels this
winter, sure evidence of hard times. 1t
is cheaper to live in a hotel than to keep
house in Washington. Most of the con-
gressmen who can afford it rent houses
and olive" The others merely aboard. P"
| A majority of the senators take houses. A
senator's term is for six years, and he has
q certainty before him for that length of
time at least The poor representative,
however, must look forward to the posi-
| bility of defeat in the coming year, and
with this staring him in the face he can
not afford to rent house and settle down
as if he meant to live here. So he takes
| to the hotels and boarding houses Thirty
of the IS senators live in hotels-five or six
of them in one house. Probably three
! fourths of the members of the house of
representatives live either in hotels or
boarding houses. In one hotel, on Penn
sylvania avenue, not far from the capitol,
may be found so or 40 representatives and
their families, besides number of sena-
tors
To Win Votes.
This is the time of the year when con-
gressmen begin scheming for reelection.
Now they lay plans for capturing the del
egates to their district conventions or for
winning votes enough to give them an
other term in case they are nominated.
Between the two the life of congress
man is not happy one. He must spend
most of his leisure hours debating or writ
ing letters TO constituents who are anX-
ious about that appointment which has
never come. Speeches ON the tariff and
other questions must be prepared-any-
thing that will help along on the road to
popularity.
Congressman sometimes adopt queer ex-
pedients to gain the good will of their con-
stituents. Years ago a member from a
western state was very much afraid he
would be knocked out in the approaching
campaign. He had not managed to make
himself power in congress. In fact, his
constituents had never heard of him doing
anything besides voting with his party
when his name was called and drawing
his salary. He was desperate. Something
must be done to please his people at home,
or he would be buried out of sight. A
bright young woman to whom he had de-
scribed his troubles said to him:
"You live near the center of the United
States, don't you?"
"Yes,n
"Then why don't you introduce bill
to have the capitol moved to the principal
town in your district?'
'The very thing"
Reward For Genius.
And he introduced the bill. Tt worked
to a charm. The people of his district at
once concluded he was a great man and
with much enthusiasm sent him back for
another term, SO that he might press his
removal bill and secure its passage. In
the next congress he reintroduced the same
measure, and though it was promptly pig
eonholed in the committee room, and of
course he never got a chance to make a
speech on it, his people stood by him and
gave him third term as a reward for his
genius.
During the recent debate in the house
on the federal elections bill a member of
congress asked a newspaper correspondent
to take luncheon with him. Over the
oysters the statesman spoke as follows:
"Will you do me little favor?"
"Certainly."
81 belong to one party and your paper
to the other. That is no reason why you
should refuse to give me little lift, is it?"
"N-no.'
''Well, this is what would like to have
you do. am going to make speech this
afternoon on the elections bill. Don't
make any report of it, except to mention
that / spoke, and use this as a pretext for
abusing me. Say everything mean about
me you can think of. Lay it on thick.
Call me names, say am bigoted Repub-
ican, a contemplate radical, a-well, you
know how to do it, only make it just as
wicked and abusive as you can. You see,
if you write about me in this way, my peo-
pie will say: well, if that is the way the
Democratic papers go for him, there must
be something in him. Guess he's doing
pretty well GOWN at washington, aItcr
ALL They'll write to me for copy of my
speech, and it will help me to capture the
convention for another term. Do you seer"
Yet They Consent.
Now and then a congressman becomes
tired of this continual scheming and in
triguing to maintain popularity and beat
back the ambitious men who press forward
trying to get his job away from him. Rep
resentative Bynum of Indianapolis is one
OF this kind. Though Mr.. Bynum has
made great success in politics, being one
of the prominent men ON the Democratic
side and mem Der of the greatest commit
tee of the house-that ON ways and means
he spoke out in this fashion few DAYS
ago:
81 am weary of this thing. To be
congressman is to lead dogs life. A
congressman is nothing but an errand boy
for a lot of fellows who imagine they have
great claims on him because they voted
for him. / am tired of being pulled and
hauled about and think / will give it up.
With half the work put in here could
earn twice my salary as lawyer
A newspaper correspondent, hearing Mr..
Bynum talk in this strain, at once sent q
dispatch to the effect that the Indianapo-
lis representative would decline another
term, and the correspondent was very