New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-03-15
COST OF THE GOVERNMENT.
SCnie Interesting Figures.

Gath the Washington. correspondent
of the Chicago Tribune, furnished in a re-
cent letter the subioined interesting statis-
tics relating to the cost Of the various de-
partmcnts of the national government:
| Let us run over some of the items OF
what is called the legislative. executive and
| judicial appropriation bill as 1t Is now
amended, and will probably, Tor the nam
| part pass.
CONGRESS.
Do Won know what it costs to pay the
| Senators salaries and mileage per annum!
-Four hundred thousand dollars Cheap at
! half the money Do you know what ii costs
| the House for the same! One million But
| halt, The officers, clerks and messengers of
| the Senate get, beside, Sl30.000: and the
same officers Of the House get about
s2oo,OOo. The police. who patrol the
| Capitol, and sit around the little parks en-
| closing it, cost $4,000. The stationery and
| newspapers of the Senate cost about Sl4,000
and for the House S37 900. The little pages
who run around the floor cost in the House
$1,000, and in th1Senate $1,000. What does
the Senate want with so many pages, when
the more numerous body require SO few 1t
costs the Senate $4,000 for packing boxes,
folding documents, furniture, fuel, gas and
furniture wagons. 1t costs the House, for
tee clerks of the House cost 1000, and OF
the Senate $4,000. The Secretary of the
Senate and the Clerk of the House get
$3.50 each, and the Librarian of Congress
gets $1,000 All the clerks in the library Of
Congress. taken together, require $4,000 a
year; and the library is allowed only $500
per anuum to buy books, purchase files of
periodicals and newspapers, and exchange
public documents with foreign governments.
PUBLIC PRINTING
costs an enormous sum, and the appropria-
tions almost always fall short. Still it is
questionable whether on the whole, We do
not dignity ourselves, and confer benefit
ON the couptry by maintaining, as we un-
dOuhteGly do, the most perfect printing es
rablishment in the world, not excepting
Napoleon's printing house in Paris as il
used to be maintained. For the present
wear there will be appropriated for the pub
tic printing, s6J5,000 for composition and
press work; S709.000 for paper TO print
upou: S552. 900 for binding books. and
So 900 for engraving and map printing.
THE WHITE HOUSE.
Coming to executive appropriations, we
find that two policemen, Two night watch
men. a doorkeeper, and an assistant door
keeper, at the White House. cost unitediv
SS000 The Presidents private secretary
gets $500: his assistant $500: two of the
Presidents clerks $1,000 each; the White
House steward, who buys the grub and gets
ND the dinners, $1,000, and the messenger
SI200
THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
At the State Department it costs $4,000
to publish the laws in pamphlet form: aud
for proot-reading. packing the laws and
documents Oft to our consuls, and such, we
spend 81 600 annually. The eternal Mexi-
can Commission costs Us S2S,7o0a year, and
our Commissioner gets SI,1u0. and the um-
pire who lives out Of town and is seldom
called on. $4,000. The Spanish Commission
costs us $1,000. The high joint business at
Geneva was provided for by a special ap-
preparation OF S150.000. They drink over
there nothing less than Cham bertln.
TIE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
At the Treasury Department. for the Sec
rerary. his assistants and Immediate clerks.
S:S4. 900. What is char-woman. There
are here provided for ninety ciar-women.
at $50 year each. These are. indeed.
scrub wages. The Architects office, pre-
sided over 10y the great lnigo Jones Mullett.
costs about so 900 This bill provides
that. for the contingent expense appropri-
alton of $1,000 10 part shall be expended
for clerical hire. The Controllers of The
Treasury cost. unitedly. Sll 800. The office
of the Commissioner OF Customs at Wash
ington costs So Geo The Auditors offices
cost as follows: First Auditor. S5S,G0U:
Second. S3Si 900: Third, s3S9.00G; Fourth,
Ss3,0Uo; Fifth, $4,000: and the Special Audi
tor of the Treasury for the Postotfice De-
partment requires s261 900. Uncle Spinner.
the Treasurer, demands tor his office SlS3.-
GOO. The office of the Register of the Treas
ury requires SS5,00o. besides additional
compensation at the discretion of the Secre
tarv. The office of the Controller of Cur
rcncy absorhs Sll1, 900. The Commits
sioner of Internal Revenue demands
merely for office ssistance-including
Commissioners salary OF StGto-S36i..
900. His dies, paper and stamps cost
100000. TO pay throughout the coun-
try the different collectors. assessors, SUI
pervisors, detectives and storekeepers, the
Revenue Bureau demands Si.10o.000 To
punish violatOrs of the internal revenue
laws. Ss0G00 are appropriated. The Light
house Board costs To keep up the Washing
ton office, $4,000. The Bureau OF Statistics
costs S65.G0O. The stationery Of the treas
ury costs 1000: its postage. newspapers.
seals. brooms. pals, I've. sponge. etc. S6j.-
000: its furniture. So, 600: its gas, fuel. and
and drinking ater. $1,000 Besides the
Secretary i allowed 5000 for temporary
clerks.
Perhaps you were not aware that we
have an independent treasurer in this
country. We have. His Office is in New
York. and he gets $1,000 year personally,
while his clerks receive $4,000. The
Office OF the Assistant Treasurer at Boston
cost S}3, coo, at San Francisco S2l coo, at
Philadelphia $36, at s.. Louis $4,000,
at New Orleans $4,000, at Charleston,
South Carolina, $4,000, and at Baltimore
1900. The treasury's depositaries re-
quite. TO pay salaries $1,000 at Cincinnati.
aJ Louisville $1,000, at Pittsburg $1,000, and
at Santa fe S5oo0 1t costs $60G0 TO
pay special agents 10 examine these
depositaries. Then you come to
the matter OF Mints. The chief
officers OF the Philadelphia Mint require
S3S,0O0 per arnum, the worknen $l25, 900,
and for incidental and contingent expenses,
besides. S35, ,0C0-in all about 100000. The
mint at San Francisco costs SI90, coo to pay
salaries and wages next year; at Carson
City 100000, at Denver $50, 600, at Charlotte.
North Carolina, $500 tprovided the mint
be not abolished this year, as it will prob
ably be. The assay office in New York
costs $llS000, aud at Boise City $I2.000.
On the whole. we pay a good dea! Of money
in the way Of salaries. considering we see so
little coin floating around. Ii these mint
men can rot diifuse hard money more, there
ought to he some curtailment OF their ap-
preparations.
COST OF THE TERRITORIES.
Arizona costs us for salaries $i4,0e0 a
year, and there is a proposition also to pay
it's noble Leglslature-that Legislature
which fell upon the Apaches like Joals
band and slew then-$20, 900, including
Their mileage. We pay Colorado, out OF
the national treasury, Sl400G. and nothing
is said about mileage or paying the Legis-
lature. We pay Dakota 1900 for officers,
and $50 1000 for its Legislature. Idaho gets
$4,000. and 100000 for the Legislature.
Montana, New Mexico, Utah. Washington,