The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1919-06-19

What does q representative or &
senator have to do during all these
hours? Well, he has plenty to do, much
of which he would not have to do If
he could turn a cold shoulder or a
| stern face TO a lot of visitors. but n
! politician has TO be polite, and in n
way be all things to all men, and so 1t
| is that he feels it necessary TO talk
with every person who comes TO his
/ office even If that persons errand Is to
spend an hour in proving that he can
turn a grain of sand into a gold dollar
by new process about TO be patented.
or is convinced that he has a scheme
which if put into legislative form will
make all men and all nations Of men
brothers In heart and soul in the
twinkling of an eye
The anteroom of the Office of nearly
every representative and senator has
within ii three or four waiting per-
sons AT nearly all hours of the day.
They go in one by one; each is listened
to patiently and generally is sent
away good-natured even if he Las been
refused the favor which he wished to
have granted, or has seen that his adj
vice while received pleasantly. has no
remote chance of being acted upon.
Correspondence is Heavy.
Nearly every senator and repre-
sentative receives scores of letters
every day from individual constituents,
men, women and children. Every letter
has to be answered. Now a good
many of these letters are answered by
the congressman's secretary without
reference at all to the chief until the
times comes for his signature to be
affixed, but there is always a close
study Of each communication made to
make certain that 1t properly can be
chance of offense being given.
While the secretary and the stenog
raphers are busy all day long with
correspondence and other things 1t
must not be taken for granted that
"the man inside" is free from bother
some letters. Scores of the letters are
of such a nature that while the sec
rotary might wish to answer them he
does not feel that he should do so lest
he overlook something which might
present itself to the watchful eye of
"the boss"
Virtually every senator and repre-
sentative has to make speeches In this
town, and, of course, he is called on to
speak elsewhere in the United States
on many occasions. provided he is a
man well known to the country. The
capital has thousands of different
kinds of organizations, and not one of
them Is content unless its weekly or
monthly meeting is addressed by a
man of state"
The congressman's life may be an
interesting one, but 1t is not lazy
one. If he is lazy his constituents find
it out, and they know how to apply the
remedy.
Press Gallery Guardians.
A brief current Washington news
item reads like this:
"The Washington correspondents
yesterday elected this standing COM
mittee: Gus J. Karger, Cincinnati
Times-Star, chairman; Harry G. Ste
vens, Minneapolis Journal; Charles S.
Albert, New York World; Ben F.
Allen, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Ar
thur s. Henning, Chicago Tribune"
On the face of things 1t might APP
pear that this election is of no partic-
ular moment to the readers Of the
newspapers Of the United States, but
nevertheless 1t means much to them
for 1t is through the standing commit
tee that the Washington correspond
ents safeguard the interests of them
selves and of the reading public of
the United States.
There are a great many Washing
ton correspondents who are not allow
ed to enter the press galleries, for
the privileges of entering thereto are
confined to correspondents who send
telegraphic news dispatches and who
can subscribe to the rules and regula-
lions governing admission.
There are many writer's here who
confine their fields of usefulness to
magazines, or to other publications
which require no telegraphic service.
The men who are connected with
newspapers or with press associations
who do use the wire are so numerous
that the press galleries are well filled.
When it is said that the standing
committee of correspondents safe
guards the newspaper men and the
reading public, exactly what is writ
ten Is meant. There are men and
women who come to Washington to
write stuff which Is intended to help
private or corporation interests. Their
effort Is to put In the most plausible
way before such readers as they can
command the supposed beauties OF
this legislation or that Legislation in
tended to benefit some great business
concern, or some individual scheme of
exploitation. On the face of things,
therefore, these correspondents cannot
be admitted to the press gallery, for
! they are not the purveyors of legiti-
mate news.
1t is the duty Of the standing com
mittee, acting In connection with the
committee on rules of the senate and
with the speaker of the house Of rep
resentatives, to see to 1t that the press
galleries OF congress are used for legiti-
mate purposes and for nothing else
There have been times when the
standing committee has taken Issue