The morning times., 1897-01-18
THE WOMAN OF THE LOBBY
She Is the Most Influential in
the Business.
EMPLOYED BY WALL STREET
She Was n Social Force in Wash
ington Before This Engagement,
Hut Is Even More So Now-Large
Means Placed at Her Disposal.
Her Shrewd Methods Of Working.

hdhIlIl2lD InOSIli w WO1nH II lOD'
byist is never seen in the lobbies of the
halls OF Congress. For ways that are dark
and remarkably subtle she is indeed pecu
liar. Half her power, perhaps all of it,
would vanish if the men She operates upon
knew what She makes a business OF doing
Yet her secrets were given away the other
day by one of her Wall street employers
He didn't know that he was telling some
thing which, for his own interest, should
rot have been told. II She never plays
Deli.ah again 10 any Samson of Congress
it will be the fault of one of the men
who hired her to do what she is-a director
OF legislation who depends upon the per-
suasiveness of her personal charms and
home rather than upon the persuasiveness
OF bribe or argument.
She was started on this career not long
ago toy Wall street sy Indicate Laws can
make the business OF this syndicate either
success or failure. Hence its anxiety to
have, and its willingness to pay a large
price for, an effective and yet unknown
lobbyist. Its representatives sought out
this woman, already a social force in
Washington, but not so rich that she can
resistthe chance of adding to her resources
Here is the story of the negotiations, as
told, in an indiscreet moment, by one OF
the men who made them
"A few words of explanation sufficcd
10 make the whole plan clear to her, for
her business instincts are phenomenaly
acute. Il viii undertake this, she an-
swered, 'on condition that you give me
$1,000 TO begin with and "a certain per
cent of stock. The $4,000 / shall use in
hiring a handsome house in Washington
and furnishing it as magnificently as
money can do it.
- There Must be, of course, a wine
closet, filled with the rarest vintage
cigars OF the choicest brands by the
thousand; there must be a music room
and music every evening. and few rooms
for men where poker and rouge ct noire
can be played without interruption.
There are many women in Washing
ton who have larger social connection
than mine, she said, but my salon is to
Include the men and women who have
power, and who are not mere social lights
The house is the first and most valuable
help. Ny chief and most valuable hold,
imagine, viii be through the wives of The
married men, or through the daughters OF
others, thus reaching the bachelors in many
cases as well as the fathers
Il told her that many men in Washing
ton, as well as elsewhere, are to be touched
through their acquaintance in the deIni-
monde, for Washington has now a large
class OF women not socially recognized who
can frequently Influence as many Congress-
men as the White House elf. woman
who understands how TO reach this class
can use them as she chooses. She is going
TO use these women.
- To push the schemes OF the syndicate
one must go about it in a peculiar way
she said TO me, keenly. After starting my
salon, as L am a social leader and all that,
/ shall not attempt directly to interest the
statesmen and politicians in the schemes OF
the syndicate. Unless each man was paid
his own special price the whole thing W ould
be spoiled. Many enterprises buy their way
through Congress, L know, but that is too
expensive.
MY own method will be as follows
In the first place, after getting your checL
for the $4,000, the second step will be
for you TO present to me nice block Of
stock II can tell my Congress friends
that their votes can save me from BANK
ruptcy by helping out the trust that holds
my savings (Which is true enough because
the line of work / shall be in will be in
separably connected with personal specula-
ton, past and future, with its inc 7itable
risks, they will then do anything to help
me out. Personal interest will do most
anything. Interest in a stock comUauy
they have never heard of is abolutely nil.
The chief value IF the salon will be to
keep track OF ones friends, and especially
to learn what fences they have need of
White washing.
In approaching new man I have
discovered that it is always best to in
terest yourself first in the job that appeals
to him and 10 his constiruency-the new
Federal building in his town, the dredging
or his river. Your own scheme mast re-
main in the background. You cannot fish
without bait
You know continued the Wall street
man, that If hostile legislation is TO be
prevented, the question imme diately comes
up, How much money is it worth to you to
prevent bill going TO committee? IL iu
has already gone, How much TO prevent
1t from leaving a committee; how much
TO keep it from coming up before Con-
greSs; how much to keep it from coming to
a vote; or, if voted on, how much to stop
it from passing?
with all these data it was easy To cal
culateh0w muchthe woman lobbyist would
be entitled to if able, as she guaranteed,
TO carry the most difficult jobs through.
Since the close of the fall session the house
for her salon has been taken, furnished
and equipped in every particular. New
York has been ranSacked to procure the
pictures, statuary, and bric-a-brac and
furnishings. 1t is said to be the place
of all others in Washington where the