The San Francisco call., 1897-01-04
J. c. Holloway.

forces and concentrating their strength.
The new mem Der who intends to keep his
| pledges and to save to the State every
| dollar of expense that he can, will find it
very hard to resist the pleadngs of inti-
mate friends and persons who favored him
IN business way, and he is lost in won
der at the strong hold that the applicant
has gained on those friends. Then when
he finds that his neighbor in the Senate
or Assembly is disposed to be a little lib
eral with the funds of the State in order
TO maintain his popularity among the
workers as good fellow the temptation
in many cases becomes too strong to be re-
sisted.
He will find what more experienced
men than he have found before-that a
political pull, when it is genuine, is the
strongest kind OF a pull. The tug of war
Is nothing but the play Of an infant in
comparison with it. So the friends of the
applicants are bidding them to be of good
cheer and to wait patiently the turn OF
events.
Many of the old familiar faces are seen
in the old familiar places. There is Mrs.
Harris of Sacramento, whom every bod Y
knows, again at her post. the entrance 10
the Golden Eagle Hotel. for an hour or
two, and the ladies' parlor. lying in wait
for Senators and Assem- blymen, asking
them 10 help her to get the appointment
as custodian of the ladies' cioakroom in
the halls of lie ii Station. She had the job
before and was enabled to better care for
her invalid husband. She is persistent
worker and knows neither rest nor re-
fusal.
Long John Wilkins makes the sidewalk
in front of the hotel look like old times,
his tall form rising above the crowd like
an ebony monument. He is after any
thing that may come handy to keep the
wolf from the door while the Legislature
is in session.
T. III. Mccarthy is here in the interest
of the teachers pension bill, and although
it is almost too early to talk about bills
until after the election of United States
Senator ne is on deck day and night, doing
like the rest of them-talking, talking.
Wherever a body of politicians are gath
cred together there you will find one of
Nose Gunst's biggest 45-caliber cigars
with Jake Steppacher behind it. Jake is
and has been the secretary of the Repub-
lican State Central Committee for many
years, and no man in the State is better
acquainted with the routine of Republi-
can polit les than he. OF him Major Nc
Laughlin, who knows something himself,
said that he was valua Bile mine of politi-
cal information. Jake is noted for his
reticence. Nobody except the person Off
cially entitled thereto can get any infor-
nation out of him. He is mystery of
the lobbies, and even his cigar does not
know how strong pull he bas on it. Jake
is in evidence day and night. but he is not
saying anything. w. B. Hamilton, Sena-
tor Perkins political manager. is on the
ground looking out for the interests of his
friend.
There is the usual number of ladies lob
bying for clerkships and other positions
in both houses. The feeling against the
employment of women in politics is grad
ually wearing away. They make good
clerks, don't get drunk and run cut all
night with the rest of the boys, and every
year they are making serious inroads in
the ranks of the "push," who regard the
pretty women as interlopers into an
ancient and honorable order. The fact
that women have no vote has always been
the greatest snag in their way to political
employment, but they are holding their
own very well indeed against the men in
securing positions by persistent lobbying
for the same. Some of these have invalid
mothers to support, and it is after all
very good sign that politics does not
always stitle the finer feelings OF human
nature.
A wagon-load of boys are seeking ap-
pointment as pages, and 1T is believed that
most of them are the brightest and most
gentlemanly lads that the State can pro-
duce. In modest and altogether unob-
trusive way they approach the members
and present their cards with the request
respectfully made that their claims should
not be forgotten in the distribution OF the
patronage. Some day those little fell
lows. or at all events the greater number
of them, will be occupying seats in the
State Capitol and growing at the slow
ness and inattention of "those confound-
edly lazy boys.'' They will be Senators
and Assem- blymen, and will. no doubt,
improve on the methods of their prede-
cessors.
EOoN0AHN