Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-06-03
CHATTER XXI.

LObD Iiol > AND ONE ~ PARTICULAR.
Y YASIlNGTON has known many
VA lobbyists in its time. and it
WV keeps on knowing them. The
striking increase in lcgisla-
| ton That aims 10 restrict unla wfu or
Improper practices in business. the
awakening OF the public conscience,
has caused a greater demand than ever
Tor influence at the national capital. for
these restrictive measures must be
either killed or emasculated to a point
of usclessness by that process which is
the salvation Of many corrupt manip-
ulotor. the process Of amendment.
Predatory corporations. predatory
business associations Of different sorts
and predatory individuals have their
representatives on the field at Wash
ington to ward off attack by any means
that brains can devise or money pro-
cure and to obtain desired favors at
cost that will leave Il protita bic balance
for the purchaser. When commercial
tricksters, believing in the lobbyists
fNvorita maxim. THE People Forget"
feel that they have outlived the latest
reform movement ard see "thp good
Old days returning. the professional
politicians introduce few reform
measures themselves. most stringent
measures. They push these measures
ahead until somebody pays up. then
the bills die. The lobbyist knows all
about these "strikc" bills but docs not
frown on them. 80. no. Perhaps he
helped draw UP one of these bills so
that, with the aid Of his inside knoNl-
edge Of his employers business. the
measure is made to give a greater
scare than might otherwise have re-
suited. The bigger the scare the big
ger the fund advanced, Of course. for
the lobbyist 10 handle All this also
helps the lobbyist to secure and retain
employment.
Not all the Washington lobbyists are
outside OF congress. The senator or
congressman has unequalcd facilities
for oiing or blocking the course of
bill. Sometimes he confines himself 10
the interests of his own clients. who
ever they may be But sometimes he
notices a bill that promises to be a
pretty good thing for the client Of
some other member if It passes. Then
be begins TO fight this bill so actively
that he must be "lct IN on the deal"
himself. This IS very annoying to the
other member, bat the experience Is
worth something lie has learned the
value Of observing other peoples leg.5-
lation
The outsiders (menbers of Tie third
house, and the insiders have bond
Of frHcmasonry uniting them; they ex-
change information as to what mem
bers Of both houses can be cached"
how they can be got to" through
whom and how much they want.
This Information is carefully tabulat-
ed, and now prices for passing or de-
featinS legislation can be quoted TO
Interested parties just % the price OF
carload of pork can be ascertained mt
given time and place. Perhaps it IS
this system that leads grating mem
bers of short experience TO wonder
how knowledge Of their taking what
Is termed "the sugar" got out and be-
came known to their assnciateC. Did
they not have pledge of absolute Sc
crecy: Yes. but the purchaser never
intended to keep the information from
those Of his kind Lobbyists must be
honest with each other.
Not all lobbyists are men. The wo-
man legislative agent has been known
TO occupy an important position in
Washington, and she does yet. She Is
hard to detect and frequently more IN
prlncipled than the men similarly en- |
gagged. If that Is possible.
a woman with a measure Of social !
standing would naturally prove the |
most successful as u lobbyist in Wash I,
ington because Of the opportunities |
her position would afford her 70 meet
people Of prominence. And just such |,
one was Mrs. Cora Spangler. with |
whom the Langdons had been thrown !
in contact quite intimately since their
arrival at the capital
Pretty and vivacious. Mrs. SpanCler |
bore her thirty-soven years with I'M
common case. aided possibly by the
makeup box and the modiste. Her
dinners and receptions We're attended |
by people Of acknowledged standing. |
Always lavish spender OF money,
this was explained as possible because
OF fortune left her by her late hus-
band, Congressman Spangler Of Penn
sylvania. That this fortune" had
consisted largely Of stock and bonds
OF bankrupt copper smelling plant
In Michigan remained unknown, ex-
ccpt to her husbands family one or
two OF her own relatives and Senator
Peabody who. coming from Pennsyl-
vania. had known her husband init
mately.
He 1t was who had suggested to her
that she might make money easily by
cultivating tho acquaintance of the
now mcnbers Of both houses ard their
families, eXerting her influence in vari.
Gus 'perfccly legitimate ways" he
argued, for or against matters pending
in legislation. The Standard Steel cor,
poration kept Mrs. Spanglcr well sup
Piled with funds deposited monthly
to her account in a Philadelphia trust
company.
She avoided suspicion by reason OF
her sex and her many acquaintance
of undiSDutpd rank Sauator Pea hOdy |