Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-15

presume that everything except COWS
can be sent free by congressman or
government official
one of the most remunerative gratis
Of the scientific branches Is the sale or
Information gathered at government ex-
pense. President Roosevelt tried to put
a stop TO this, but It still hourishes like
u green bay tree. Some scientific gem
tlemen who are paid good salaries and
who exploit to the fullest the prestige
Of being connected with the govern
ihent. have been IN the habit Of writing
up the results of their investigations
and selling the product to magazines
and newspapers. When the scientific
person can get an assignment for the
summer to some pleasant, faraway
place. with all expenses and salary
paid, and Is then able to take his em-
ployer's time in writing UP the results
of his summers studies, which he sells
at good figures on account Of his Of
fetal standing, II constitutes a very
neat graft, indeed.
Merely Sold Cotton Statistics
It was the discovery of a graft on
this order which raised such a rumpus
IN the department of agriculture year
ago. An expert, who had access to the
government crop reports, made little
deal with a Wall street friend and sold
this information for a lump sum and a
flyer in the market. No one knows
how much money he made before he
was stopped. He was dismissed from
the government service and might have
Jared badly if congress had not for
gotten the formality of enacting a law
to punish such rascality. AS 1t was.
he Jared very well, being allowed to
depart with the money he had made.
One clever little piece of work exc
cuted by another high treasury official
was to go to Alaska on official busi
ness and then, after reaching the ter
ritory at government expense, grant
himself leave of absence for a couple
of months while he looked after his
mining claims and other investments.
When he was ready to come home he
merely put an end to his leave of abb
sence, when he became, of course, a
government official again and was eX-
off1cto entitled to free transportation
back to Washington. This official was
greatly envied by his less clever asso-
ciates when the trick was explained
to them on the quiet.
Press Agent Game Blocked
Cong gress and the newspapers last
winter heartlessly exposed and killed
what promised to be one of the pret-
test little CRAFTS in the government
service. This was the. press agent"
game. The Isthmian canal commission
originated it, and the idea was so
fetching that it bade fair to spread to
every department of the government.
The canal commission, smarting under
the criticism of the press, hired a gen
tleman at $4,000 year, gave him the
title of historian" and set him to work
as press agent. 1t was his duty to off
set the press reports by roseate stories
of work at Panama; to meet newspaper
men and give them the right "steer"
as to what was going on at Panama,
and otherwise to see that the public
got from Panama only the bright,
sweet side Of things. OF course, the
press agent was required to defend the
commission when it was brutally at
tackled by the newspapers.
The novel plan of using the peoples
money to hoodwink the people was in
trcduced by former railroad men, who
testified before the congress committee
that press agents were indispensable
in all big corporation enterprises, and
they did not see any difference in the
case of the government. They thought
$4,000 year was well expended If the
press agent succeeded in convincing
the public that the commission was
eiiN elJ ii6hL anu NOlliS GAuStly tilC
right thing.
There were signs that other depart
ments of the government were about
to adopt the brilliant ''press agent"
idea when congress squelched the thing.
The president took hand, too, and
nominated Mr.. Bishop, the press agent
in question, to be a member of the
commission and it's secretary at a
higher salary than he had been receiv-
ing as press agent. Congress, however,
failed to confirm this nomination, and
Mr.. Bishop has subsequently been left
off the commission. He remains it's
secretary, but his usefulness as press
agent is obscured, if not eclipsed
The early encouragement of the
press agent" graft by congress was a
great disappointment to several high
officials, who saw in it an admira BILE
method of counteracting painfully
frank criticism. If each executive de-
partment had good, lively press
agent there would be a much more
cheerful view of the situation i'm Wash
ington This, of course, would reas-
sure the people throughout the country,
and the national health would be COR
respondingly benefited. The greatest
factor of American nervousness and
dyspepsia is worry. The press agent
plan would have prevented worry and
substituted a halcyon and roseate as
surance. Official circles are not at all