Year: 1875

S0rIpSoToS In ForC1cus


Within q few years what Is known as News
paper Bow in Washington has become cele-
brated, not 80 much on account of the journal
lists who had Offices on that famous locality as
from those who pretended to, but had not.
The congregation Of many newspaper Offices
in single block was godsend to the lobby
correspondent 1t enabled him to be seen in
tho company of respectable journalists, and
even to create the impression that he served
respectable journals. The exigencies of the
is like any other commodity, and must be
bought from whoever has it to sell The story
of Newspaper Row has often been told-how
from two or three letter writers for the New
York press it grew into great and command
ing influence, with notifications oil over the
country. The lobby correspondent was the
natural offshoot of the genuine article. and he
not only grew out of the activity of the news
market, but formed part of it and prospered
with it, until to-day it is not easy either for
Congress or the lobby to distinguish between
the real and the spurious correspondent.


In that annual publication known as the
congressional Directory nearly three pages
are devoted to the Representatives of the
Press An examination of this list is curl
ohs study All the press associations are
represented AMI all the leading newspapers in
the country. Besides these there are prob
ably hundred journals on the list of which
nobody ever heard. The correspondents of
the latter class are generally harmless fellows,
clerks in the departments, often, who seek to
give themselves little greater importance by
getting tie good-hearted Major Poore to put
their names in the list. The IioilgM Beacon,
the Bacle,ooods Statesman aud the Ocean
Wauc each has its correspondent. But
it is not only tho unknown journals that
have correspondents without correspondence.
Some of the most respectable newspapers
in the country appear in the list with "repre-
sentatives," who simply use the respectability
of the journals as q cloak to their own
schemes. We could point to three or four
such in the leading cities, and, what is more,
everybody knows them and their business.
Mr.. Samuel Ward may be retained in great
lobby scheme like the Pacific Mail subsidy, as
he so felicitously expressed it, simply because
'thc kings name is tower of strength" but
the lobby correspondent can show bigger
balance at his bankers, as has been most con-
clusively proved, than the king of the lobby.
Mr.. Ward can only talk to people who know
the inspiration which moves his agile tongue,
but the lobby correspondent is supposed to
address on unsuspecting audience 1t will
thus be seen that Major Poore's list is very
useful list indeed to the active young gentle
men who are fondly believed to control the
sentiment OF the country.


And just here we wish to say to the readers
of the HERALD that they need not send us any
communications suggesting that hereafter the
list of Washington correspondents be omitted
from the Congressional Directory" 1t is
too late in the day for such simple device.
There are half dozen people in Washington
who have been correspondents of the HERALD
for twenty years without having ever sent us
a line of news or received a dollar of pay from
us. If we repudiated them hundred Con-
gressmen who know better than we do whom
we employ would laugh at rs and believe in
CneIn I'LL Iue shne. Men ike MI. lrWln are
always compelled to buy these, because the
genuine article is not for sale. The lobby
correspondent is a man of memories, and
these are the foundations of his impostures.
He is all things to oil men. His actual con-
nection with the Podunk Press and the
Okhotsk Transcript enables him TO enter the re-
porters' galleries and show himself in the ante
rooms of the House and Senate. The rest
he manages for himself, and he soon
makes it to be understood that he is all
powerful in the newspaper Offices in New
York and in the committee rooms on both
sides of the Capitol. He generally owns
Senator or two and ever 30 many common
Congressman. He is magnate in his way,
who not only talks like q statesman, but lives
like gentleman. He has q house with ter
raced grounds, or the best apartments at the
Arlington, Ebbitt or Willard s, and his wifes
receptions are the wonder of the capital. Sam
Wards dinners arc dull affairs In comparison.
He keeps his carriage in Washington and his
broker IN New York, aud yet he cannot write
ten consecutive lines Of English and could not
get them printed even if be could write them.
But, thanks TO the Congressional Directory"
and Newspaper Row." he is able to work on
from year to year and from Congress to Con-
gress, apparently as much esteemed as if be
was not an impostor and TO make more money
than if he told the truth and accepted no
bribes.


PACIFIC MAIL has at last spoken, and
several gentlemen are in the same boat as Mr..
Schumacher, who finds himself sin an embar-
RAISING position" He exhibits quite a phe-