The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-29
BEVER|DGE. TALKS
 ON GOVERNMENT Maintenance of Peoples Lobby Is Urged By Speaker PUBLIC MUST BE INFORMED The Senator Declares That the People Should Have a Lobby at Wash
 ington In Order To Secure
 Proper Legislation.
PUBLIC MUST BE INFORMED

Indianapolis, Ind, October 2s.-Asserting that good government depends upon t.:e quality of public men and that informa- tion which the people obtain as 10 the actions of such servants of the people go to make up that quality, Senator Beveridse presided over and addressed meeting in his home city tonight in the interest of the Peoples Lobby" The Indiana sen ator explained the purpose of the organ ization and declared it is composed of highminded, fearless, public spirited men, a lobby at Washington, the same as any other special interests maintain one.
 James B. Reynolds of New York, chair man of the legislative committee of the Peoples Lobby, and Henry B. Need ham, secretary of the organization, also spoke at tonight's gathering. Senator Beveridge spoke in part as follows:
 Ut is becoming clearer every day that good government depends on the quality of our public men, and the quality of our public men depends upon two things; first, the standard of public men which the people have, and, second, the information concerning public men which the people have. The second is almost as important as the first, and the people shall be h. formed as to what their representatives are doing or failing to do is the purpose of the Peoples Lobby.
 Tt is the purpose of the Peoples Lobby to tell the people just what their represen- tatives at Washington doing-not only what our final vote on any measure is, congressman and senators do to hurt or help that measure before the vote is taken.
 Most public men are honest and in- formed, but not all. As to those who are not informed and therefore not ca pable to do the peoples business, it may be said that it Is impossible that they should be informed or capable of attending to the peoples business con- sidering their attention to what is called practical politics both at home and in Washington they have no time left to study public questions. much less to master them
 Those who are favorable to evil in terests (and most interests are not evil) end not for the people, mangls laws intended to correct those evils or defeat those laws altogether. This is done in rlany ways but not often in open fight. When such work Is ac- complish ed in open fight, the defend- CTS of these evils always place them selves apparently on high moral grounds. When finally a good measure is passed over their opposition. they go home to the people and on the stump tell their constituents that they have been for such jaws all the time. when as a matter of fact. they have done al they could to injure or defeat them.
 Apparently there seems to be no way to inform the people except by son,e such organization as the Peoples lobby which is composed of high-mind- ed, fearless public-spirted men, who propose that the people shall hawt a lobby at Washington just as all great special interests have lobbies at Wash ington.
 "The people have no lobby at Wash ington. Why should they not have?"