The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-02-05
SHALL SALARIES MAKE RICH HEN.

The following editorial from the
Nevada Gazette contains too much
truth to be thrown into the waste bas-
ket. The sentiments it contains should
be iterated and reiterated through the
country until every public man of high
or low degree should feel that to betray
the trust imposed in him by the people
was the most degrading crime that
could be committed by human being.
We give the article entire:
A great many men enter upon the
discharge of high official duties without
being over burdened with silver or
gold, houses or lands. 1t costs more,
in some Instances, to procure an cleo
ton to the United States Senate or
House of Representatives, than all the
| salary the successful candidate receives.
1t must not be supposed that all our
| law makers at Washington serve their
| country for nothing, or that they live
only from their salaries, or that they
are generally poor, or do losing
| business. The honor of holding 8
| high official position is something, but
/ dollars and cents are, after all, more
substantial, and absolutely necessary TO
'keep up appearances" We venture
| to say that more than a score of men
are in Congress to-day, not for the
honor, or the salary of $4,000 year in
/ greeDbacks, for neither of these would
be ''drop in the bucket" toward sup
! porting them in the style they live and
move in. Neither do they draw upon
| their idle or invested capital for cur
rent expenses. They must make money
by means of their official position. It
| is frequent occurrence for a man to
enter the United States Senate poor,
and at the end of six years come forth
with hundreds of thousands. Their re-
ceipts from salary for that time would
be $4,000 in currency, or about S13,-
600 in gold. Expenses of living in a
style worthy of Senator, at Washing
ton, would in six years make heavy
draft on this amount. The balance left
for investment in U. S. bonds, or any
other speculation would be meager.
In war, position" is what military
men maneuyer for, and to some Con-
gressmen and Cabinet officers, we pre-
sumo, position is the s'main spoke in
the wheel" When it is known that ten,
twenty and hundred thousand dollars
have been offered for the privilege of
having bills introduced into Congress,
one can judge how certain Senators ac-
quire fortunes in so short a space of
time. Contractors, railroad men, bank
corporations, naval ship builders-ag-
gregating monied influence of humid
reds of millions of dollars, are constant
ly before Congress for pickings from a
government that spends nearly a mill
ion dollars every day i'll the year. We
read how the Legislature of the Empire
State has been used as a tool by the
power of one man-Vanderbilt. The
monied power used to influence State
Legislatures is mere bagatelle COM
pared TO that which is concentrated al
the capital of the nation. We do no
wish to insinuate that Senators anG
Representatives all live by corrupf
means, or that their salaries are Insult;
ficient; majority of them undoubted
ly do live in Republican simplicity from
their salary and mileage and make {
: fair living but do not get rich. But fol
any newspaper to attempt to disguise
the fact that corruption is sown broad
cast at Washington, and that Senators
Representatives and Cabinet officers, il
many cases, make fortunes outside o
their public salaries, would be folly.