The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1906-11-16
FRANK I. HOWE, Editor and Publishe
The Peoples Lobby.

eAh'ef aN' f'ha - w 'ohabAah w
Washington a lobby Of well known
men who will scrutlnIze all the legis.
latlon that comes up, detect the
snakes aud warn the public OF them.
But there Is peoples lobby all eady
at Washington. II has been operating
with the utmost vigilance for many
years. So efficiently does II work that
when snakes get into bills and stay
Ia them Till the day OF passage II Is
meyer because the public has not been
advised OF them. II Is always In do.
iiance OF the fact.
This peoples lobby has driven the
old fashioned professional lobbyist
out OF Washington.
This peoples lobby consists OF 100
trained professional observers, who,
upon proving their right TO be accept
ed, are admitted by the duly constltut-
ed authorities TO the press gallery OF
the senate and house.
These duly constituted authorities
are created by congress, but elected by
the newspaper correspondents them.
selves. Not all the newspaper men 10
Washington are admitted to the press
gallery. The press gallery is not
merely gallery. II is the name for
the organized corps OF correspondents.
The head OF this organization Is call
cd the press committee II Is an OIL
cial body created under the rules OF
the senate and house. This committee
consists OF five men, who hold Office
for two years and are elected every
other December by the 100 men in the
organization.
II is due TO this institution that the
organization known as the "press gal
lery" is about the cleanest spot In
Washington life.
Going as far back as Grants second
administration, the peoples lobby did
yeoman service In the exposure OF the
whisky ring frauds. Grant himself
was opposed to the showing up Of the
thieves because the trail led TO his
own personal friends, and IL was one
OF Grants faults that he could never
be induced TO believe that friend OF
his could lie crooked.
The star route scandals we're ex-
posed by Major John NJ. Carson, then
the correspondent Of the New York
Times. He secured documentary evi.
dence 10 a number Of cases and one
day printed the evidence 10 a single
case. 1t attracted little attention, but
the next day Carson printed the evil
dence in another case. This time peo-
pie began to take notice. On the third
day out came the facts in another case,
and so day after day Carson continued
to pour in his broadsides until the
country was ringing with the exposures
and congressional investigation was
started.
The pan.electric scandal in Cleve-
lands first administration was exposed
by the newspapers. In that case a
telephone company which was trying
to rival the Bell concern gave stock TO
members of the senate and house and
to high officials, including Attorney
General Garland. The peoples lobby
unearthed this and hammered away at
it for months until congressional
committee was appointed to investi-
gate 1t.
The famous case of Captain Oberlin
NJ. Carter was unearthed by Major
Carson, then the correspondent of the
Philadelphia Public Ledger. He
pounded away at Carter for long
time before any one else dared to take
the case up.
The influences behind Carter we're
enormous. Libel suits were threaten
ed. At last, after the peoples lobby
had compelled the administration to
take action, president Mckinley began
to falter because of the terrific pres
sure, senatorial and otherwise, which
was being brought to bear upon him.
Ii seemed as il the Carter case would
be allowed to die.
Again Carson opened his batteries
with full page broadside. The rest
OF the peoples lobby fell in line, and
the danger of Carter's escape was
blazoned and scare headed all over the
country until the proceedings were re-
sumed, and they ended in striped
suit at Fort Leavenworth for Carter.
The postal exposure in Roosevelt's
administration was initiated by the
peoples lobby. Before ever Assistant
Postmaster General Bristow had been
ordered to begin his investig alton Ma
jor j. j. Dickinson was pounding away
at the department day after day in the
columns of the Washington Times.
After awhile the president, melted by
Assistant Postmaster General Wynne,
William Allen White and Others, or
dered an investigation.
An example OF their work is afforded
by the history of the railroad rate bill
last winter At every step OF the way
every proposition that was offered was
scrutinized and its character shown up9
Eve,y attempt to hamstring the bill
met instant and wide publicity. PROP.
ositions that never got to the stage Of