Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-03-03
coNrmGENr EXPENSES OF CONGRESS.
SPEECH OF non. GEO. W. JONES,

Of Congress, reported from the Committee Of Ways
and Means with amendment the pending
question being OF motion TO recommit sad bill
to the Committee of Ways aud Means
The bin wssread as follows:
Belt enacted 5y the Senate and House Of Representatives.
Of the Jnd Stq56s Of AmsricG in Congress assembled
That all moneys appropriated for the contingent expenses
Of the Senate House Of shall be dbur
sd bv h Secretary oil the Senate and Clerk Of the House
espscvev upon accounts which shall have been exam
ined and approved BY the committees appointed for such
chairman Of such COMMITTEES and not otherwise and such
accounts hen approved and certified, shall be admit.
ted aud passed By the accounting officers OF the Treasury
TIE Committee Of Ways and Means propose to
report the following amendment:
Add at the end Of the bill the following.
And shall be the duty Of The accounting officers of the
Treasury 20 settle the said accounts Of the Secretary Of the
Senate and # the Clerk If the House Of Representatives.
respectively, at the end Of each and every session.
Mr. JoNEs, Of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, he
bill which has just been read is short and appears very
plain and simple in its provisions There seems to be but
provision the bill and that s that the accounts
passed Bp0n aud directed paid Of the contingent
fund Of toe House by your Committes Accounts shall
be conclusive upon the accounting officers Of the TreaEu
~ with whom The Clerk required TO settle his accounts
Sir, there any necessity for such an ac? II is right
think dat before we sgisats and pass Law there should
be necessity for that law. Whts the necessity in
This c4se Have the accounting officers Of the Treasury
ever rejected refused pass account Ordgred byyour
COMMITTEES on Accounts % be paid bBYOu Cierk2 If sir
such in tie hands Of the Clerk Of this House
has been rejected by the accounting oeerB of the
Treasury have vet 10 learn that fact Thn there has
been which be has refused TO give credit the
] vouchers, why pass this bill
pass vouchers certified by your tcmmtee accounts.
No. it Is higher than and goes behind that and tits
question raised between the accounting officer and this
House. which this law cannot reach until the people shall
revise the organic law. That is IT. sir The Constitution
of the United states provides in explicit terms that no
money shall be drawn from tie Treasury but ia cOnss
quence of appropriations made by law The founders of
our Government wise and honest They under
stood what they balted for during the years Rsvo
luton, of which they had recently emerged when
gagged ID framing our Constitution They wisely divided
OF the Government mo three brancheS-the
executive legislative ana judcal-assgning 10 each Of
those branches their functions the discharge
Of their duties Here the Congress Of The United states
alone money be appropriated out Of the Treasury
The executive C;eTs have The custody OF that Treasury
and they Oaly to support the Constitution
of the United states, the members Of Congress are
but they also sworn u execute the la8s Sir
pass law in Congress- but the executive officers are to
judge whether have appropriated the money OF not
the true question Eere and which has given rise TO
the bill under consideration and to It's supposed necessity
not the con of vouchers but whether Congress has
made appropriation for the benefit Of certain persons
| for which appropriation your Clerk made a requston
upon the Treasury OF the United States the accounting
officer of the Tr asurY says such appropriation was
made asked by the requiston aud as there
appropriation for that purpose he therefore said
cannot I'LL your requison IN the absence of law and
in violation of that provision OF the Constitution which
provides that money shall be drawn from the Treasury
but in consequence Of appropriations made by law.
Now order to understand this case will be best
perhaps 60 back few years and what has been the
legislation the practice upon this subject OF extra
compensation to employees Of the legislative branch fths
Government Let 20 back to tue memorable contest of
ls40 when the country arrayed utO pares-ihe
| Democratic and the W mig p2TtleS-and when the Wing
party out OF that contest victorious What was the
attack then made upon The Democratic party which had
administered the Government for twelve successive years
What was the poiat Of attack Ii was for extrava.
glnce and prCfgacy the of the public moneys bv
ne dominant party during the preceding twelve years
The people decided thai issue against The democratic
party and in favor Of their adveFsares the Wing party
| What did the Wing par7 do wdeR they INTO this
House the next Congress at er that TctOry One of the
first things they did to appoint a special committee
for the upOse of nves eating and reporting tue House
| OF Representatives how many persons were employed
about the Hall OF the House Ct Representatives under
authority what their compensation was and if there werB
any, a1d SO. how many there were, whose selVcss
could be dispensed with aud the aggregate expenditure
for such services. At the head Of 1ai committee
ZUshed gentleman from the Stale OF Virginia, Mr.
/ Summers The report Of that committee recommended
that there should be clerk salary Of 5000;
assistant At 500 eight other isants at SI5 o. one
Ssrgsanat Arms At $780, DO0rktepers Ut 800 one
Postmaster at g. 500 aughsmaa at 500; three
messengers the Clerks Gt3s labOTeI IN the Clerks
office ten msse5g gers for the House; two aborers for the
HOuse four Messengers for the post oce eight pages for
the House, one Commissioner Of Public Build ngs; five
Watchmen attendant on lie furnaces; one gardener,
and twelve gardeners laboTers These the officers
| # be House with their salaries annexed Then sir
having adopted this report and fixed the salaries rule OF
| this H0use-the IaOt1-Was adopted
/ shall be allowed o
cer senger, page or abore or OF in the
service OF the House. or engaged III or about the public
| grounds or buildings"
That Is the 5Oh rule Of the House adopted on this re-
nor. on the sth of hlarch 1912 Ans sir they do not
sop here Al the same Congress law was passed that
noccer branch o. the public service any other
persons whose salary, pay, emrument5 fixed
bv law OF regulation, shall receive GDy additional pay,
extra allowance DenaiOn, in any form whatever
for The disbursement Of public money, for any other
service duty whatsoever, unless the same shall be au
thoIiz3 oY law and the appropriation therefor explicitly
set forth that is tor such additional pay alo nee
or compensation. That Congress, l believe adhered L.
and 90 crvsd he provisions OF this rule and thus law; but
when the next Congress here they got clear Of the
rule BY tUsnending IT, and IN disregard OF that law which
az understand still stands unrepe lied the stautsbO0k
extra compensation resolution was adopted, giving 70
the ,icer5 and assistants whose salaries were 500
year an upwards twenty per cent thir salaries being
addition Ct $6UO 10 saFles oil Sl,5Ce, and addition
of $500 salaries Of $4,000; 70 messengers whose com
/ o. nsaGOu was MOO and half dollars day an
extra compensation Of $3.50; and to pages $500 extra
Resolutions for extra compensation passed each sue
csedng session Of Congress until 1854. viii not stOL
here 10 inquire length how these resolutions were pas
sed Did they here The ordinary course of bus
ness when could have en- opportunity Of discussing
, them, aud assigning the for our votes? 10
sir they introduced towards the close your session
when 81 thing OF Importance is crowded into the
last few DAYS. There is rule of tie House which prO
vdes there shall be restaurant for the sale Glor
s5Olt his part Of the building aud yet in violation
that rule there tables kept here, spread sumpuausly
with meat and drink, IN committee roOms furnished aud
paid for BY these clerks leers pages and
other q the House receive this
penBatiOn where members feasted without csl K
themselves during the last days of the session and under
tn excitement the rules suspended some evening and
these resolutions FASTENED through extra c1InDen
satOn voted Well sir thas was the practice ID to 1854
and in s54 Congress agan attempted put an end this
thing of extra cmpensaOn, And how did they DO IL
J | By the lowing law:
THAT the CcsrS CLERKS messengers aud other employ
in the legislative department Of the Government Shall
receive increased compensation of twenty per cent on
the compensation received by them respectively; and
the messengers Of the House of Representatives shall
receive les Than allowed to messengers OF the Senate
the same class such increased c0pensa ton to commence
from the day Of July, 1858; and that a sum sufficient
pay the mp to iAe Both June 1850 is hereby ap
pr0pred out Of any money IN the Treasury otherwise
| proprsted Provided That person whose c0iupsnsa
tion increased by the approved April % 1854
shall benefited By this joint resolution: And DyOUidel
vtbsr That the usual compensation shall not here
after be allowed TO any person receiving the beaht Of this
/ joint resolution"
Mr. Cobb OF Georgia What is the dale Of that?
Mr. jones, of Tennessee twentieth Of July 1854
This resolution is peculiarly wOrded-"that the usua
extra compensation shall hereafter be allowed to any
person wing the benefit of this joint res uaOu"-ps
Cullary wuTdsd 10 allow part Of those WhJ had
heretofore received part of this compensation 70
and refuse avail themselves Of its provisions
When he increase given by TIL twenty per cent was
than or equal to the amount usually received for extra
compensation they the increase when it would
give less than lie extra compensation they declined 20 re-
CECe It thus the messengers got $3.50 aud the pages
got$200 extra mpensaton which more than twenty
per cent their compensation, and consequently they
dscned the take the benefits OF this law
and at the same session at which that passed.