M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1859-02-24
The Appropriation Bills in Com
gresS'

! BFesS'
On Wednesday the House of Rep,
resenatives in Congress had under
consideration the Executive, Judicia
! and Legislative appropriation Bill,
and sundry amendments were made
to it, by reducing or cutting off item;
OF expenditure for various objects
among which was the sum of $780,,
600 for mileage of members, $4,000
for furniture repairs and packing box
es for members, nearly $4,000 fol
Congressional Globe binding the same
and reporting the proceedings Of Con.
gress. Quite a reduction was also
made in the items for workman's wa.
ges in the San Francisco and New
Orleans Mints, and the New York
Assay office. All Of these amend
mcnts except those affecting the wages
of labor we thing right, and those ex.
cepted cases may be right. The idea
that it should cost the United States
100000 year to pay the mileage OF
members Of Congress is preposterous,
but yet we presume that the amount
paid is even more than that sum-
Without remarking further we may
say that all the expenditures around
and about Congress, ought to be cut
down and this done the ground, work
would be laid for reform and retrench-
ment ola safe, sound and practical
character in ali the departments ofthe
Federal Government, which will not
be likely to be affected so long as such
glaring abuses exist in and are sane.
troncd by the law making department
Of the Government. While the body
that holds the pursc.stringe is itself
profusely extavagant in its own ex-
penses, it cannot, with a good grace,
ask that other officials should not be
50; and that extravaganza exists in all
the departments of public affairs, ma
tional, state municipal and all else,
cannot be denied or concealed.
Congress has got what i' called the
contingent fund Of the Senate and
House Of Representatives; and it is, by
law, made the duty of the Clerk to
make report to the Speaker at the
beginning of each session, stating how
much, and to whom expenditures
have been made for the year just clos
ed, and chargable to the contingent
fund. That report, annually, when
made, is laid upon the table and is
printed, but not for distribution, and
it is not the habit of Members Of Con-
gress, Of any party, to circulate the
little book containing the Contingent
Expenses 9ftde House Of Rpre8enta.
tees among their con5tituens. Had
such habit prevailed, we are quite
sure that a reformation in eXtravagant
ofpublic money would
long since, been demanded by the peo,
pie. Tho members are paid 1000
per year, and forty cents per mile for
travelling from their homes to Wash
ington and returning. Beyond this
per annum compensation and mileage,
the contingent expenses Of the House
are several hundred thousand dollars
for each session. We had occasion
last fall to look into one OF these books
of contingent expenses. 1t was the
one before the last session ofthe Banks
Congress, when Mr.. Cullen was
Clerk, and had the expenditures in
his own hands. AS the Speaker was
a Republican and the Clerk a Know
Nothing, the Democratic party connot
claim the merit or demerit of the con-
tingent expenses Of that House, it it
was comparatively either economical
or eXtravagant. Our Republican and
American friends will, we presume,
claim that it was not extravagant, and
our opinion is that the session preced-
ing and succeeding it are of the same
character. That session was only
three months long, and the pay of its
Clerks aud other officers and employ
ees, was $4,000 per quarter, Or $7G,-
900 for the year. And among the
bills paid the following are samples,
the articles being for the use of mem
berS: to Gideon e. Company, for tuck
dairies, tuck memoirs, dressing cases,
scrap books, &C., $5,019 50; to Gideon
q Co., for pearl card cases, ladies port
monies, pearl shopping tablets, buck
skin purses, pocket books, ladies com.
panionS, English travelling cases Eng
lish despatch boxes, &C., $8,100 76, to
j. G. Rivos for "a copies of the Con-
gressional Globe and appendix for
each member and delegate (24D.,
S17,352; to Gales & Seaton for Reg
lister Of Debates, annals of Congress
and Senate Land Laws S32,S50; to
John CasSin for printing 1000 copies
s plates of birds and 1900 copies -
plates Of fishes and shells and color.
ing same SIG, $50. These will suf-
flee, and we think satisfy the taxpay-
ing people, that the members Of Con-
gress are very liberal in their drafts