The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-11-26

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the largest, vweaalthiess,t; "; ana most prom
inent corporations III New" England
whose affairs are conducted by our
most representatiVe citizens habitually
corrupt the Massa chusetts Legislature
and the man of wealth among them
who would enter protest against the in
iquity would be looked upon as a class
anarchist ~ r.:
It will go further and say that if in
NeWEngland a man of. the type Of
Folk of Missouri can be found who will
give over six months to turning up the
Legislature and Boston municipal sod
OF the past ten years who does not ak
pose to the world q condition OF rot
tenness more rotten than was ever be-
fore exhibited in any community in the
civilized world, it will be BECAUSE ne
mas been suffocated by the stencil Of
What he exhumes.
After this I again saw Whitney and
Iowle and they, not relishlng my ro-
marks on the subject of bribery, tolo
me frankly to attend to my own part
OF the affair and leave their part to
them:''
Nasty Business at State House.
! Mr.. Lawson then continues:
! I tested the scheme in all it's phases
and found only one week spot in it.
We, the Boston companies, were to
go snags' with Whitney in the results
OF legislative game in which he was
TO bear the expense of getting char
ter, and as Whitney and Towle said It
was to cost them, to get it, $25o,00O to
$50o,000, it looked as if there would be
some nasty business done at the
State House."
Regarding his personal feelings in the
matter Lawson says:
In reiterating that the bribery end
OF our 'hitch-up' with Whitney did not
appeal to me, am neither pluming nor
GROWING myself, but merely stating a.
1act. But this was an emergency I
could not meet as a mere personal con-
Germ 1t was my duty to care for the
l1terests OF great property which
must not be endangered by my scru-
pAes' and l Was willing to be advised
oy my business friends in the matter,
SO went round among my most con-
serVat1ve banking, business and news
paper connections and put hypothetical
questions to them bearing on my diff
1lculty. In nearly all instances the re-
phes were the same, and the subject
seemed to be regarded as a jok-what
, were Legislatures for, anyway, but to
be liked? All who did business with
Legislatures fixed them, and Whitney
was certainly the star 'fixer.'
Il frankly stated that I considered
brlblng a legislator as a low-down
crime and that I did not believe it,
done in our strait-laced old common
wealth as freely as they all seemed
to think.
Ia: Referred to Trust Organizers,
! Il. 'Thereupon I was sarcastically re-
ferred toimy Bell Telephone, New HAY
en- and Boston & =. Maine .: railroad
] friends, the, organizers trust COM
] ptanAees and /, many other REPRESENTATIVE
i pillars Of cial Il and business society
Who had lad soccasi to deal with the
stateS#I 5|bsegana one a round 81 III
yestigati a anr1org men who would talk
1 frankly TO me, and !: discovered that a.
most Ubiquitous - condition existed,
Massachusetts, senators and represen-
tatives were not only bought and sold
as sausages or fish are in the mar
kets, but there existed regular auo-
tation schedule for their votes. Many
of the prominent lawyers of the state
were traffickers in legislation, and
earned large fees: engineering the re-
peal OF old laws and the passage Of new
ones. Agents Of corporations nomin-
ated candidates for office and paid
the expenses for their election in re-
turn tor votes for a favorite measure
and promises to do business" The
Legislature was organized on the same
basis; it's executive officers were chos-
en- because of their sub-servience to
certain corporation leaders; committees
were rugged to do a given thing and
prevent other things from being done.
Above all, l learned that the chance Of
a citizen of Massachusetts, obtaining
a charter from the Legislature of his
state, unless he had money to put up
for it, was about as good as a hobo's
of securing a diamond and ruby-studd-
ed crown at Tiffany's by explaining
that he wanted 1t. In fact, the cit
liens request would be regarded by
senators and representatives. very much
as Tiffany's would take the hobo's-
as joke at first, then as an impert-
inence.''
Sickness Stops Signing Of Documents.
Lawson then tells of a meeting at the
country house Of Parker C. Chanaler.
the Bay States general counsel, at
which signatures were to be affixed to
the documents which should bind the
deal between Whitney. Addicks and
himself. He was taken violently i'll at
dinner and was unable to sign the
agreement
or his reappearance at the meeting of
the Whitney-Addicks crowd he says:
''The immediate results of my reap
pearance were not startling. Rogers
raved at Addicks and es pscially at
Whitney, but he was too old a student
Of men and the monkeys Dame For
tune makes Of them to sulk over facts
he could not remedy. So he resumed
his former altitude OF waiting for
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