Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-28

| communicate direct with the State depart
ment. A wealthy citizen, who is going TO
| tour Europe, thinks that his stay ABROAD
| will be more pleasant if he has letters OF
| introduction to our diplomatic and consular
officers in the countries in which he will
! travel; will the representative please get
/ these letters for him? Somebody holds "a
half of a fve-dollar bill; he hopes the rep
resentative will be kind enough to find out
| whether or not the treasury has the other
| half, and if it has he will send on his half,
and the representative can get the bill re-
deemed for him. Or contractor has bid
| on a certain lot of army supplies, and
hasn't heard from the bid yet What In
| thunder is the matter, and let him know at
| once! And so it goeS-errandS without num-
! Der or end.
| Equally taxing, but not so exasperating,
| for the requests have more merit, is the
| representatives. work as lawyer in behalf
of his constituents
A Big Field.
| This work covers a large field, and leads
| the representative and his secretary to
! every bureau of every department In
Washington Pension claims, both meri-
| torious and otherwise must be pushed; and
he is a neglected legislator who is not
| called upon to look after ten or twelve
! new claims every day. certain constit-
uent has been indicted for his acts in con-
| nection with a defunct rational bank; the
| official writes that he has been wrongfully
! dCCuScu, anu the SSchS OH
| audience with the Attorney General In an
endeavor to straighten- out the legal tangle.
| Another man wants to sell piece of
ground to the lighthouse board, and
| to look after his interests A shipper of
| oleomargarine has been caught marking
| his packages contrary to law; please take
| up my case with the solicitor of the treas
| ury. You are on the ground and can do it
| better than t. A contractor has heard
| that new public building is to be erected;
| he sends a letter post haste to the repre-
| sentative asking that he be kept informed
about the matter, and adding that he
would appreciate set of the plans. Some
| body has private claim against the gov
eminent that has hung fire for years; the
| representative is confidently expected to
! take up the claim and push it through, and
| thereby save lawyers fees.
Also, every business man, every manu-
| facturer, every importer, every shipper,
! everybody engaged in gainful occupation,
| expects his representative to have an eye
single to his interests, to kill this bill for
| him, or put that one through, not one stop
| ping for a moment to think out the logic
! of the situation but each and every one
| advancing some such reason as this: "I'll
| have my savings wiped out if this tariff
| schedule is done away with and my bust
| ness broken up besides, and l will surely
| have to go to the poor house"
When Delegations Come.
| In addition to all these individuals who
| have to be given the services free gratis for
| which a lawyer would charge round fees.
| there are numerous delegations to be han
died with gloves. Delegations are like
| weeds. Give them the least excuse and
| they spring up luxuriantly, instantly let
| their representative know that they are
coming on, drop the matter then and there
| and thenceforth hold him responsible for
| the success or failure Of their mission. AS
| result the representative has frequently
| to sit up nights arranging special COM
| n,ittee meetings to get the delegations the
| hearings they want and the interviews
| demanded with President and cabinet men,
berS.
This is no easy task. 1t requires hours
| OF running about the city to get hold of
] members of various committees and sub
! committees and then to induce them TO
! meet and not a few hours are spent in
apte-rooms waiting on the pleasure of the
| Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary
| of the Interior or other important heads
| of government.
| The delegations have all sorts of schemes
| and measures to further or illustrate. They
make 1t plain that their representative is
| to be their mainstay in all their battles,
| and for his own protection he is COM
| PEELED to spend many weary hours digest
| ing statistics and absorbing the history of
| similar previous efforts and in every posi-
| BILE way equipping himself for the fray,
! both in committee and in the house. For
example, if a New York city representative
| has been called upon by his constituents
! to get more money for improving the haf-
Dor, he perforce must study up the history
| of harbor Improvement from the begin
| ring sand in all it's qualifications, in order
| that he may be able to cope intelligently
| with that bureau head who will undoubt-
ly be called on by the committee to COM
| bat more or less openly his fight for the
| appropriation.
| A Busy Day.
| All this knowledge is usually gained some
time between o'clock at night and 1 and
2 o'clock in the morning. From till II in
the morning the representative is busy
| looking after his correspondence. running
| errands and holding briefs for his constit-
uents Then he goes to his committee
| meetings is not without his troubles there
J takes his seat in Congress at high noon. re-
| mains in 1t till 4, and while trying to fol
low the business of the session is constant
ly being pestered by lobbyists and others
| who do not hesitate to send in their cards
! and to demand and-what is more to the
| point-obtain the sought for audiences
| Frequently he makes a speech, on the
| preparation of which he has spent the
nights of entire week. and he has some
| lobbying to do himself, but taken all in all
this is the most restful period of the day.
The moment the session adjourns the
| strenuous life begins again In grim earnest
| There are more errands for both repre-
| sentative and secretary to run, fresh mail
to answer. any number of men to deal
| with who are looking for positions in the
departments, and twice as many women to
placate who are similar missions and
camp on their victims trail day and night
I and give no heed to the 4Anglo-Saxon ira
dition which holds that every. mans house
is his castle. They scorn shut DOORS an6
that is why your representative and mine
when he is seated at dinner in the bosom
| of his family is liable to behold Widowed
| applicant for a clerkship appear suddenl,
before him and make her long winded and
| fearful plea Many representatives have
| endeavored in various ways to reserve {
part of the day to themselves and theil
/ own, but they have invariably realized the
futiiity of doing so. The late Amos j. Cum
mlngs would never set down his address il
the Congressional Directory, yet every at
| ternoon that he entered it he found hi.
parlor crowded with visitors.
No Hope of Peace.
Surely there is neither peace nor hope o.
peace for a representative worth his salt
He Is the peoples servant at all hours; HI
is ever at their beck and call; and when
after nerye-racking day OF sixteen hours
he has just sought his bed room mayhal
the. doorbeil clangs brazenly and voic;
announces, as the weary mans head ap
tpears at second-story window:
Hello, Jimt Recognize my voice? That,
right, by gum! Just got to town and