The Washington herald., 1908-01-05
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKTN.

The members Of Congress may thinl
themselves statesmen, the public may
consider them politicians, the muck
rakers may say they are grafters. but
the average constituent heard from
thinks his particular Representative ol
Senator is a messenger boy As every
member has a great many Of the kind oi
constituents who make themselves heard
the whole United States Congress foi
several hours each Gay is nothing mora
nor less than gigantic messenger bog
service, a national A D. T. Nobody has
any particular objection to this feature
of Legislation" except the new member
He comes 10 Washington to sit in solemn
dehberation upon great questions Of pub
lie policy. Therefore, he doesn't like il
when Squire Bill Johnson orders him to
larrange with the Department Of Agri-
culture for a free planting OF rubber
plants. But he also realizes that Bill
johnson has the county of Posey tucked
away in his lower, nght-hand vest pock-
ct. The county OF Poesy Is necessary 70
keep the new Congressman long enough
in Washington 10 become veteran.
Therefore the new Congressman hustles
over to see Uncle Jimmy Wilson and gets
rubber plants. If possible. or a package
Of butter-beans and a book on raising
Of ginseng as a compromise.
Senator Martin, OF Virginia, who came
here q dozen years ago, early decided
that 10 keep the Bill JohnsOns in line
was the way 10 win. It happened that
in the last Virginia Senatorial contest
Gov. Andrew Jackson Montague was
pressing Senator Martin. and the wise
] ones looked on a transfer of the toga
as a certainty. But one day the Monta-
que permitted his red hair 10 get the
better of his sober judgment and he
sneeTingly referred TO Senator Martin as
| "a mere department-runner." The wise
Martin admitted the soft impeachment,
and from that day forth the Montague
night was a losing one.
Senator Martin knew what he was
doing when he accepted the title of de
partment-runner He realized how many
times he would have to go TO the Post
Office Department 20 see about new rural
routes. how many times 10 the Pension
Office for increases of pensions, but he
was not prepared for one commission
given him by an admiring Virginian.
This man wrote 10 the Senator and or
dered him to go over to the Post-office
Department and copy the names signed
10 a petition for the appointment of a
certain rural free delivery carrier The
constituent said the names were forged
and he asked Senator Martin 10 help
him track down the forger. Copying
several hundred names from q petition
is not like making great constitutional
argument, but Il is a part Of d Senator s
job Mr.. Martin keeps up bis reputation
as one of the busiest Of Congressional
messenger boys. Not long ago there was
a great denand for pOst-OffiCe maps The
Senatorial quota was exhausted. and Sen
at0r Martin purchased a sufficient num-
Der to make up the deficit, so that every
body got a map and was happy.
That legs count quite as much as
brains in Congress may be true. but botf
are necessary 10 the really successful
member Great leaders in both houses
may be seen in the forenoon chasing
about the streets Of the Capital from de
partment building 10 department build
ing, carrying messages for the boys al
home, trying to get Jobs for constituents
and endeavoring 10 get an extra supplJ
OF some Of the things that Uncle San
sends free TO his people on the recon.
mendatioa Of a Congressman.
Messenger boy duty is sometimes under
taken in the interest Of newspaper men
Only a few days ago a Southern paper
s-=+r-.-4o4 g4s Es-o sbfv,-4o-, -o~-cer,7r,.7.-,
to attend to It that President Roosevelt
iread an editorial in that paper protesting
against a certain appointment to Office
The correspondent could not penetrat,
deeper into the White House than tn,
desk of the patient Loeb. His orders were
to have the President read the editorial
So he went for the Senator who took tht
editorial, climbed over Loeb's PROSTATE
form. descended upon the President in his
lpTivate office, and read him the editorial
Notwithstanding the fact that the Sena-
tor was partly responsible for the appoint
ment, he held 1t up in the Senate, and con
firmatiou is yet lacking
This is no unusual thing. Senators and
I Representa- tives are going to the White
House every day as messenger boys, or as
guides They take constituents there q
be greeted by the Presidential handshskt
and jolly. they take groups OF constitu-
ents TO see the glOTies Of the East Room
and all for the effect back home. Many
members of Congress who would have
difficulty in obtaining private interview
with the President that would last longer
THAN two minutes, may loaf about the
Cabinet room for an hour while Mr.
Roosevelt is making the round Of constit-
iuents.
One day an Alabama newspaper cor
respondent received a hury-up call fol
some information which could be obtained
only from the venerable Senator Morgan
The correspondent rushed to the Senate
wing Of the Capitol, only to find the Sen.
ate in secret session. When the Senate
gees into secret executive session there Is
a jangle of bells all over the building. q
haring Of red lights before the main dool
Of the chamber a clearing of the galleries
a hasty exodus of clerks and pages, g
closing of thick white doors, and none but
a Senator may enter that room there
after until the secret session is ended. The
correspondent was perplexed. Soon the
other venerable octOgenarian from Ala
bame, Senator Pettus, came walking dOwr
the corridor. The correspondent hailed
him. stopped him while note could bG
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