The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-06-05
IF CHRIST CAME TO CONGRESS
A Printed Letter From the Author
of That Noted Book.
WHERE is YOUR CONGRESSMAN
TONIGHT?
Living Pictures Drawn by a VigOr.
GUS Pen-Corruption and Brib.
cry Walk Hand in Hand
With Luxury and Lii
centiOusness.


gresham Howard, of Alabama, portrays
in glowing colors the infamy and mi
guilty of our nations capitol and the de-
moralizing influences of that plague spot
Of corruption:
New York, May 6.-The great issue OF
the future is plutocracy against democ-
racy. do not mean democracy, as rep
resented by the so-called Democratic
party, but true genuine democracy-the
democracy that stands for government
of the people, for the people and by the
people l do not mean the democracy of
Grover Cleveland, for it is only plutoc-
racy masquerading in stolen costume.
/ mean the democracy of Thomas Jeffer-
son, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lin
coin. The issue is now clearly defined,
and it is to be the greatest, the most stu
pendous struggle of all the ages. 1t is
the uprising of the people against the
money power.
Today we have the rule of money as
opposed to a government by the people,
and just little more strengthening of
it's bulwarks, and plutocracy will be in
vincible, and the gulf fixed between the
very rich and the very poor will be I'M
fathomable and impossible, and 10000
900 people will be slaves to a few thou
sand.
The people are awakening with start
and looking about in wild alarm as they
realize how perilous are their conditions.
They now see that while they have slum-
bered and slept the money power has
bound them hand and foot and carried
away their wealth.
Washington is the seat of the struggle
that is now going on. When man en-
tiers congress, he must enlist himself on
one side or the other of this conflitc. He
cannot remain neutral. If he wishes to
be courted and feted by society, if he de-
sires the praises of the plutocratic press,
If he is looking for the fat places for his
relatives, if his heart longs for the smiles
and sycOphantic fawningS of the ariS
tocracy of wealth, if he has greed to
possess riches even beyond the dreams
of avarice, he has only to be the willing
tool of plutocracy, the minion of the
trust and corporations, and all these
things are his.
If, on the other hand, he champions
the cause of the people and stand up for
the toilers of the nation and antagonizes
the money barons and Shylocks, who are
enslaving the honest yeomanry of the
country, he will be called a crank, an
agitator and an anarchist.
He will be scorned by society, ma
ligned. abused and .ridiculed by the plu
tocratic press and treated discourteously
and snubbed by those in power and given
to understand that he has no influences
with the administration.
These are the conditions which con-
front every man when he goes to Wash
ington, and he must become the ally of
plutocracy and desert the people or stand
up and fight the money power and incur
its bitter hatred.
The capitol of our nation is reeking
with bribery, RIGHTEOUSNESS and corrup-
ton. swarm of lobbyists fill the cor
ridOrs and offer brides to senators and
congressman. Women of unsavOry rep
utations join disreputable men and lobby
with our lawmakers. The trusts are
represented by shrewd, scheming agents,
and the railroads keep standing army"
of corruptionists.
Lobbying has become profession for
scores of eX-SenatOrs and ex-congress-
men who have failed of reelection. In
deed would be nearer the truth to class
1t with fine arts, for the expert lobbyist
is certainly an artist in his line.
Corruption and bribery walk hand in
hand with luxury and RIGHTEOUSNESS.
When man yields to pressure brought
to bear on him and betrays the people,
he becomes an easy prey to vicious hab-
its. Once started on the downward road
there is no stopping, and he ends his
days in shame and infamy, veritable
Benedict Arnold.
This deathly cankerworm of corrup-
ton, born of plutocracy, has entered
into the very heart of our body polite
and is now gnawing at the nations vi
tails.
We need not hope for reform where
plutocracy governs. We need not ex-
pect just, wholesome laws while the very
men who are to make laws have sold
themselves, body and soul, to the money
power.
We can never get pure stream from
an impure source. Before we can hope
for relief we must overthrow plutocracy
and scourge its minions, the lobbyist,
the cOrruptionists, the prostitutes and all
the unfaithful servants from the capitol,
even as Christ scourged the money chan
gers IL OA Tic IcI1piC VI JcIuSdlcm
Now it has become a veritable den of
thieves. Let us make it the dwelling
place of liberty and purity.
My earnest desire in writing my book
eff Christ Came to Congress-" was to
reveal to the American people the most
shocking state of corruption which ever
existed, and to point out the dangers
which menace our liberty.
The plutocratic press allover the coun-
try is heaping abuse on me for telling
the truth and sounding the note of warn
ing, but so long as my conscience ap-
proves of my course l will continue to
antagOnize plutOcracy with its endless
chain of corruption and fight the battle
of the people.
will give one or two passages form
my book as slight example of the curse
which plutocracy has brought upon our
nation. .
"The next arrival was a cabinet officer,
but we will not describe him, for his pro-
pensities are so well known in Washing
ton at least that he will be readily recog-
nized. He had with him one of the most
oeautiful ladies of Washington, and they
were in high good humor and very much
in love, and were toying with each other
by the time the door was closed. The
watchers were startled. Could they be-
leive their eyes or was this some hallu-
cination? Could it be possible that a
member of the Presidents cabinet would
come here? Yes, it was true, and they
saw him go to room with his fair COM
panion and heard the door lock.
up,,t uro will draw the curtain and