The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-16
THREE SENATE CHUMS
FAIRBANKS, FORAKER AND HOBART
VERY WARM FRIENDS.
Gossip About Senators and Happen
ings in WashingfOn-COunterfeit
silver COins-COIOnel MOsby.
al to the INDIANAPOLIS Journal.

Special to the indianapolis Journal.
WASHINGTON, May 1.-THE two chum-
miest men in the Senate are Foraker, of
Ohio, and Fairbanks, of Indiana. They
went to school together in the same ONO
town, and they are just beginning on their
first terms in the Senate of the United
States. Mr.. Fairbanks is tall and lean, with
a dark brown beard adjoining his face. while
his colleague is a man of medium height
athletic build and very gray, wearing only
a mustaChe. They live at the same MOTEL
the Arlington, are dining companions ana
in the evening after they complete their
correspondence and get through receiving
calls from constituents it is their unVary-
ing practice to take long walks together,
often times not returning to their hotel
until after midnight. Vice President Ho-
bart is also very chummy with these gem
tlemen, and is with them a great deal. Be
tween the Vice President and Senator Fair
banks, in particular, a very warm personal
friendship has sprung up. They are about
the same age and have very similar tastes.
Both are millionaires, and their knowledge
of affairs was acquired in about the same
school. What they do not know about the
practical application of railroad laws is not
worth knowing.
There are two men in the Senate who are
continually suggesting inquiries and inves-
legations that tend to disturb the equanirn-
ity of individuals and combinations having
dealings with the government on a large
scale. These men are Senators Chandler,
OF New Hampshire, and Pettigrew, of South
Dakota. Senator Chandler does not con-
fine his enterprise to any one speciality, but
travels the entire field, taking in railroads,
trusts, armor-plate, navigation companies,
Indians, prohibition and elections. Senator
Pettigrew's especial detestation is trusts
and the Immigrant railroads. He is now
engineering a scheme through the Senate
by means of which he hopes to uncover the
illegal acquisition by one of H~untington's
California railroads of over a million acres
of very valuable land, and of other millions
of acres by the Pacific Railroads, through
the agency of patents that We're issued
without authority Of law, and with the as
sistance of influential parties in the Gen
eral Land Office in Washington. He prom
Uses sensational disclosures in connection
with his investigating project.
Attention is being directed sharply to-
wards the investigation into the practical
= VI N3o - 3CA fA@S W ~ q
senatorial committee under the direction of
Senator Pritchard, of North Carolina. Many
queer things are being developed, and many
odd bits of testimony are given at the hear
ing. The other day the committee had a
colored man on the witness stand who
was holding some kind of a government job.
He was telling the committee something
about another clerk, and when asked if he
knew what influence secured the man his
place on the government pay rolls, re-
marked:
"Oh, he's a portugee of Senator Morgan"
Hes Senator Morgan's what?' asked
Senator Pritchard.
'Portugee," insisted the witness.
And then someo he in the back of the room
suggested protege. The committee laughed.
and the investigation proceeded.
+
The old-time lobbyists in Washington are
starving to death. The special interests de-
sirous of promoting or impeding legislation
or securing favor in departments no longer
give large fees to the gentlemen of the
third house. but seek to make connec-
tons with attorneys who enjoy the dis
friction of membership in one or the other
branches Of Congress. They do not bride
congressman. They simply retain them to
look after certain legal business. 1t is a CO.
incidence, probably, but the member of the
important committees nave the cali on
lucrative outside employment, and, al
though nothing is said about it, it is as
sumed that attorneys who have desirable
committee places will not anita gonize the
interests of their employers in legislative
matters. One of the great lawyers of the
country, who was for many years chairman
Of tho Ga,o+a 3,,1;afor rY aO oooi Id -,,,l.
an immense private corporation practice
that whenever the Supreme Court was in
session he had very little time to devote
tC his official duties. The advantage of that
sort of an arrangement seems to be more
thoroughly anticipated now than ever be-
sort of an arrangement seems to be more
porations is scattered where it will do the
most good, instead of being concentrated in
a few hands, as formerly. The old has
beens,' who, UP to within a recent period.
were able to make fat livings lobbying. are
still to be seen skulking about the corridors
and committee rooms of the Capitol; but
they are lean and hungry and have the gen.
eral appearance of whipped dogs. They no
longer give wine dinners and take con-
gressmen away on picnics and fishing eX-
cursions and other orgies. A hand-to-mouth
living is all they can now realize.
The cashiers and money counters of the
Treasury Department continue frequently
to run across counterfeit silver half dollars
and dollars. These bogus coins are in al
II ost exact similitude of the genuine, both
in weight, hueness and general finish. But
they vary sufficiently to enable experts to
detect the difference. The officials of the
Treasury Department have no means of
knowing the amount of these counterfeits
in circulation, but they do not believe the
aggregate is very large as yet, although
there is every indication of a steady in
crease in the volume. The secret service
has not been able to locate the source
of supply, and the belief prevails in the
Treasury Department that the manufacture
has not been gone into on a very extensive
scale. With silver at 81 cents per ounce
the commercial value of the metal entering
nto silver dollars is about IS cents, which
would show an apparent margin of profit
in counterfeiting of 81 cents. This would
seem to be q great inducement for UNI
scrupulous persons to engage in the bust
ness, but Uncle Sans safety lies in the
difficulty in putting the spurious coin into
circulation. Counterfeit silver coin is much
harder to shove" than gold or paper coun-
terfeits, and, if extensive human machin-
cry is employed to put the stuff in circula-
ticn on a scale great enough to pay large
ly. the chances of detection become multi