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

"I'nn going to seEd for der ordinary cir
! JAKE Stetnert." cumstances we
could let him go ahead with his minor
ity report for Gulf City. but as things
stand he'll have every newspaper re
porter in Washington buzzing around
end asking impertinent questions
Eyes, and you and ! would have to
| 60 to Paris to live with our life insur.
ance friends from New York wouldn't
weT laughed Peabody sarcastically.
I'm going to send for Jake Steinert, "
he added.
"SteinertT Stevens calculated.
1What"-
"oh, that's all right Maybe he can
suggest something" said Peabody, GO
ing to the telephone. We've too much
ut stake to make mistake, and Jake
may see point that we've overlooked.
Luckily saw him downstairs in the
grill room as we came through to the
elevator"
"Steinert is all right himself con
! tinued Stevens. but his methods
cant be too particular now abou;
HIS lllNl libAlS--bI OulS. GltNtuSs w lth
bull Ike Langdon breaks loose in the
political china shop. Fortune and rep
utation are both fragile"
A ring of bell announced the arriv-
al of Jake Steinert whose reputat ton
as lobbyist Of advanced ability had
spread wide in the twenty years he
had spent in Washington. OF medium
height. sallow complexion, dark hair
and dark eyes. his broad shoulders fill
ed the doorway as he entered. An lily
kept mustache almost hid a thin lip
ped, forceful mouth, almost as forceful
as some Of the language he used. His
eyes darted first to Peabody and then
to Stevens, waiting for either of them
to open the conversation.
The highest class lobbyists, those
who Swing" the biggest deals" con-
Germ themselves only with men who
can handle" or who control lawmak-
ers. They get regular reports and out
line the campaign. Like crafty spi3era
they hide I'm the center OF great web.
a web Of bribery, threat, cajolery and
intrigue, intent on every victim that is
lured into the glistening meshes.
Only the small fry mingle freely with
the legislators in the open, In the ho-
tells and cafes and in the capitol CORR
doris.
Jake Steinert did not belong in either
of these classes; be ranked somewhere
between the biggest and the smallest.
He coupled colossal boldness with the
most expert knowledge of all the intri-
cate workings of the congressional
mechanism. Given money to spend
among members to secure the defeat Of
a bill, he would frequently put most Of
the money in bis own pocket and for
comparatively small sum defeat It
by influencing the employees through
whose hands 1t must pass.
sit down. Jake. Something to
drink ?" asked Peabody. reaching for a
decanter.
NO" grunted the lobbyist: don't
drink durin' business hours: OEly durin'
the day"
well. Jake" said the Pennsylv nian
you probably know somethiu. %,
what's going on in the naval aIIirs
committee"
"You mean the biggest job of the
session.
"Yes."
"sure thing. senator. It's the work
OF an artist"
, "The boss OF the senate" smiled |
grimly.
Now. suppose committeeman /
named Langdon absolutely refused to |
be taken care OF aud Insisted on hand |
ing in a minority report tomorrow. /
with a speech that read like the Decla- /
ration Of lndependencey
Steinert jerked his head forward |
quickly.
You mean what would I do II /
was-er-if I was runnil' the joby"
Yes
Steinert leaned toward Peabody.
where do come Ga on thisy~ be
as q suSpiriously
Come. come. man was the irritable
reiort u never lcf few collars
stand between myself aud my fr.rnIs.'
"Al riZht. senator"
The lobbyist thrust himself down IN
his chair. pufed slowly ~ cigar AM
gael thoughtfully ~ the reHing
Pew year, sro 10 hegsn after
minute Or t~o. There uss1 fsllp- WI