Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1804-02-01

lives in the midst ola country where one
great staple article, beef, is raised IN great
Quantities. will ask him whether that ar
ticle has been higher at any period since
1909. than it has been for three months
past. You may go through all the other
articles of living, and you will find them,
on the average, to be about the. same thing
that thew were in 1899. But will my col
league say that any kind of manual labour
is now lower than it was at that time. He
will not. He must acknowledge that the
reverse is the case in the country were he
lives; and that laboring man is there ena-
-bled 20 procure more for the occupation OF
his time than he could FIVE years ago.
These being the facts, the conclusions OF
my colleague doi> t hold, when the prlnci-
pies on which he Pounds them, do not ex-
list, / have reasons which justify me for
voting for the bill. / believesthat a person
in genteel life might entertain company in
Philadelphia, in. the year 1899, as well for
$500 dollars, as he can here at this time
for 5000 dollars. Hthis be fact, of
which have no doubt, the salaries allow
ed by this bill, bear ohlya proper proper
ton to those that then existed.
Ny colleague observes that we arein IA
vorof making this bill perpetual. But he
will recollect that the other day resolution
was introduced for making it temporary.
Yet he voted against it, and thot Oh he now
acknowledges that the salaries, as they
stood before the year 1899, were too low,
yet he does not make any specific PROPOSE
lion to increase them, but contents himself
with voting against the whole bill.
Ny colleague has additional reasons for
voting against this bill inasmueh as it is
propped up, he says, by the act OF 1899,
voted for the amendment, to which the
gend man refers, for this reason. When
the last act on this subject passed we heard
it echoed and re-echoed through the news
papers, that an economical, saving admit
nistration had raised their own salaries;
and to prove this, contrast must be made
in distinct columns between the salaries as
they existed previously to the passage of
the act Of 1899, & as they then stood, &,
in some districts of the country. the people
were deceived and made to believe that
this administration, instead of continuing,
had raised the salaries. This, together
with the calumny, industriously circulated
that secret service moneyto avast amount,
was put into the hands Of the President,
alarmed the people. To prevent the repe-
;ition of like misrepresentation, 4 voted
Tor the amendment.
Mr.. Varnum concluded his remarks by
observing that he should vote for the bill
on the express principle that 1t did not give
the executive officers higher salaries in this
place than they received in Philadelphia.
in addition to this consideration, is it pro-
oable, enquired Mr.. Varnum, that gentle
men, competent to the discharge of the
nigh duties Of the first offices under the go
vernment, will serve as low here as they
would in New York, or Philadelphia -
VIII they have no regard to the prospect
Of educating rising family? Is this cir
cumstance no inducement to an individual
70 accept lower compensation, where the
means of educating his children exist, than
in a place where they are not be found?
To be continued.)
n