Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1905-06-16

w
ing Easy Money for Him."
BY AN EX-SPEAKHR OF A STATE Leg
ISLATURE
Copyright. 1905. by Joseph B. Bowles)
| One needs to be speaker of legis-
lature but few weeks to discover
that a large proportion of the house
members are but proxies. They wear
the collars of their political masters
| and never vote AYE" or mo" on any
important measure without first con-
| sulting their bosses. Nor are these
cheerful opponents of political peon-
age altogether from the metropolitan
districts; an astonshingly large num-
Der belong to the class frequently al
luded to by spellbinders as "our sturdy
yeomanry, the tillers of the SOIL"
The long distance telephone, fast
trains and telegraph lines make COM
munication with distant masters easy
and convenient, and | had been gavel
wielder but few days before became
aware of the fact that many of the
leading members of the house would
not give me an opinion on any matter
of moment until "the next day." They
wanted first to telephone their prin-
cipals to ascertain what kind of an
opinion to give. Every night the long
distance wires radiating from the
capital were busy" for hours, while
the proxies reported all that was said
or done during the day, and what was
Framed up" for the next days ses-
sion. Having made their reports, they
got their instructions.
But the courier service used by a
group of men who controlled ma
jority of the house members from the
metropolis of my state was An i'm
, fprovement on the system of legislat-
ing by telephone. These city bosses
, were prosperous professional politi-
clans; they were contractors, city,
? county and state officials, and business
, men. They selected the men. they
wanted to go to the legislature and
sent them there. They had a finger in
, every public contract of any consider
able size which was let in the state.
/ They we're interested in almost every
: business concern which supplied goods
, to the state institutions, and it was
: current talk in the committee rooms
a they would undertake for price to
. put through or kill legislation.
This syndicate had what might be
, called an executive committee of 9
: few men, who were the political mag
! mates of the city. The other members
of the syndicate turned over to this
executive committee their votes il
i the legislature. Thus few men abso
lutely controlled the votes of a major
y lily of the city members of the house
A fast train left the capital ever,
afternoon for the city, and late trair
left the city every evening for the cap
j, ital Each afternoon of the day whel
!. the legislature held session mai
!. started for the city with copies of tn,
house and senate bills which were go
A ing through the mill. He also tool
:, with him the roll calls on such bill
y as the syndicate was interested in an,
all of the gossip and talk which hat
= any bearing on pending legislation
. Arriving in the city, which was but
few hours distant from the capital, tn
courier hurried to the Office of III
great men who checked up the day
IL doings, and long before the type of tn
'r Specials from the capital was in tn
y presses of the daily papers they ha
y a detailed, accurate report of the day
d session.
y With this knowledge in tangibl
y form before them, the executive com
~ mittee was able to lay its plans, an
= the night train carried the courier bac
y to the capital with minute instruC
- tons for the managers collar veal
y ers. And the joke of it was that tn
~ !. dear public footed the bills of tn
y courier, for he held a state job whic
included the all embracing itel
travelling expenses" AS he was pal
le mileage and scorned to travel on any
OF thing but pass, his "side line" nette
he him a considerable profit every day.
ra 1t happened during my term as speal
st er that had on my hands a hot figh
a led by a group of city representative
~, - r,,,,olnr of noun tY.y ~, q N, bo ?,