The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-11-26

treasury department nj Washington.
foolishly wrote a novel called Ia or.
flee, y and still more foalishly put III,
name on the back of it. This novel taYe
q reasonably faithful picture Of Wash
ington life and the result OF it was hat
Bogey lost his job As we have had
the governmental investigation of ptet
~ much everything else. ii lstime that
We had a governmental investigation VI
the lives Of congressman In relation
to feminine appointments Mt the
national capital That was what
Bogey's book WAS about and it told
the truth in n crude way. We viii
not have the governmental iuvesti
cation, of course, because the inyestiga
tion would have to ho ordered by con
gress, However idiotic that may be in
most things, our Representatives nrp not
going to break their wi neclis. Tho
daily papers might handle the matter
%Iittingly, but thcanily press investigate,
nothing II is not paid Ia investigate and
attacks nothing whose counter attack
may affect its revenue. Sexual relations
in Washington, however, are tho The
most gigantic scandals Of the tilaoa
They are 80 we'll understood there tlat
they eNciteo only n ~laseinR comment aud
that of the smiling kind, There IL not
a matron in Washington, there ia not a
girl moro than rs years old who An,s
not know that hundreds OF women drs~
salaries from the government heaaua2
they are the mistrcs4es of congrraanieu,
or other me With influence with the
appointing power One meets with
them everywhere. Some Of them srn
received into the most exclusive social
circles, merely because there has leon
no e%sclandor, Others move In lower
spheres. All. however are promptly OF
hand at their respective desks at 30 IN
the morning and do no work until 4 y,
m, when they are dismissed for the
day. The wages Of their sin run from
$50 to fl20 n month, The bargain that
they make IL deliberate, In many cases
ita details are unfolded to them before
they leave their homes In the Tar west,
or south, or north They go to Wash
ington with their eyes open. There Is
no seduction about it. They agree
to surrender their bodies to in.
dividual prostitution in return for y
place on the government pay rolls and
II residence In the capital, which for
most women who know nothing abont
has n powerful attraction 1t il =
thing, but 1t exists. Not inffe'
quently n congressman will have =
half dozen Of such appointees scattered
about in the departments This highly
American method of keeping n harcm
Mt government expense has been ON
in Washington for more tlau fifty
years, but 1t has attained Its present
Angean proportions only since tho wa
Is increasing instead Of decreasing
and, as said before, has come 10 DO u mat,
ter Of course. II has one most villain
BUS effect There are plenty u good
in Washington who hold GOV.
eminent positions md they suffer for
Lle sins Of their Trailer sisters. a hun
lred congressional mistresses among
!, 500 female employees Of tho treasury
department. tinge the reputation of tho
whole. "Who is Mrs. S0-and,so's soma
Is asked, and probably tho name
IF some gray bearded goat IL giyon She
nay be a woman who would lay down
Ter life for her honor, but the nod and
eek and wreathed smile 20 round. The
superintendent Of tae next cetlafts has
,ecn named | do not recall him, bat
he man for the place has been selected.
/ remains TO be seen how he will run
lis department. The census bureau
which compiled the statistics for 1880
vas the talk Of Washington Porter
vas Its head. The building IL located
n Ninth street, between D. and i.
nd at that time contained something
Ike five hundred woruen Its estab,
ishiment was regarded ~ q blessed thing
" congressman. who had a number VI
somen on hand whom they coull not
ebauch unless places were found TOT
hem, and all the places In the depart.
rents were used up. In the census
ureau worked, or rather loafed, the
iistrcsses OF many congressman and tho
listresses Of newspaper mon who wrote
ufs for the congressman. Those who
now Washington know that the
hances are n hundred to ono in favor
{ a repetition OF this outrage. Tho
correspondents OF the dailiea do not
andle these matters for obvious req
ms, Their dispatches would not he
o printed II they did They woula
icceed only In getting themselves ont
influential and paying positions
ow and then somebody in Washington
llo car write, or thinks he can write,
rms crazy, as Bogey turned crazy, and
bounced off the face Of the enrtb, aa
pgcy was bounced 1t goes without
ying that II any daily paper should
q corps of correspondents st
capitol with instructions to s,nita
ID spare not, its circulation would
uch the million mark. Such a force,
ID only such a force, could purify
'%ashington. IL would be necessary
'ly to give undoubted facts, with
ines and dates. Bnt X will never be
me.
Washington, Oct. 10,
w A food Record,