166 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 



Iowa. Mr. Burbridge testified that he had contributed 

 $5000 toward the election of a Senator from Nebraska. 

 Members of Congress are the constant recipients of 

 courtesies from the various railroads. Free passes are 

 given them, special and luxuriously appointed cars are 

 placed at their disposal, and the result is a demoraliza- 

 tion on the part of our national legislators that is con- 

 stantly developing itself in scandalous affairs which 

 bring the blush of shame to the cheek of every true 

 lover of his country. 



It is known that shrewd men and women are annu- 

 ally sent to Washington for the purpose of engineering 

 some corporation scheme through Congress. It is 

 known that these persons are entrusted by their princi- 

 pals with large sums of money, and the whole country 

 is satisfied that these sums constitute a gigantic corrup- 

 tion fund, to be used for the purpose of debauching the 

 Congress of the United States. 



As for the State Legislatures, the people have long 

 since come to regard them as hopelessly corrupt. It is 

 common to denounce the Legislature of the State of 

 New York as the chief of sinners in this respect, but 

 the sad truth is that the Legislature of New York is but 

 a representative body in this respect. Your experi- 

 enced railroad manager knows that there is not a legis- 

 lative body in the country in which his compatriots 

 have not attempted bribery with more or less success. 

 He can tell you the exact market value of each legis- 

 lature in the Union, and when he enters upon the con- 

 quest of one of these bodies, he can estimate very near 

 the exact sum it will be necessary to expend upon it. 

 If we choose our illustrations from the New York 

 Legislature, it is merely for convenience. 



