Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1905-04-13
AREFORCEDTOLOBBY
The Other SIDE OF The GRAFT
PROPOSITION.
mississippi Valley Lumberman on
The Lobby Que SfiOn. BlaCkmailing
Legislators Compel Corporations
to Maintain Lobbyists. LegiSla-
tors Continually Tempted.

In recent issue of widely circulated
weekly publication there appeared
three articles on the subject of lob.
bying. The writer's of each of these
took the position that congressman,
legislators and city councilmen were be-
ing continually tempted by the lobbyists
who are paid by the corporations they
represent to see that certain matters are
passed upon by the legislative bodies to
which they are delegated; that undue
Influence is continually being brought to
bear on servants of the public so that
the will OF the people is thwarted; that
laws should be passed requiring lobby
lists to take out icenses-to be- tagged so
that any member OF the legislative body
seen in their company would lay himself
open to suspicion. They would make it
crime for any member Of the "thrd
house" to approach a legislator, or to
present any arguments except in public
or before the proper committee. All OF
this may be right enough in its way, but
there is another side Of the question that
the eminent contributors to current
literature have not considered at all.
The most prominent of the three.-the
governor of Wisconsin, and recently
selected as one OF its senatOrs,-has at.
tanned considerable prominence through
his antagonistic attitude toward public
service corporations, but has also had
enough experience with state legislatures
to know that there is more than one side
to the graft proposition, and to also prove
to him that in these latter days public
service corporations and all other lines
of business are forced to employ agents
to look after their interests, to prevent
fool legislation that would be harmful to
those interests.
1t may be rather broad, though it will
not miss the mark very far, to say that
TO-. every piece if legislation introduced
into the average state legislature at the
instance of one corporation, there is one
introduced for the purpose of blackmail-
NJ
tion to these, are the hundred and one
Y vicious measures that are prepared and
introduced by members who are abso
lutely ignorant Of the bad effects they
would have on legitimate enterprise. A
member OF a western legislature remark.
ed to friend the past winter: II have
been in the state Legislature a mum Der ol
times, and have seen and heard OF graft
ing, but this is the worst bunch evei
saw. Nine.tenths OF them have got their
hands out" He may have been putting
it rather strong. Probably he was. But
his remark goes to show that there are
two sides. .tt
1t is undoubtedly true that practically y
every corporation that has anything te
ask OF the public, would prefer to publicly
state what it wanted, and make the re.
quests on its merits. 1t is equally true
4 that great many such requests would
be refused by legislative bodies. until
certain influential members had beer
"seeD." While it is a good thing tc
make the laws against bribery as severe
for the giver as for the taker OF bribes, il
might be we'll to as severely condemn
the blackmailer, and the receiver Of
favors in the form Of railway transporta-
ton and other privileges, as to pass a
law making it crime for a railway to
grant them.-M Mississippi Valley Lum-
herman.