On the democratic side were Carlisle, Randall, Mills and Holman of Indiana. Holman was always objecting—the watch-dog of the treasury. During the daytime I heard these men discussing the important issues of the time; many of the nights I spent in the Congressional library, eagerly reading political history. I wanted to get hold of fundamental principles and the reasons underlying current issues. I also read many speeches—Lincoln and Douglas, and the Elliot debates.
I remained in Washington until after the inauguration of Cleveland. I saw Cleveland and Arthur sitting side by side in the Senate chamber on March 4th. My first impression of Cleveland was extremely unfavorable. The contrast with Arthur, who was a fine handsome figure, was very striking. Cleveland's coarse face, his heavy inert body, his great shapeless hands, confirmed in my mind the attacks made upon him during the campaign. And he was a Democrat!一and I a Republican at a time when party feeling was singularly intense. Later I came to entertain a great respect for Cleveland, to admire the courage and conscientiousness of his character.
In December I moved to Washington with my family, which then consisted of Mrs. La Follette and our little girl Fola.
A new Congressman finds himself at once irresistibly drawn into various groups and alignments. No sooner was I on the ground than I began to feel the influence of Senator Philetus Sawyer, then the leader of the Republican party in Wisconsin. Owing to the would fact that I had been elected to Congress without the assistance of the organization—indeed, in defiance of it—I knew next to nothing about the underlying forces which at that time controlled, and in large measure still control, party machinery. A very small coterie of men then dominated the politics of Wisconsin and the two great leaders were Senator Sawyer and Henry C. Payne, who afterwards became a member of Roosevelt's cabinet.
Sawyer was a man of striking individuality and of much native force. He was a typical lumberman, equipped with great physical strength and a shrewd, active mind. He had tramped the forests, cruised timber, slept in the snow, built saw mills—and by his own efforts had made several million dollars. So unlearned was he that it was jokingly that he signed his name "P. Sawyer" because he could not spell Philetus. He was nevertheless a man of ability, and a shrewd counselor in the prevailing political methods. He believes in getting all he could for himself and his associates whenever and wherever possible. I always thought that Sawyer's methods did not violate his conscience; he regarded money as properly the chief influence in politics. Whenever it was necessary, I believe that he bought men as he bought saw-logs. He assumed that every man in politics was serving, first of all, his own personal interests-else why should he be in politics? He believed quite simply that railroad corporations and lumber companies, as benefactors of the country, should be given unlimited grants of public lands, allowed to charge all the traffic could bear, and that anything that interfered with the profits of business was akin to treason.
I had not been long in Washington before Sawyer invited me to go with him to call on the President. I can remember just how he looked climbing into his carriage—a short, thick-set, squatty figure of a man with a big head set on square shoulders and a short neck—stubby everywhere. I remember he talked to me in a kindly, fatherly manner—very matter-of-fact—looking at me from time to time with a shrewd squint in his eye. He had no humor, but much of what has been called "horse sense." His talk was jerky and illiterate; he never made a speech in his life.
We called on President Cleveland and on all the Cabinet officers. His form of introduction was exactly the same at each place we stopped. He was not quite sure, always, of my name; "Follette" he called me. He would say:
"This young man we think a great deal of; we think he is going to amount to something. I want you to be fair to him. I'd like him to get all that is coming to him in his district. I hope you will treat him right when he has any business in your department."
As we drove away from our last call, Sawyer asked me if I had in mind any particular committee in the House upon which I desired to serve. I told him I had thought it over and I wanted to go on some committee where I could make use of my legal knowledge. I could not hope to be assigned to the great COmmittee on Judiciary, so I told him that I should like to go on the Committee on Public Lands. I innocently explained that many land grant forfeitures were pending and I should enjoy grappling with the legal questions which they presented. Sawyer looked at me benignly and said:
"Just leave that to me; don't say another word about it to anybody. I know Carlisle; served with him in the House. Just let me take care of that for you."
