ip6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



is that legislative agents have not contented themselves with presenta- 

 tions of facts. They have brought improper influences to bear upon 

 our legislative and executive officers. Perhaps the extent of such influ- 

 ences is exaggerated. The press is prone to chronicle the evil rather 

 than the good that men do. Exceptional instances of wrongdoing may 

 be mistaken for the rule rather than the exception. Lobbyists are, how- 

 ever, rightly regarded with suspicion. The sugar trust long since earned 

 for itself a notorious reputation. In truly non-partisan fashion, it has 

 helped out the campaign funds of Democrats and Republicans alike and 

 has placed both parties under obligations to look after its interests. Its 

 rebating, custom house frauds and secret tapping of the New York City 

 water supply have added to its notoriety. Not many years ago a street 

 railway magnate was reputed to own the city government of Chicago in 

 much the same sense that a merchant owns his stock of goods. " The 

 only reason we do not have a parcels post is the four express companies," 

 John Wanamaker is said to have remarked, when Postmaster-General. 

 The legislatures of certain states have occasionally been the adjuncts of 

 railway or other corporations. The investigation of the insurance com- 

 panies by the Armstrong committee, whose labors Mr. Hughes so ably 

 directed, disclosed a startling condition of affairs. The venal legislator 

 who introduces "strike bills" has intensified the general sense of sus- 

 picion. The excessive multiplication of briefless lawyers who find it 

 difficult to make a living has doubtless contributed to this condition. 

 Organized labor in common with organized capital has violated the 

 proprieties of life. "When a vote affecting the employees of the Boston 

 Elevated was taken during the last session of the Massachusetts legisla- 

 ture, the employees in their uniforms, present in large numbers, made 

 such a demonstration as to intimidate certain legislators. The insidious 

 control of certain members of the press for sinister purposes has excited 

 popular distrust. The newspaper dependent upon legal advertisements 

 or upon any special interest for support is to that extent compromised 

 as an organ of public opinion. 



The indiscreet friends of a cause are frequently its worst foes. This 

 is true of protection. There are arguments of weight which can be 

 advanced in favor of a protective tariff. The young industry argument 

 is entitled to respect. It may be wise to diversify industries even at 

 considerable economic sacrifice. Self-preservation requires a nation to 

 produce at least part of its military supplies. Not least among the 

 advantages of protection have been its political consequences. By cen- 

 tering attention upon Washington, and by rendering the different por- 

 tions of the country industrially interdependent, it has contributed to 

 our unity as a people. Unfortunately, however, such considerations have 

 frequently exercised little influence in the enactment of tariffs. Log- 

 rolling has repeatedly extended protection to industries to which it 

 should never have been accorded. Many industries have claimed pro- 



