A Gentleman from Mississippi Part 11

CHAPTER X

WHEN SENATORS DISAGREE

The wiseacres of Washington had nightly predicted, that the site of the hundred-million-dollar gulf naval base would be decided on in March, after the excitement and gayety attending the presidential inauguration had subsided.

On the morning of the day before this action of the committee on naval affairs was to be taken Secretary Haines sat at his desk in Senator Langdon's committee room in the Capitol. Richard Cullen, the favorite a.s.sociate of Haines in his journalistic days, out earlier than usual on his daily round of the departments for news for his Chicago paper, had strolled in and attempted a few of his characteristic cynicisms.

Haines usually found them entertaining, but these were directed at Senator Langdon.

"Now, let me tell you something, d.i.c.k," the secretary answered, firmly. "Don't you work off all your dyspeptic ideas in this neighborhood. My Senator is a great man. They can't appreciate him up here because he's honest--crystal clear. I used to think I knew what a decent citizen, a real man, ought to be, but he's taught me some new things. He'll teach them all something before he gets through."

Cullen hung one leg over Haines' desk.

"You're a nice, quiet, gentlemanly little optimist, and I like you, old fellow," retorted Cullen. "But don't deceive yourself too much.

Your Senator Langdon is personally one of the best ever. But he was born a mark, and a mark he'll be to the end of time.

"He looks good now. Sure, I like his speeches, and all that, but just wait. When some of those old foxes in the Senate want to put his head in the bag and tie it down, they won't have any trouble at all."

Smiling, Haines looked up at his cynical friend.

"The bag'll have to go over my head, too," he said, with a nod.

"Well, I don't know that Peabody'd have to strain himself very much to get such an awful big bag to drop you both in, if it comes right down to that, old chap. You're making a mistake. You're as bad as your old man. You're a beautiful pair of optimists, and you a good newspaper man, too--it's a shame!"

After momentary hesitation, Cullen continued, thoroughly serious.

"But, my old friend," he said in low tone, glancing quickly about, "there's one thing that you've got to put a stop to. It's hurting you."

The secretary's face showed his bewilderment.

"What do you mean?" he snapped, abruptly. "Out with it!"

"I mean," replied Cullen, "that rumors are going around that you are keeping Langdon away from the crowd of 'insiders' in the Senate for your own purposes--that, in short, you plan to--"

"I understand," was the quick interruption. "I am accused of wanting to 'deliver' Senator Langdon, guarantee his vote, on some graft proposition, so that I can get the money and not he himself.

Consequently I'm tipping him off on what measures are honest, so that he'll vote for them, until--until I'm offered my price, then influence him to vote for some big crooked scheme, telling him it is all right.

He votes as I suggest, and I get the money!"

"That's what 'delivering a man' means in Washington," dryly answered the Chicago correspondent. "It means winning a man's confidence, his support, his vote, through friendship, and then selling it for cash--"

"But you, d.i.c.k, you have--"

"Of course, old man, I have denied the truth of this. I knew you too well to doubt you. Still, the yarn is hurting you. Remember that Western Senator who was 'delivered' twice, both ways, on a graft bill?" he laughingly asked the secretary.

"Should say I did, d.i.c.k. That is the record for that game. It was a corporation measure. One railroad wanted it; another opposed it. The Senator innocently told an Eastern Senator that he was going to vote for the bill. Then the Easterner went to the railroad wanting the bill pa.s.sed and got $7,000 on his absolute promise that he would get Senator X. to vote for it, who, of course, did vote for it."

"Yes," said Cullen, "and later, when Senator X. heard that Senator Z.

had got money for his vote, he was wild. Then when another effort was made to pa.s.s the bill (which had been defeated) the 'delivered'

Senator said to Z. as he met him unexpectedly: 'You scoundrel, here's where I get square with you to some extent. Anyway, I'm going to vote against that bill this time and make a long speech against it, too.'

Senator Z. then hustled to the lobbyist of the railroad that wanted the bill killed and guaranteed him that for $10,000 he could get Senator X. to change his vote, to vote against the bill."

"And he got the money, too, both ways," added Haines, as Cullen concluded, "and both railroads to this day think that X. received the money from Z."

"Of course," said Cullen, "but X. was to blame, though. He didn't know enough to keep to himself how he was going to vote. Any man that talks that way will be 'delivered.'"

"I know how to stop those rumors, for I'm sure it's Peabody's work, he thinking Langdon will hear the talk and mistrust me," began Haines, when in came Senator Langdon himself, his face beaming contentedly.

Little did the junior Senator from Mississippi realize that he was soon to face the severest trial, the most vital crisis, of his entire life.

Cullen responded to the Senator's cheery greeting of "Mornin', everybody!"

"Senator," he asked, "my paper wants your opinion on the question of the election of Senators by popular vote. Do you think the system of electing Senators by vote of State Legislatures should be abolished?"

The Mississippian c.o.c.ked his head to one side.

"I reckon that's a question that concerns future Senators, and not those already elected," he chuckled.

Haines laughed at Cullen, who thrust his pad into his pocket and hurried away.

"It is to-day that I appear before the ways and means committee, isn't it?" Langdon queried of his secretary.

"Yes," said Haines, consulting his memorandum book. "At 11 o'clock you go before ways and means to put forward the needs of your State on the matter of the reduction of the tariff on aluminium hydrates. The people of Mississippi believe it has actually put back life into the exhausted cotton lands. In Virginia they hope to use it on the tobacco fields."

"Where does the pesky stuff come from?" asked the Senator.

"From South America," coached the secretary. "The South is in a hurry for it, so the duty must come down. You'll have to bluff a bit, because Peabody and his crowd will try to make a kind of bargain--wanting you to keep up iron and steel duties. But you don't believe that iron and steel need help, you will tell them, don't you see, so that they will feel the necessity of giving you what you want for the South in order to gain your support for the iron and steel demands."

The office door opened and Senator Peabody appeared.

"Peabody," whispered the secretary.

Instantly the Mississippian had his cue. His back to Peabody, he rose, brought down his fist heavily upon the desk, and expounded oratorically to Haines:

"What we can produce of aluminium hydrates, my boy, is problematical, but the South is in a hurry for it, and the duty must come down. It's got to come down, and I'm not going to do anything else until it does."

The secretary stretched across the desk.

"Excuse me, Senator; Senator Peabody is here," he said, loudly and surprisedly, as though he had just sighted the boss of the Senate.

The Mississippian turned.

"Oh, good-morning, Senator. I was just talking with my secretary about that hydrate clause."

Peabody bowed slightly.

"Yes, I knew it was coming up," he said, "so I just dropped over.

I'm not opposed to it or any Southern measure; but it makes it more difficult for me when you Southern people oppose certain Pittsburg interests that I have to take care of."