The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-09
HABITUEs OF HOUSE LOBBY.
Lockers After Jobs and Workers of
 Schemes at the Capitol.

Washington Post.
 | The lobbies of Congress are peopled with varied and interesting assortment l ct humanity, drawn from every section
 of the country and all walks of life. | They cluster about t!te doors which lead l to the legislative halls ufitiI eaGi efit- | rance suggests e 1rop nf rnolasses in l fly time. They stand about the corridors | or rcpose on the inhospitable leather
 chairs of the Senate marble-roon. wait | ing interminabie periods for members who Go not care to see them; or they are | ir the rece5s's of the windows. engaged | in earnest explanation with tired-looking | salons. Some are welcome and are cor. | dially greeted; tine greater number pro- | long the interview by sheer persistence | There are constituents come to pay their
 respects, They are the least welcome A " lrd about the folks at home or the state of the crop, and the member Is again free. There are tourists. rural and
 cosmopolitan. to whom the public char, aclers are pointed out like figures in an exhibition wax-works There are | members of the press with whom the statesman must perfOrCe be patient, but to whose questionings he submits with much the spirit he exhibits toward his
 barber. There are committee clerks and employees of the legislative establish.
 ments who come and go on their re spectve errands
 type of the lobby crank which is
 familiar to every Congressman is the oll man Wltn CIalm. IL may be JuSf one or 1t may be some outlawed. an- uGuated affair; or aglin, IL may be a dream of his unrestful mind. Generally 1t Is based on the depredations of the civil war. The Northern troops, in pass Ing through some town, burned or seized some cotton or carried out wagons and harness. The amount Is sweled to enor-
 nous proportions and each year 1t grows with the dream of the old man. who bases his hopes of recuperating his IOFt1lnBQ al FfNa wears battered and rusty tile of a
 fashion many years gone by. His long black coat is seody and threadbare, and his linen shows signs of neglect. His lace is thin and hollow and teVerishly
 bright. In his br"ast pocket he ca TICS the yellow bundle of documents on wnch his hopes are built and when hn has succeeded in getting the ear of q member he draws them out and sub mits them for inspection.
 He has told the story so many times that he can say 1t In his sleep. Hts bill was introduced in the early eighties, three times 1t was reported with favor able recommendation from the Commit. tee on Claims. Once it passed the House but in the stress of business was over. looked In the Senate. Everybody admits its justice. Mir. Blaine once said 1t ought to be passed And so on. If the mem
 Der is patient. he listens to so much; if not, he pleads business and breaks away.
 Perhaps he will promise to vote for it ie it comes up, well knowing 1t will never see the light of day. and the old man goes away with a new hope.
 The old mau In the dark blue clothes. with a button in hls lapel and a cord around hls felt hat, is looking for an increase of persion. There Is something the matter with his case. Hs has been turned down by the Pension Offlce and has appealed to the Secretary of the ln- teT'or. That is the very worst thing he could have done. for 1t Is now at the
 bottom of the calendar, and cannot be
 taken up for two years unless he can bring doctors affidavlts proving that he is on the verge of the grave. He Is. tIel efore, after his Representative to in- si st that a great wrong be lighted, and that those that respond to their country's call in it's hour of need be not forgotten. He appears quite hearty and will do
 well enough. for members are mortally afraid of offending that great army of pension drawers, and it Is quite impOs- sible to say whether this particular one was where the bullets flew thickest or
 was taking up a strategic position to the rear.
 Then there is the solemn party with the spectacles and the long whiskers and hair thrust pack of his forehead. He Is which Populist member has introduced, labelled "by request" It seeks to rem edy all the ills of the body Dolitlc by repeal Of the Coperican system and a recognition of the science of polar cur rents as discovered by him. He is pre- pared to place hls knowledge at the dis posal of Congress, and by one sweeping enactment remove the friction between labor and capital, correct the monetary evils, put an end to lynchings and bring about the millennium. He Is harmless, but a sore trial to new members.
 Here Is a well meaning member of the oppasite sex d red-faced. large woman. with q mouth like nut-cracker. and