The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-03-26
CHAPTER XXI.

Oon tnat aims to restrict unlawful o
improper practices in business, tn
awakening of the public conscience
has caused greater demand than eve
for influence at the national capital, 70
these restrictive measures must b
either killed or emasculated to a poin
of uselessness by that process which i
the salvation Of many corrupt manip
ulator, the process of amendment.
Predatory corporations, predatOr.
business associations of different sort
and predatory individuals have thei
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 profitable balance
for the purchaser. When commercial
tricksters, believing in the lobbyists
favorite maxim, THE People Forget,
feel that they have outlived the lates
reform movement and see "the gooC
old days" returning, the professional
politicians introduce a few reform
measures themselves, most stringent
measures. They push these measures
ahead until somebody pays up, ther
the bills die. The lobbyist knows al
about these "strike" bills, but does not
frown on them. No, no. Perhaps he
helped draw up one of these bills Sc
that, with the aid Of his inside knOwl
edge Of his employers business, the
measure is made to give greater
scare than might otherwise have re
suited. The bigger the scare the big
ger the fund advanced, of course, fol
the lobbyist to handle All this also
helps the lobbyist to secure and retain
employment.
Not all the Washington lobbyists are
outside of congress. The senator OF
for oiling or blocking the course of a
bill. Sometimes he confines himself tc
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 1t passes Then
he begins to fight this bill so actively
that he must be "let In on the deal
himself. This is very annoying to the
other member, but the experience is
worth something. He has learned the
value of observing other peoples legis-
iation.
The outsiders (members Of the third
house'o and the insiders have a bond
of freemasonry uniting them; they ex-
change information as to what mem
bers Of both houses can be reached"
now 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-
feating legislation can be quoted to
Interested parties just as the price of
n carload of pork can be aScertained at
a 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 1.-THE sugar" got out and be-
came known to their associates. 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
principled 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 a lobbyist in Wash |
ington because of the opportunities
her position would afford her to meet /
people of prominence. And just such .
one was Mrs. Cora Spangler, with I
whom the Langdons had been thrown /
in contact quite intimately since their ,
arrival at the capital.
Pretty and vivacious, Mrs. Spangler |
bore her thirty-seven years with I'M |
common ease. aided possibly by the |
makeup box and the modiste. Her |
dinners and receptions were attended |
by people of acknowledged standing |
Always a lavish spender Of money, |
this was explained as possible because |
Of a fortune left her by her late hus- |
band. Congressman Spsngler Of Penn |
sylvania. That this fortune" had |
consisted largely of stock and bonds |
Of bankrupt copper smelling plant |
in Michigan remained unknown. ex-
cept 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 II was who had suggested to her |
that she might make money easily by |
cultivating the acquaintance Of the 1
new members Of both houses and their
families, eXerting her influence In vari- !
Gus perfectly legitimate ways" he (
argued, for or against matters pending
IN legislation. The Standard Steel cor
poration kept Mrs. Spangler well sup
piled with funds deposited monthly I
to her account In a Philadelphia trust
company.
She avoided suspicion by reason Of |
her sex and her many acquaintance
of undisputed rank. Senator Peabody
was never invited 70 her home, had
never attended a single dinner. recep-
ton or musicale she had given. all Of
which was a part Of the policy they
had mutually agreed on to deaden any
suspicion that might some time arise
as to her relation to the Standard
Steel company II was well known
that Peabody had been put into the
senate by Standard Steel TO look after
ifs interests