The Green Forest tribune., 1910-09-02

N. QME to all who are concerned In k@se=z the vital subject to which AA we give the somewhat fog Ky title of Political Reform" The hrticle for obvious reasons anony- hous. Is written by member of eongress who, the editors of the Worlds Work say, has served for hore than ten years in the house of representatives,, has acted on many i'm bortant committees, and has been sue Eessful in getting things" for his Constituency. The article is described Is showing the reason why the pork barrel, special tariff favors, and pri- tate pension bills become law" the teason being, to quote the words of the author, that the dictum of the Constituency to the congressman is |Get all you can for US.' There are restrictions placed upon his meth bd of getting it. -. -. rntil the American people themselves become more national and less local, bntil constituencies cease to regard lhelr congressman as solicitors at the Rational treasury, congress will con- Enue to enact iniquitous groups of To- kal favors into national legislation" This serious charge against the American people-for which there is pnquestionably altogether too much Iustifieation-the author proceeds to jubstantiate by relating some of his twn experiences with constituents which, however surprising they may 5eem to the general reader, will seem Utmost commonplace to all who know low the average constituency does in {ctual practice treat it's congressman. The writer sets forth the fact that, "a the first place, ninety per cent. of ~letters which a congressman re-
 Is are requests for special favors obtained in some way or other,
 |tly or indirectly. from the United $totes treasury. For instance, while |he Payne-Aldrich tariff law was un- Ter discussion, this particular con- ressmaD received in May, 1909, the
 
 powerful commercial association in lis district
 T have been instructed by the board directors of this association to ad- ise you that at special meeting May D, a resolution, copy of which is in osed, was unanimously adopted, urg pg our representatives in congress to se every endeavor to have the pres ht tariff in (mentioning three of the foducts of the industries referred to) pcreased one cent per pound and the resent tariff on (mentioning the oth- two products) increased half a cent er pound. I wish to further advise pu that we have heard from Senator
 and he informs us that he Ill take care of this matter in the fnate."
 When the bill was finally passed e congressman succeeded in adding fli cent pound to the duty on 70 of these products and in prevent Pg any reduction on the others. A gar later, when the popular clamor Fainst the bill had become acute, e same association that had asked m to vote for increases wrote to the Phgressman denouncing the bill as he most iniquitous measure ever en- ted by congress" and requesting m to explain by letter why he had Pted with the Reactionaries" to pass Dill. When it was pointed out to e association that it had urged the ngfessman to obtain an increase of ny on the products in which it was crested, 1t dropped it's demand for
 explanation. An influential news Aper published in his district edi- r'ally commended him while the bill as under debate for his intelligent pofts to increase the duty on manu- c'ured articles in which the district as interested, and year later the 'ue newspaper in the same editorial iumn denounced him as one of the eisiatiye banditti responsible for the Hyne Aldrich measure"
  hiVer and harbor legislation is an nef held in which local selfishness iSies itself, to the exclusion of na- ,M needs. In this case requests not made by letter but by delega- phs which come to Washington be- sing their senators and representa-
 There is,' says the frank i'er or this article, 'figuratively Peaklng, between $50 0.000, 900 and $60,- o'Voo on the table to be divided. The "lhlttee divides it so that every one
 ''isned, at least to reasonable Vent' Every one, that is, but the ople at large, the people who have
 special interest to serve, and who
 keenly indignant that the rivers hafpors of the United States are
 eloped in a fashion so inferior to at of Europe.
 NOT are all the requests for legis- ron merely. One constituent de eu to nave this particular congress
 put ms name on the free mailing
 TUT all public documents That
 would be impossible, because it
 'u mean delivering to the appli-
 several tons of documents every
 'n ooes not in the slightest detract
 'ne interest of the fact elicited by
 'nsestigation that the applicant was
 Aiahuiacturer of an article made
 waste paper, and the public doc