Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-07-02
The Salary Grab.


The Salary Grab.
SENATOR CARPENTERS pEFENsE OF IT.
For cool summer reading. the speeches
Hon. Matt. b. Carpenter in defense of tn
back pay bill are the best things going. 4
couple of weeks ago, before the Wisconsin
Editors Association at Lacrosse, he made
witty speech, in which he asked: " If tn
money belonged to the people, what mor'
direct way of getting it circulated than t.
give it to such fellows as me to spend p
The Honorable Senator ought to haze restet
at that point, content with having achieved
an unanswerable conundrum. But certain
OF his old friends in GAINESVILLE invited hin
to give his reasons for voting in favor of thu
salary bill, and Mr.. Carpenter appeared
there Thursday evening. The main points
of his speech are given in the New Yorl
Times, and are truly refreshing during this
heated term. We do not see why Senator
Carpenters position is not, to say the least
as good as that of Senator Howe and others
who voted against the grab, but were fas,
enough to pocket it. The Iowa Republican
Convention, held last week, took that ground
exactly, condemning alike those who voted
for it, and those who took it. 1t is to be
regretted that our whole Vermont delegation
10 Congress have not, by refusing the grab,
shown that their votes against it were sin
cere. In so far as they have had anything
to do with this money except to put it where
it belongs-back into the United States
Treasury-they are not in accord with the
Republican purity. But here is Senator Car
penter's speech.
'' THE UPR0AR.''
| The Forty-second Congress passed an &C;
increasing the salary of the President, mem
bers of the Cabinet, Judges Of the Supreme
Court, and members of Congress and the
act provided that the Forty second Congress
should receive the same pay that was fixed for
subsequent Congresses. L gave this act not
only my vote, but my cordial and conscen-
tious support--and at the request of large
number of your citizens l have appeared be-
fore you this evening to give the reasons
which induced me to support this measure
Mr.. Carpenter then proceeded to give an ac-
count OF what he considered as the cause OF
the uproar " which followed the back
pay steal, " viz: the Credit Mobiiier.
THE BACK PAY QUESTION.
A fter ridiculing the suit brought by the
Government against the Credit Mobilier
stockholders, Mr. Carpenter came to the
particular subject he was desired to discuss,
the question of back pay.
may not be able to convince you that the
Salary bill ought to have passed, or that it
is right: but am greatly deceived if can
not satisfy you that there are two sides to
the question, and that different men NAV
honestly entertain different opinions in rela-
ton to 1t. There are many men who enter
tain erroneous opinions and make mista kes,
who are not thieves and if you should think
the Salary bill ought not to have been passed,
it does not quite follow that the men who
entertain a different opinion are all crimi-
nails. In my opinion there is but one ques-
tion in all this business, and that is whether
$500 be more than a just compensation for
the services of a Senator or a Representa-
tive in Congress. | shall, therefore, first
consider the question. 1t is said that $500
is large sum of money, and that there are
a great many laboring men who do not see
one-half that sum in the whole course of a
year. All this is true, but is not quite con-
elusive of the subject before us. When you
are sick and desire physician, when you
are involved in litigation which touches your
fortune or your liberty, you do not advertise
Tor the physician or lawyer who will serve
you at the lowest compensation. You select
the physician or the lawyer. whose services
you prefer, and expect to pay him what his
services are worth. So in selecting Sena-
tor or member Of Congress, you fix upon the
man you desire to fiji that place, and you
expect to pay him a reasonable compensation
for his services. If you desire to pay only
such compensation as will secure the services |
of man, without regard to bis quaifca- (
tons for the place, $4,000, even $1,000, is
thrown away on a Congressman. Three |
months advertising along the line of rail
road will secure men enough to occupy the /
seats in both Houses of Congress at three
dollars per day. Such an offer made to the
laborers on railroad would induce them to
81 cut dirt " for Washington faster than they
ever cut dirt out of a railroad bank When
you employ lawyer, or a doctor, bank
cashier, the president of an insurance com
pany, or any other person for a particular
purpose, you do not inquire what is the
Sun 4ilest sum for which you can employ d
man, but what is a reasonable CONDENSATION
lor the services of such man as you want
IN particular place. And this is to be de-
'ermined by ascertaIning what the same man
could earn IT employed by others in the same
branch Of business
THs COST OF LIVING IN WASHINGTON.
In II Congress fixed the salary Of the
resident at $25 600 per annum. Probably {
mere was no man In the United States at {
nat time who had an income exceeding that |
UNI 1hlngs have greatly changed since {
men, ana men can now be found ia almost a
very county W hose income exceeds that sum. a
me most able and sagacious of our business c
aen-the men who Conduct the commerce of [
ne country and its largest business opera t
regard it as very poor year L
vnieh olo not yield more than S25 900 prof.
nc expenses OF living, too, have more than a
ouoieo since that time. am aware that 5
IL Always replied to this statement, that t
nemoers ot Congress ought to live very Geo. a
om!caiiy' that they ought to initiate the a
'uri'an simplicity OF our fathers and live as .
neapiy as they did. But how many of you t
ractice this wisdom How many of you C
-. Jul iAsneTo lIVeu before L Was L
Ateen years OF age l never saw carpet, \
ola or piano. Now how few of the we'll S
Y 10 farmers houses in this county lack n
nese Injuries? This generation spend more v
u cniioren toys than our fathers spent in q
uuca1ing US. There is an impression that I
y OF Congress are making large sums
money. AS this is strictly confidential s
e0aslon ana am here In the capacity of "a
ervant to answer to my masters, let me b
how you how fast l am getting rich bv a !
eat In the Senate. Several years ago | b
ented the house l now live in for $1,000 a
ear. 1t is an unpretending but comfortable n
ONE. My office rent in Milwaukee is $3.50 v
year: am compelled to keep my house t
nd office in Milwaukee, or the newspapers S
7ould at once say that had moved out of g
he State, and gone to Washington to reside. i
III have in this world is invested in books t