The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-10-31
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.


Compensation Of Laborers IN The Patent Q@ceOpiHon Of
he AaOraey General -Sundry persons recently but not
now, employed in tho Patent Office and generally des
mated as aborer have demanded arearages of oompen
saon under various acts of Congress, and particularly
under the joint resolution of August l8, 1856. The
Secretary OF the Interior referred the subject TO the At
tcrney General who has promptly rendered his decision
Judge Black first refers TO the act of August 4, 1884
which provides that ill aborers the executive depart
mens shall receive annual salary Of $3.50 EACH and
to tho joint resolution of 1885, which declares that all
aborers in the executive departments and the public
grounds shall be paid annual salary of 5000 from and
after the LIST of july 1856, holding that If these laws be
the true and only of compensation for laboe
II every who IL called aborer In any of the de-
partments to be paid neither nor less than
$500 per annumif this horizontal system of paying
them to be literally carried out negro boy would
get as much mature white man, and who
5000 would have salary M large whose
work is worth u 600 He did not think that any such
equalization of sox, color and age was intended Some
aborers were employed steadily and Others only
sonally regulation which paid by the year. who
worked constantly for years together reasonable, but
annual salary for person who spent forenoon In
shaking the dust out Of carpet was too absurd to be
thought Of
1t was manifest that Congress never understood the
seemed to understand them The contrary opinion had
been indirectly but very plainly expressed by Congress in
provisions that could be counted by the hundred Special
appropriations had been constantly made for labor in the
different departments, oItes, and bureaus This of it.
self would to show that labofes not all Of
them supposed to DO on salaries Of $3.50 since 1854
The words Of the act of 1854 and tho resolution Of 1856
did cover the present claim Their terms embraced oil
laborers in the executive departments But statute
was not to be literally construed when literal construc
ton would lead to consequences absurd mischievou
destructive Of any mans fundamental right.
After citing a number Of illustrations showing the ab
srdity of literal construction Of these laws the Ator
n,y General states that if these considerations suf
Gent to raise doubt about the meaning of Congress,
that was enough prevent them from working out the
purpose for which these claimants invoke them for these
laws to take money out of the treasury, and
such law to be in doubt to be resolved against the
right of any who makes claim under its provisions
These considerations convinced the Attorney General
that the act of 1854 and the joint resolution of 1856 did
not apply persons employed the offices under the
usual appropriations for labor to persons who bring
skill as well labor to their duties to persons who
are employed only on occasions nor to persons who
work under special contract which fixes their wages,
but only to those who constantly and regularly en-
cagcd in plain manual labor under the authority of laws
which expressly authorize their employment and attach
them to the several offices the labore thereof Some
of the departments and offices have right to employ
or more laborers and these aborers appointed
part of their organism in the way that clerks
sengers and doorkeepers appointed 1t is to these
laborers and these only that the salary laws apply
Pen,ion O6ice.--The following is abstract of the
business of this bureau for the current month (Ocobcr
under the act of Sd March, 1855
Number of applications for bounty land received l20
Number of warrants certificates issucd--- 1854
Number of letters received, briefed and register
ed, Including bounty land claiins)- $3.50
Number of letters franked and sent from the
Office ---------------------- Sob
Total number Of applications received IS 5SS
Total number of warrants certificates issued O78
TO satisfy these warrants win require 26 1853 $50 acres
as follows, viz