The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-05-18
$4,000 ORONEDRINK
WHAT IT WOULD COST CONGRESS-
MAN SOUTHWlCX DURING 1896.

WHAT IT WOULD COST CONGRESS-
MAN SOUTHWlCX DURING 1896.
The Eoyish Looking Representative From
the Empire State VIII Get 81, GOO Should
He BE Able to Withstand Temptation
FOR Three Vundred and Sixty-six days.
If Congressman S0uthwlck Of Ne"
York state takes a drink Of whisky be-
fore the end Of his first year in congress,
it will cost him 81, 900 and some odd
ccnts-that is, unless the drink is a
treat, when the odd cents will be knock
ed off, but the 81. 600 viii be the price
Just the same. Champagne or brandy,
sherry or gin, i cocktail or absinth OR
whatever the drink, it will come just Us
high.
If COngressnan SOuthwick should
forget himself and yield to the t"mpta-
tionS of punch this year, it would be
the most expensive single drink on rec
ord among congressman.
On the contrary, if Mr.. SOuthwiCk
doesn't take that drink until he has been
in congress 3GG days, lie Will earn $1,000
thereby.
Congressman Southwick is ono Of the
congressional bab"s. If he isn't various
~ taken for page, messenger boy or
some older members young son it Will
be a marvel. IL is n nice young nan
and his recent experience with congress
has made him ycLrn Tor WhlSkeCs liN
Pe1Tcr's and a head as bald rs Speaker
Reeds.
Southwick insists he is 50 years old.
1t is all lie ran do now to persuade the
chairman CT his committee that he is
old enough to vote. He is thoroughly
sick Of being called z bcardless youth
and insists that his residence IN Albany
and his acquaintance with The Tub"
and its inmates ought to count Us more
ripening experiences than those Of mem
bers from country districts where AL
bany and THE Tub" were never heard
Of.
The congressman is not tall, is solid
ly built, has blond hair and eyebrows,
is blase and now tries to be very digni-
fed to offset his boyishness.
He campaigned through his district Of
course. and campaigning isn't a temper
ance job. Before he went to Washing
ton a we'll known millionaire who
knows the capitals temptations suggest
ed that it was easy to ruin a congress
siOnal career by strict attention to the
decanter and none to the house. The
millionaire wanted to be sure Of his
boyish friends sobriety.
This is how he fixed it. If Southwick
touches intoxicants before the expiration
of his first year in congress, he f~orfeits
$4,000. If he doesn't, the millionaire
hands over 81 600 to Southwick. South
wick told this himself.
If the congressman has an enemy,
when he reads this the enemy will set
his brains to work 10 see that Southwick
gets a So, 1000 glass of whisky. Some
men would be proud to have the reputa-
ton Of having paid that much for a
drink. 1t would quite surpass the draft
Of pearls Shakespeare tells about.
There are endless temptations in
Washington for new members of con-
gress. This will explain Southwick's re-
fusal to accept the glasses Of fascinating
punch already offered him by pretty
girls when he appears at receptions.
A temperance society fiourishes among
congressman and senators, but South
wick. who has a good, firm mouth and
square jaw, has no expectation Of join
ing it to help earn that other 1000.
Congressman Southwick is an old Al
bany newspaper man and still in the
business. He is unmarried and ranks
with Sulzer and Rowland Blennerhasset
Mahany as eligibles in New York's del
egation. New York World.