The good old days

Remember when our elected officials represented their constituents? That was before they found it better to represent themselves.

Senators Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson come to mind.

Let me explain.

When living in Bothell, I bought my youngest daughter a horse and kept it at a pasture nearby that was owned by a crusty old cowboy named Homer.

I would go down and stand at the fence and watch the horse and chat with Homer. On one occasion, I met a local attorney who also had become friends with Homer, another cowboy of sorts. He told me that he and his wife had sponsored a Chinese couple from Hong Kong, and things had gone wrong from the start.

The man was born in Hong Kong and he qualified for immigration through the Hong Kong quota. The Chinese woman was born in Mainland China, and accordingly, came under the Mainland China quota system. She was still in Hong Kong and had to wait until she could get on the immigration list.

I asked the lawyer if he had written to Magnuson or Jackson and he said no.

I had already made plans to go to the Far East and planned to be in Hong Kong for several days. I told him I would go to the consulate there and see what I could find out.

A few weeks later, while in Hong Kong, I went to the consulate and was told that the Chinese wife would have to wait until her time came up and that the immigration service didn’t often change the status of an immigrant.

The next year I returned to Hong Kong on another trip and met the young woman, who was beside herself.  The two had married shortly before the man was accepted under his own quota system, and they had been apart for nearly three years.

Officials at the consulate gave me the same story and added that it could be five years or even longer before the wife would qualify.

This time when I returned home, I called both of our senators and asked if they would state their interest in a letter to me.

My third trip to the Far East was coming up and I took the letters with me. When I got to the consulate, I showed both letters to officials there. Both senators had stated quite forcibly of their interest, and the official all of a sudden showed interest. He asked me if I would pay for a wire if he sent one to Washington, and I told him, yes.

I continued my trip and some weeks later, when I got home, there was a letter waiting for me stating that the Chinese wife was up for immigration and that she would be arriving within two weeks.

It was a clear example that government officials take note when a United States senator shows an interest in a matter.

I doubt that any elected official in the state has risen that high in influence as the Magnuson-Jackson duo.