The Portland daily press., 1868-07-11

Letter from the CLERK OF the House Of Rep
reSentdtiues, "GOu" Pillsbuys nelo meth
Od Of addition, toe and one are too.
CLERKS OFFICE, u. S. ii. of r., I,
WASHINGTON, ID. c., July Z, 1865
Ny DEAR sIR,-I thank you for calling my
attention to an article ysu say has been gen.
orally published i'm the Democratic papers in
Maine, purporting to be a statement OF the
number of knives, inkstands, portmonnaies,
gold pens, and amount of paper used by the
members Cf the House. The statement pur-
ports to have been compiled from the last
annual report of the Clerk of the House.
The figures given in the article referred to
are the grossest exaggeration Of the facts
being, on gold pens 2S per cent in excess OF
the true figures, on envelopes 80 per cent, on
paper over 40 per cent, on portmonnaies over
10 per cent, on erasing knives over so per
cent, on mkstands over 90 per cent, and on
knives over 300 per cent.
The paper used, which is estimated at for
ty-one reams to each member, includes not
only the writing paper used by them, but the
,erdpping paper in Which the hundreds Of
thousands Of copies Of the agricultural and
Mechanical Reports, and The Public Docu-
meRtS printed for general distribution, loere
folded.
Think understand how these erroneous fig
ures were obtained. In the report alluded to
aobve the clerk includes, in one table, all the
articles purchased for The use Of the House,
of euery kind and description. In another
table, in the same report, he includes all the
articles furnished by him, under the law,
to the postmaster of the House, for
the use of committees, for the folding Of pub
lie documents, and for sale to members at the
contract prices; and in another, he includes
all the articles consumed in the clerks office,
by its various bureaus, in the transaction OF
the business of the House.
The gentleman who prepared the article re-
ferred to, as published in the Maine papers,
has added, land made considerable mistakes
in adding,) the stationery items of all these
tables together, and has thereby counted as
consumed every article bought, and duplicat-
ed every article consumed in the clerks officel
cannot suppose that this was Intentionally
DONE L know its result is to present very
false statement. The articles bought are in
the first table; those consumed in the last
two. Making one total of the three, in order
TO ascertain the articles consumed by the
members, is manifest absurdity But il it
were as stated by the editor referred to, the
law requires that the article received by them
from the postmaster be changed to their sta
| tionery allowance.
| q tbat
resentative has now an allowance of S125
| per session for stationery and newspapers;
chat the stationery drawn from the post-mas-
| er, is charged against that allowance; that if
| the allowance be not hereby exhausted, the
balance is paid them in money; and that this
system has always prevailed in Congress, the
stationery being thus furnished as matter of
convenience to members at the wholesale
prices.
The article referred to, also, accepted the
form OF the Report, as proof ofthe dishonesty
OF the clerk.
1t is very evident that the writer OF the ar
| ticle referred to did not understand the Re-
port, or he would not have reached the con-
clusions he set forth. Whether that was be-
cause the Report itself is hard to understand,
or because he did not try to understand it, is
not for me to say. But l may saw, in self
vindication, that the form OF the Report is in
precise accordance with the law, and is the
same in which it has always been prepared
since the law requiring it was passed, under
every administration, Democratic, Whig and
Republican.
Ifmore particu arity be required in order
that greater economy may be secured, or
more direct accountability and responsibility.
no one will be more prompt to respond to the
demands of such legislation, than
| Your obedient servant,
ED. MCPHERSON,
| CLERK u. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
Hon. JOHN LYNCH, M. G.