Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-06


NA regularly. and the
Y WT -- sessions of the SUBJ
! NH committees to which
he Is assigned and
performs the task allotted to him there he
will do we'll aside from any other work.
But he must also attend the sessions of the
House and be in readiness to sustain or
oppose bills that affect his constituents.
Next in importance Is his mail. A good
Congressman always answers his letters
promptly. If an old member of the House,
he receives from forty to seventy-flve let
tiers day. One letter in a hundred may
| contain a postage stamp. He pays the
postage for answers to the remainder out
of his own pocket. II he is a member of
the Grand Army. many Of the requests
will be to look up claims for pensions and
use his influence in forwarding settlements.
If he is a democrat. dozen Of the letters
will be applications for office directly or in
| directly. Some may be from mutual friends
and others -ndorsed by persons OF infiu-
ence. If he visits the departments and at
| tends personally to all these requests, this
alone will take up his entire time. Some
are applications made by constituents, but
the majority come from persons who have
no such claim upon the attention of the
representative. Then there are letters
making applications for public documents,
all of which require more or less attention
Aside from this work the Congressman
Is personally importuned in every corridor
and at every turn in the Capitol. If he de-
sires to go from the House to his committee
room, he may be an hour in reaching it,
and by the time he gets there, unless he is
a man of strong mind, he forgets the OBJ
ject for which he started.
| IL he attends strictly 70 hiS dufy fpyas
tigating bills. drawing UP reports and keep
ing close watch upon the legislation Of
/ the House. he will not have time to keep
abreast with the news Of the day, or at
tend to any social obligations. He will do
We'll to find time to eat and sleep To IL
lustrate this 1t is only necessary to detail
one day in the life of Congressman.
A Typical Days Duties.
Take day in the week ending December
16. 1898. The Congressman lives at hotel
near the Capitol. Before o'clock in the
morning cards are sent to him. One is
from young lady bringing letter from a
gentleman residing a thousand miles from
the Congressman's district. asking him to
secure a place for her in one Of the de-
partments. Another is from a veteran
member Of the GAR. who thinks he has
been illegally discharged from government
employment. A third is from some school,
mate who desires a personal introduction
to the President. Disposing of these WIS.,
itors as best he can, the Congressman goes
to the Capitol, ordering his breakfast at the
House restaurant While on MS way 10 MS
There he finds his mail. Beside the let
| ters there are a basketful Of newspapers.
many of which contain marked articles for
inspection. Then there Is raft or pupfc
| documents and pamphlets on all conceiv-
able subjects from silver and pension leg
islation down to matters or trfning inter-
est Cranks present visionary schemes
and persons interested in private bills
flood him with circulars. He is invited to
banquets and receptions and asked to re-
nit checks for tickets of admission to en-
tertainments given for charitable and other
purposes.
He has barely time to sift the heap be-
fore he Is called to breakfast. Even here
unless wary he is subject to importunities
from visitors. On his way back 20 the
committee room he is buttonholed by dele
cations around the doors OF the committee
of ways and means and urged to use his
influence toward changing the tariff sched-
ule Preserving his equanimity. he does
his best for his friends and is nailed at the
door of his room by committees from the
chamber of commerce and Maritime Asso-
ence against a bill damaging to the COM
merciaI interests of the city they represent.
With His Committee.
He arrives at his committee room in time
to take part in the deliberations Of a sub
committee intrusted with a bill of great
Importance. The meeting lasts until high
noon, when the Speaker calls the House
to order The legislative mill begins to
turn out it's grist To vote intelligently he
must pay close attention and understand
thoroughly the subject under discussion
But he finds it difficult to remain in his
seat three minutes.
If he goes to the restaurant to lunch he
| is accOSted a dozen times before he reaches
it, Once at lunch, however, he is com.
paratively safe, unless those seeking him
are lunching at the same time.
Here constituent presents case In
which prompt attention is required. An
appointment is pending. and action must
be taken at once. After a hasty lunch
they catch the cable cars and HE to the
Treasury Department. They walt an houl
or more before the Secretary can be seen
and then are compelled to wait their turn
before they can address him. Even in the
department the Congressman is not relieved
| from opportunities He meets others who
are there upon similar business and who
urge him to give whatever aid he can.
Back to the Capitol he goes without &C
complishing the object sought. Before HI
gets into the House he Is urged to favol
this measure or to oppose that A friend
desires him to press upon the committed
on claims some personal bill. Another
wants him to see the committee on mill
|
relieving some man from the charge Of
desertion. third tells him a narrowing
story Of a young lady who has lost hel
place in one Of the departments and ap
peals to his sympathies to do what he car
toward reinstating her. A fourth has
claim in the auditors office and urges tn,
Congressman to revisit the department a,t
use his influence toward securing its pay
ment.
A fifth is a Washington correspondent
| who wants his views on Hawaii and tn
Kanaka queen. Here is man who ha
trouble in the patent office, and in defiance
of the law wants the Representative to visi
the commissioner and expedite the matte
, If possible. Here is another from away OF
in California seeking a place as clerk in tn
, | Mare Island navy yard, and there a third
, who wants a rare book printed by the Agri
cultural Department years ago and entirel,
out of print. Here comes a page informin,
the Representative that Senator So-and-s
wants to speak to him a moment in tn
Senate chamber.
The Congressman starts for the othe
wing Of the Capitol and is met by consttu