Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-04-19
CAPITAL CHAT.
Beginning Of End of This Ses-
sion Of Congress.
Women Do Successful Lobbying
Around Corridors Of Capitol.
Maine Matters from Special Core.
spondent Of the Journal.

Washington, April 1S.-(SpeciaD.-
This is above all. the period Of Con-
gress when people crowd the Hobbies of
the Capitol seeking legislation. With
some exceptions those who hang around
the entrances to Senate and House,
looking for senators and members, are
not professional lobbyists the big fell
lows who stay aat n fashionable hotel
up town and rarely show their heads
within the big building on the hill.
They are the people who have bills
more or less worthy. which they hope
to have FASTENED through Legislative
channels before the close Of the session
comes. Perhaps it is some poor widow.
appealing for the passage of her pen
sion bill, or it may be a professional
lobbyist trying to get Congress to speed
4 payment of S2j0,000 to ex-Queen Lii
iuokalani.
Women do Il lot of successful lobby
ing around the corridors of the Capt.
tol. 1t is not so easy to resist their APP
pealS and sometimes members of one
or the other branch of Congress will
try to grant their requests for the sake
of getting rid of them. Occasionally,
however, one of these women, coming
to secure Legislation from Congress is
wonderfully smart and by no means re-
| lies upon tears or pathetic pleadings to
| carry her point. One of these is absent
from the corridors, this year. She was
a Mrs. Eaton, formerly of Portland.
Me-, and a very capable woman. She
had some interests in land at AnacOs-
tia. just across the Potomac river from
Wash inptnn whore tho Insane oSVlI1m
| is located and she resisted plan for
the government to take other land,
| which would greatly damage the value
| of her own. Time and again one or the
other House would decide against her,
but she had powerful friends, some of
them in the Maine delegation. and she
was able to defeat the most astute men
in the business of securing legislation.
Mrs. Eaton died few months ago,
| highly esteemed by wide circle Of SIM
| cerc friends. Her former opponents
are now trying to get the legislation
| they so much desired and think they
will be successful, because they no
longer have her opposition to over
come.
On the other hand, it sometimes hap
pens that the cleverest lobbyists, long
| in the business. fail utterly with their
claims. The case of eX-Queen Liliuoka-
| lani, who has been living in Washing
ton for several winters, in the hope OF
getting compensation from the govern
ment for her crown lands, is decidedly
| to the point. AS Il matter of equity
Senate and House are quite willing to
vote her a fair sum of money. But a
couple of years ago she placed her
claim with two lobbyists. whose faces
are we'll known around the Capitol. If
| the money is voted to her, these two
| lobbyists will get large share of it
and Congress knows it. Therefore the
claim hangs and cannot be passed, al
| though those two men are pegging
away daily with might and main to get
| it through.
With the domain of the government
extended to many islands Of the sea
| one finds people here at different stages
of the session from every section
| from Porto RicO, Hawaii. Alaska. and
the Philippines. trying to get legisla-
! ton passed. They remain here month
| in and month out some times year
| after year, appealing for the approval
| OF Senate and House on their particu-
| lar bill. The work is very slow and ex-
| treme patience is required. Hawaii has
| had five or six men here all winter at
great expense, but they have just
! cleaned up their work, which as to
! secure gas franchise and an electric
light franchise for Honolulu. There is
| always il small army of men here from
| the Western states. during a session
| of Congress, watching divers bills. The
| Eastern states and the Southern states
senu fewer men here on such errands,
| because they have fewer bills to press.
| But when the second session of the
| F'ifty-eighth Congress comes to an end
! in a few days. there will be many dis
| lppointments for in the very nature of
| things it will be impossible for the
| House and Senate to pass more than
small proportion of the measures
| pending.
Mai. Moses Harris, general treasure
Of the National Home for disabled
Volunteer Soldiers. had considerable to
saw about the branch at Togus dur
ing \ recent nearing here before the
House Committee on Appropriations.
Present at the hearing was Gen. Mar
tin T. Mcmahon, president of the gener-
al board. who concurred in all that
Mai. Harris said. The major made an
earnest plea for $500 extending the
greenhouses but both Senate and House
nave refused to appropriate that this
year. Mai. Harris explained that this
was necessary to furnish an adequate
place for storing away in winter the
flowers that are distributed about the
grounds in the summer months. Chair
man H-menway, of the Appropriations
Committee. cited the fact that 5000