The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1909-07-08
MAKE REQUESTS SAYS JAMESON
Interesting Letter From our Demo.
cratic Congressman in NASH
inqtOn.

interesting Letter From our Demo-
cratic Congressman in NASH
ington.
Congressman w. D. Jameson writes
the following interesting letter from
Washington to his paper, which we
reprint in full:
Most everybody seems to have his
snare of trouble. The president is wor-
rying over the tariff bill, remembering
that his party really promised SUBJ
stantial revision, and that he himself
pledged himself to that kind of re-
vision, and that on the other hand the
special interest fellows are preventing
such a revision, and it is hard for him
to work a solution of the problem. Some
of the senators are in trouble be-
cause they cannot succeed in giving the
people an honest bill like they want to,
and others are in trouble because they
vote with the machine on the tariff
amendments, and this machine votirg
will be mighty hard for them to ex-
plain to the home folks who care for
the square deal. Some of the congress
men are in trouble because the senate
is doing SO much talking and keeping us
all here so late for the summer. TIE
sugar trust is in trouble because it had
to pay back $2,000,00O the other day
that it had stolen from the government.
The policeman was in trouble the other
day because his beat was outside in the
rain. The elevator boy was in trouble
because he had to work when he wan d
to go to the ball game. l sometimes
stew because am all stiffened up at
times with the miserable rheumatism.
. Aud her bo
who helps take care of the office build
iDgs, she came to me the other night
with a long face and almost ready to
cry. The forelady had told her that the
superintendent Of the building was 60
ing to lay off some of the helpers right
soon, and that her name was on the list
who would be laid off. She said her
Oldest boy died short time ago, from
heart failure, that he was the main stay
of the family, that she had some small
children and it was hard FOR her to get
away all day for other work and proper
~ look after the little ones at home,
that this work only took part of the
time late in the afternoons and early in
the evenings, that some of those that
were to be kept on the work here were
young colored women who could easily
go out and get work as domestics, etc.
Would please write to the superinten-
dent in her behalf? Well now, | felt
right sorry for the poor woman, and of
course l would write. l think good
charity is where you give the object Of
the charity chance to help himself,
and this seemed to me case in point.
have written to the superinte Mt,
but have not yet heard from him about
the case. | enjoyed doing this little
thing for this poor woman, and even if
she holds her job because | happened
to write the letter, which is extremslv
unlikely, will not think l am entitled
to any credit, because got more salts
faction out of it than the effort amounted
to. l sometimes envy the preacher end
the priests for the opportunities they
have of bringing so mu :h comfort to the
poor people who are in trouble. l won
der why there is so much trouble in
this old world, anyway, with such al
abundance of sunshine and happy things
all about us.
Which reminds me that, after all, per-
haps the only way we can realize the
pleasures and happiness of this world is
by comparison with the pain and dis
tress. 1t is said that we do not appre-
ciate such things until they are taken
away from us.
get lots of letters from over the
district, from people who want all
sorts of things. One recent letter is
from father who is in distress for the
reason that his boy, thoughtlessly, left
the army because the trea tment he re-
ceived from some of his companions was
unbearable; now he is to be court
martialed for desertion, and he wants
me to help the boy. Of course will do
everything l can for him, because l be-
lieve he was thoughtless instead of
vicious, but he will have to receive
some sort of discipline. People want
rural routes changed, and they want
pensions, and they want Offices, and
garden seeds, and bulletins, and pass
ports, and letters of recommendation
almost everything you can think Of.
Yes, even money. But the worst scold-
ing have had in a letter came to me
the other day from a woman in one of
the eastern counties who had been
postmistress; she resigned her place
and accepted a position as teacher,
but the person who was appointed to
succeed her as postmaster had failed
to qualify and would not take the Office.
Consequently she had it on her hands
duu ulu uOU huOW WldC w w Will
and in her letter to me she accused me
of being responsible for her losing $50
by being compelled to keep the Office
longer than she wanted it. Now wasn't
that mean? When l don't get look in
on the appointments, yet she says l
lost her $50 because I didn't have
somebody else to take her place. l
would wager that if had the power of
appointing the postmasters in the
eighth district there would be mighty
few complaints of this nature, for the
democrats have been SO long without
jobs in this district that they are
hungry enough to take anything in
sight. Why would take an even bet
that could get some democrat to take
the Shenandoah postofice, even, if l
had the chance. But one class of letters
that get that are hard for me to
handle are those where requests are
made of me to send the writer some
thing he wants, and then fails to sign
his name to the letter. l have several
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