Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-05-29
TELLS LEGISLATURE HOW MEM
BERS ARE HNFLUENCED."
ASKS A PENAL STATUTE
Would Make Serious Offense of At
tempt to Convince legislators
Mind Other Than in Open Hearing
Refers to School Book, TeIe-
phone and Railroad Lobbies.
Madison, May 26.

Madison, May &c.
To make secret lobbying on the part
of paid lobbyists a penal offense pun
ishable by heavy fine and imprison.
ment was the recommendation of GOV
La Toilette in a message read before
both houses of the legislature yester-
DAY.
The governor said in his message
that he recognized that the members
OF the Legislature were the agents of
their constituents and that as such
they must ever be ready to be made
acquainted with the wishes and inter
ests of their constituents and the pub
lie. He would not recommend or APP
prove law interfering with free and
full public discussion of all proposed
legislation before committees and in
either house of the legislature. He
would rot object to such legitimate
presentation of argument as can be
made before committees, before the
legislature as a body, through the
press, from the public platform and
and through printed briefs and argu-
ments placed in the hands of all mem
bers and accessible to the public. But
he would prohibit and stamp out the
secret lobby 1t was not fair, he
said, to all interests to permit secret
lobbying on any measure after the
public hearing had been closed. The
corporate interests could and did
maintain strong and expensive Hobbies
at the capital throughout the entire
session. After those who had ap-
peared before the committee ON the
opposite side of questions pending
had left the capitol, then the corpora
ton lobby continued the argument Sc
cretly, DIGGING the footsteps of the
legislators in and out of the capitol,
following them to their rooms and
making free with forms Of entertain
ment. and all this after their oppo-
nents supposed the argument was
closed and was entirely in the hands
of the legislature to be decided with
cut further influence of any kind.
Refers to Book Lobby.
The governor referred especially to
the school book, telephone and rail
road Hobbies, and recited the legisla-
ton they had been able to defeat in
other years and had worked against
even at this session. Of the railroad
Lobby he said:
Hard on Railroad Lobby.
"They are a grade of men with
whom a railway would not trust the
trial of a petty damage suit in justice
court. They are incompetent to ar
que any proposition before a legisla
tive committee. Their special talent
seems to fit them more particularly
for private argument"
Private Lobbying Wrong.
The governor concluded his mes
sage by saying that personal, private
lobbying is wrong in principle and is
absolutely certain to be vicious If
practice mo legislation which has
been enacted will be secure, and tha
which the public interests will require
in the future will never be reasonably
certain of attainment until the secre
lobby with it's Misrepresentation AM
its wrongdoing is prohibited by law.
II commend to your consideratt
judgment the enactment of a statute
making it a penal offense for pait
lobbyist to approach legislator pr
vately or personally upon any matte
which is a subject of legislation
The governor says that this is rea
sCnable and that it is sanctioned b,
the highest authority. To substanti
ate this claim, he quotes from an EN-
inent writer upon constitutional lay
and from the opinion of chief justic
. of an appellate court, whom he cor
siders as rating second to none in tn
union.
7 Various Trust Lobbies.
s mo one acquainted with the facts,
}. says the governor, will venture t
\ deny that the lobby has been very pt
tent in legislation for many years i
p Wisconsin, Session after session tn
}. school book lobby has suppressed 0
! defeated legislation lnfmical to the II
! terests of the school book monopoly
; Our laws upon trusts are weak and in
q potent They serve merely to foil tn
. enactment of something better. Fo
three successive sessions [ hav
urgently recommended revision an
= have submitted plain and speciti
/ recommendations for effective Ieg1sIt