The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-08-13
BRIBERY AND swINpnINe.
Bill Arp Gers some Points from a
Man of ARairs-Che Story of a

Tramp.
Tue number of lncn aud women who
get living by ways that are dark and
tricks that are vain is rapidly in
creasiDg in the South. Every day tie
papers tell Of new schemes and frauds
and shortcuts whereby to get IN ney
without working honestly for it, anu
most oil then by persons who have
good manners, good education and WHO
wear good clothes. Diamond Charley
Is very much of u gentleman, and is
smart enough to make a fortune at
any reputable profession. Ii he would
turn his wits that way he cou'd sue
coed as a politician anu go to Congress
what ~peryers'ty Of nature it is that
fncllnes ouch men TO prefer dishonest
and dangerous methods we cannot tell.
AS a rule, these swindiers are not ma
licious. They would not rob nor do
personal violence, but will commit
forgery or perjury or embezzlement or
larceny with an easy conscience and
all on the principle that justified a
cook we used to have" You all don't
miss what l takes" The State, the
government, the railroads and the
rich are considered by some very re-
spectacle people as legitimate subjects
Tor plumber. The methods OF plumber
differ only in kind. 1t may be zone by
TRICKS OF law in the courthouse or by
bribery in the legislature. | was talk
Ing to o friend-a man of affairs
about this thing OF bribery, and said /
wondered how it was done that
would be afraid the first man | ap.
preached with u bride would haul away
and knock me down. oh" said he,
lit must not be lone that way. Pro
fessional lobbyists know how TO ap.
proach u IA In the first place they
are good judges of human nature, anu
oon have IL mans weak point, his
blind side, as it we're. If he is under
a cloud Ut debt they find it out and
work ON his financial embarrassment.
Sometimes there is q woman in the
case sometimes it Is Office the fellow
wants for his SON, and the lobbyist
shows him how he can accomplish his
desires. | have been in Washington a
great deal and watched these big
Schcmors, who want their bills put
through the committee. / knew a
millionaire who uidn't mind spending
S5O,OOO Il session for promoting his
| ba" n....G".1 MIN TO ios3 a
thn@Sard dollars IL night ut poker
while playing with a United States
Senator. | knew the Senator who won
5000 from him in two weeks, and We,
NO was IL far better player than The
Senator. He let him win so as to place
nlm under an unconscious obligation,
for no generous hearted man would
keep his money and vOtc against his
bill. The Senator was IL brainy. gifted,
eloquent man who stood high IN the
nation and does yet, but he was poor
and needed the mon-y to keep up lis
extravagant family. OF course il
wouldn't do to approach such a n.ar
With ~ direct offer of money for his
vote"
Inis was IL revelation to me. read
not long agO an account Of the death
Of John a. Morris, the lottery king, in
'hich his biographer, who was his
friend, said That he was a most pill
osophic judge Of human nature and
did not hesitate to buy juries and
judges and lawyers and legislature.
aud members of Congress, and that the
only tribunal he never dared to tackle
was the Supreme Court. of the United
States. And yet he was big-hearted
and generous and gave away in charity
not less than half a million dollars a
zeal and made no noise about it that
when he died he was educating and
supporting in generous, lavish style a
dozen or more orphan girls and among
them we're two daughters of General
John B. Hood.
Another way Of bribing a man is tC
J make him a liberal gift for the use OF
his name to some big booming scheme.
as promoting q new town. If money is
moi given IL inuy be took in the
scheme. Just SD patent medicines arc
promoted by ii st convincing u ma
that the medicine is no humhug. but is
Il real honest spuCli;. Or course, he
is easy to conviIc, il he has any ma.
lady himself and there is any profit in
sig mt, and SO we see pre- a ;lere' names
Inquire more frequently in patent mcdi-
cine certificates than any Other class
Their certificates are worth more to
convince 81 credulOu5 public, for, as d
rule, preachers are above suspicion.
a block OF stock in II popular medicine
Is u right good thing to nave in the
family. Many GeOrgiunS remember u
certificate of Il well-knOwn citizen that
was published for months in the Allan
ia papers certifying that Il certain
medicine lac cured him of a malig-
nant cancerous affection. In u year or
so he dice OF that same cancer, but the
certificate emit on. L have beer told
that certain patent medicine men up
North will get up IL pamphlet hat is
for circulation in Texas and Arkansas
and have lots of certificates from peo-
pie in North Carolina aud other Eus-
tern States, and get up another pamph-
let for the Eastern States with ccrtiti-
Gates from Texas and Kansas and Mis-
souri,. They arc very careful about
mixing things III Il piomiscuous man
ner. | don't know whether our mcdi-
cine men have learned this trick or
not.
Credulity is the easiest pray that a
man can set a trap for, and there is no
law against setting the trap. The
New York World tells about a spider
farm in New Jersey, the only one on
this continent, where the F%renchman
openly breeds spiders and sells them
at so cents IL piece to dealers in old
wines and brandies. They put a hun
cred Or so in the wine cellars and the
spiders spin their webs all over the
bottles and give them an ancient ap-
pearance and they have on them old
musty labels marked vintage Of 1900. or
1920, or 1890, n when an old sea cap
tain or other wine bibher comes along
hunting for some that is old and mel.
low, they will show him the cobwobs
and sell it to him for So IL bottle. This
was published as Il fact-an u%nblushing
TACT without any invidious comment.
On the contrary, 1T was called quite IL
novel enterprise" just so IN st every.
thing that we get from up there come
IN no aduiterate1. The anoor ~,