Show > I F SENATOR TOLD AN MOTER INTERESTING BY WORKED UNITED OF HOW STATES STORY PRO HIM H I cD V ote W Q S 0 I d GRAFTER 5000 TO FOR in STAND RECEIVES GETTING ALLEGED BY SENATOR BILL FEE INFLUENCE alW I L 1 < N1 T u I CORRESPONDENCE TRIBUNE Washington Aug 2SA former distinguished dis-tinguished Senator and a man holed ho-led poor although he spent his entire life In public affairs once told a very interesting story of how his vote was sold without his knowledge Possibly other Senatorial votes may have been sold in like manner In a Pullman I car one dny the Senator renewed tho acquaintance of a prominent railroad I man he had met In Washington and whom he knew was Interested in a land grant bill which had become a law and received the Senators support Well your bill got through all 1 right remarked the Senator though you were so very uneasy about It Ve had a right to be uneasy responded i re-sponded the railroad man In those k times of antirailroad sentiment many public men feared to vote for a railroad rail-road bill II Well I voted for It because it was a just measure and no amount of prejudice pre-judice could have L scared 1 me remarked re-marked the Senator Oh yes we knew we had your vote the railroad man remarked with a peculiar look How did you know it 1 asked the Senator sharply Because we paid 5000 for It1 answered an-swered the railroad man firmly The Senator gasped got his breath demanded an explanation and tho particulars par-ticulars of the affair then came out It developed that when this bill was pending the railroad man received information in-formation that there was danger of its being defeated and came to Washington Washing-ton to see about If Soon after his arrival ar-rival he met a man whom he knew slightly as a legislative promoter and a number of Senators said to be doubtful were named but added the promoter their votes could be had for a consideration The price of this particular J par-ticular Senator was fixed at 5000 Now he is a little peculiar about 1 1 these things said the promoter and l t you had better let me see him first 1 then later In the day you can call and see If he promises his vote It seems that this promoter did call I on the Senator and mentioned the i railroad bill and said that there were some men In the city who would be glad to know that the Senator would I support the bill and might they call later and hear him say so Oh yes said the Senator It Is n Just bill and Ill vote for It but I have no time to bother with these men Nevertheless in the afternoon tho railroad man and his frIend were ushered Into the Senators committee robin and tho promoter sold Senator I these are the gentlemen I spoke to you about this morning interested In-terested In that land grant bill They will he glad to know It Is all right Yes Its all right said the Senator Sena-tor The bill ought to pass and as I said thlll morning I am going to support sup-port it l The Incident apparently closed until I I renewed afterward upon the train Upon Uie strength of that interview Inter-view said the railroad man we paid that promoter J5000 for your vote Well It Is needless for me to say I never knew anything about It But tell me why did you go about anything of that kind Why didnt you come tome to-me first without any negotiation and find out how I stood and what I would doZ Well we were so scared we didnt take any chances on anything was the reply Telling the story afterwards the Senator Sen-ator said I had often looked ut some of my colleagues whose reputations had been Impugned and asked myself my-self Are they knaves or fools but crltlclflng a fellowmember for being I A knave and taking money for his vote or placed In a posltfon where he was l suspected of It and therefore a fool I would check myself as some one might be asking To which class do you belong be-long ROOTS EXPERIENCE f 1 Secretary Ropt never had much leg islative experience In fact his service In the Now York constitutional conven tt In 1E94 Is all the business of a leg islative 1 character that he ever transacted trans-acted He was then chairman ot the cornmittee of Judiciary My experience experi-ence In that convention said the Secretary Sec-retary has shown me that legislative legisla-tive government Is better than arbitrary arbi-trary government I have had plenty of experience In arbitrary government both In Cuba and the Philippines The method of legislative government Is Blower but in the end It In better I am convinced that In any legislative assembly even the most perverse and Stupid member Is of some use In making ma-king a law plain to his understanding thc framers arc very likely making It more easily understoorl to all people find render it easily understood and interpreted in-terpreted I In amending a bill to meet the knowledge of those whose understanding under-standing la not the best defects are often found which may be remedied with wholesome effect r These remarks were made In discussing dis-cussing possible financial legislation at the coming session of Congress Mr Root has not given attention to Jlnance Financial legislation Is not accomplished accom-plished said Mr Rool pimply by calling Congress together and presenting present-ing a bill prepared by a few men Some people think that all that Is ncce sarIs sar-Is for such a bill to be presented and for the Speaker to say All In favor of this bill Pay aye and It Is through I There will have to bp u pretty general agreement Of an the leading men In igresF and then It must be discussed dis-cussed and carefully considered and made plain to those who are not experts ex-perts All this means delay but delays de-lays arc not always dangerous OC course an arbitrary government could put any proposed law In force at once but In higher civilization representative representa-tive government continues to grow stronger and while the methods of la making are nlow In the long run the laws are better for the whole people peo-ple How do you like this place any an < became Secretary Well I am getting along now all right answered the Secretary but It AVUB a little repugnant to my training OR a lawyer at first to make laws Coi rdteral million new people by simply writing them and signing i my name to them I have done enough of that now so that I can make a law for Cuba or the Philippines without drawing an extra ex-tra long breath or walking about the room to quiet m > nerves When President McKinley asked Root to become Secretary of War time New York lawyer remarked I dont know anything about the War department and I dont know anything about the army and I am not fitted for the position po-sition You neednt mind about that the President replied You dont need to know about the War department or the army What I want Is a lawyer to manage these insular possessions that have come to us from Spain Why Is so much time necessary to erect a Government building is a question often asked and never satisfactorily satis-factorily answered In every large city In the country many buildings oC great size are erected by private capital cap-ital In a year or two years at the outside out-side In many cases buildings equal In grandeur and cost to the public buildings are constructed equipped and occupied within a year from the time the ground was purchased In some cases quite a number of large buildings arc torn down and the debris carted away preliminary to the actual work It Is not supposed that the Government Govern-ment will move quite as fast as a cor poratlon or private Individual but why need It take four to eight years to erect a building Here In Washlngttm there have been some very striking examples ex-amples of slow methods The building occupied by the Postoulce department and Washington city postofllce dragged along for years Now the same slow process attends the new Government building for the District of Columbia Ever since the purchase there has boon some tinkering going on about the site and a few workmen seen put rIng r-ing around the stones and brick of what was the old power house but nothing like a start Is made No excavation exca-vation Is attempted as If there was an Intention to begin the building and push It to completion It IB the same In all other cities In many towns especially es-pecially n the West the towns outgrow out-grow the buildings before they arc completed STILL LIEUT CORBIN MoJGen Con binn wont out to tho reunion re-union of his old regiment the Sovcnty ninth Ohio and there mingled with the men who knew him as a Second Lieutenant Lieu-tenant It was quite a remarkable fact that the Captain First and Second Sec-ond Lieutenants who were the first officers of the company In which Cor bin served were still alive and present at the reunion Every man there aid the General except one who knew me In Washington and called me General called me Lieutenant It was bully I havent enjoyed anything so much In a long time Gen Corbin was very intimate with Rutherford B Iluycs and often tells a story of the days when Hayes was In the White House Where is the letter was a query that Hayes used to make whon some communication was handed to him adding In every letter there Is a sentence which Is the whole letter It shows what the writer wants and tells the whole story Some ill times It may be carefully concealed but in tho end It can be found Another remark Hayes would make about letters was that when a man went over a second page he had nothing noth-ing to say Any man can tell all that Is necessary on one page was a declaration decla-ration of that President Gen Corbln says that In considering the mass of correspondence he haM received re-ceived he has come to the conclusion that Mr Hayes was right about letters let-ters In one sentence the meat of a communication can be found and on one page nearly every official statement state-ment can be made ARTHUR W DUNN |