The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-01-25
Legislative Lobby
At Tallahassee.


The question of a legislative lobby
is one that should receive the consid-
Grafton of the next Florida legislature.
At every session of our legislature
there are scores of men who stay In
Tallahassee during the greater portion
of the session for no other purpose
than to lobby in the interest OF, or
against, some measure or measures
before that body. There is no reason
why any citizen of the state should not
go to Tallahassee in the interests of
any measure he may be interested in,
and he is at perfect liberty to talk to
and urge his views upon the members
of the legislature, and a corporation
has the same right in this matter as
any citizen when these privileges are
exercised fairly and openly
But the trouble has always been
that the work of the lobby, both OF the
corporations and of individuals, has,
for the most part, been done secretly,
and when a legislator is Influenced TO
vote for or against a measure for rear
sons made known to him and which
he could not AFFORD to make public, the
chances are that there were induce.
ments offered to him other than sound
and simple argument
If a measure is proposed in the leg,
islature affecting the interests Of a
corporation outside of Tallahassee,
that corporation has a perfect right
to send a representative to Tallahas-
see to look after its interests in the
pending legislation. and this is done
in nearly every instance. There can
be no valid objection TO this 50 long
as the representative of the corpora
ton uses only legitimate means in the
interest of his corporation.
But there is another side to this
lobby question There are men who
go to Tallahassee every two years for
the opening of the session, and who re-
main until the closing day. They are
close students of the routine work of
the two houses and they are, as a
general rule. more familiar with the
official calendars than most members
of the legislature. Just what their
business is the general public never
learns, and yet no one believes they
would spend two months at Tallahas-
see just for the fun of watching the
law makers in their work These men
doubtless receive handsome pay for
their work, and yet what they actually
receive, and who pays 1t, the public
or the members of the legislature
never know.
These men, and all lobbyists of every
description, who go to Tallahassee in
the interest of any measure, should
be made to register their names In
books to be kept by the clerks of both
branches of the legislature, free
for inspection, and also in whose in
terests they are working, and the con
sideration they are TO receive
If such a law were passed il
would at least break up the perpetual
lobbyist, and tend greatly to clarity
the atmosphere around the capito
building during the sessions of the
legislature.
There are some legislators, and we
are sorry to admit it, who offer bill:
providing for the curbing of corpora
lions, or in other ways against tn:
latter's interests, for no other purpos.
than TO force these corporations t.
send lobbyists to Tallahassee to worl
against the measure, and the genera
practice Of the corporations has beer
10 carry their point in these matters re
CARELESS of cost II bill regulatin.
the work and practice of these lobby
lists were passed, and the authors O
these particular bills referred to I'm
derstood that when a corporation rep
resentative came to Tallahassee h,
would have TO do all his work in tn,
open they would have no further in
terest in the matter, and as a result
there would be fewer Of these bills in
troduced and fewer lobbyists of thi
particular class would go to Tallahas
see
Governor Conner of Alabama put
this matter strongly up TO the Alabam;
legislature. and in his message sen
a that body a few days ago says:
paid lobby swarming our Capito
interfering with our legislators, ;
re highest sense debauching. de
,.uctiye and hindering to equitabl
legislation. Only the rich can atfor
to pay lobby. This, in itself. woul,
tend to make the laws, which propos