New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-07-26

Of each Member should be ken. for him, not BY
bim Whoever will tAt;e the trouble Of comparing
the record OF ras and Nays taken in either House
WIZ 'ne returns Of th,ir own days Of absence from
mir seats reported by Hon. Members art printed
yesterday, will be convinced that not one.fou-h
Of the actual days of absence are returned, even
though the deduction for such absence BIO but one
third of what it should be. Under the rate OF
compensation we propose 5000 per annum) the
deduction for each day of willful absence should
be not less than SOS.
IU.-The Mileage, or allowance for travelling
expenses to Members in going to and returning
from each session of Congress, lie atrocousy eX-
Orbitant, unequal, unjust. The rate was fixed
when such travel was performed on horseback or
in stages, at the rate of thirty to sixty miles per
day, at an average cost of fully ten cents per mile
Then the roads Travelled were nearly directs
now they follow devious rivers or ziszag lines of
railroad, often twice as long. 1t costs less than
half so much in time and money for Members to
reach Washington and return to their homes now
as it did then, yet they receive twice as much
bat we shall not be weary of holding it up to the
light until we see the end of it. We were prom
ised BY influential members that it should be cor
rected directly after and consequent upon the Com
pensation Act of 1856; but four year, have since
passed, and nothing is accomplished. The House,
under the lead of Mr.. Sherman of Ohio, passed
perfectly Just and efficient bill last WINTER reduc-
ing the Mileage from twenty to ten cents per mile,
and prescribing that it shall hereafter be computed
by air-lines instead of by all manner OF circumam-
bent routes; but the Senate refused to act upon
the BILL and it is dead. 1t must be revived and
passed; it can be, if the People will only think and
talk of the matter.
Our tabular exhibit shows that $S7S, 1863 was
paid for Mileage to Members of the last House,
and 1888, 796 to those of the Senate-in all, $5l2,
Cos, or over $500 per Member in the average.
But the inequality is the most striking feature of
this abuse. While the average compensation, in
GLIDING Mile age, of the Members from Virginia,
Mary land, Delawa are, Pennsy lvania, New Jersey,
and North Carolina was less than $1,000 for the
entire Congress, Gen. LaIe, as Delegate from
Oregon received ST., 796; Mr.. Stevens, as Dele
gate from Washington, $l7,9l9; Messrs. Gwin
and Broderick, as Senator'S from California, al but
Sl7 900 each, and Messrs. McKibbin and Scott, as
Members from the Golden State, over Sl7 300 each.
In other words, our six Members fro the Pacific
coast cost us for that Congress over $780, ano
their number has since been increased 10y the
Admission of Oregon) to eight; and will soon (by
virtue of the new Census) be carried considerably
higher. Of course we would not dare to hint that
such legislators as G win and 10 Lane could be
dear at any price; but glut in the market will
depIess the price of the choicest article; and
when the Pacific coast shall be contributing her 20
Gwins and Lanes to the sum total of our collective
wisdom, we shall ask her to consider the relative
scarcity and value of money on these sterile shores
and try to afferd them to us at $4,000 per head.
But be it ever understood that this is no party
nor personal matter and that We blame no man
who serves the public for taking the legal compen-
saton prescribed for his services. What we insist
on is the injustice and exorbtancy of this Congress
sonal Mileage, and the duty devolviDg on Congress
of revising and conforming it to the rule of eternal
right To this end, we beg the People to contribute,
by selecting, in their several nominating conven-
tons, upright and frugal men to represent them in
the next House and instructing them to urge a
reduction of Congressional compensation and the
passage of Mr.. Shermans excellent bill to reform
the abuses of the present Mileage system.