Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-03-16

classes or groups of officers with similar
efollps of officers of & 9 Senate. We then
gave an Increase Of fifteen per cent. TO all
other employees in both the Senate and the
House, including the clerks to committees
and the persons employed in various ca
pacities in the Capitol building. | should
have added that the salary of the Door.
keeper of the House was placed at GOO.
The secondary officers under the Cahi-
ne. officers, such as the Supervising Archi.
tect of the Treasury, the Examiner OF
Claims in the State Department, the Com
missioner of Agriculture, the Solicitor OF
the Treasury, the Commissioner OF Gus
toms, the Auditors of the Treasury, the
Commissioner of the General Land Office,
the Commissioner Of Pensions, the Assist.
ant Postmaster General, the superintendent
of the money-order system-all these ex-
.cept the Supervising Architect Of the Treas
ury. iwhose salary was fixed at $4,000
were placed at s., 900.
Now, in reference to the salaries OF the
President, Vice President, Cabinet officers,
members of the Supreme Court, ana mem
bers Of the two Houses of Congress, the
amendment known as the Butler amend
ment was agreed to by the Senate in every
thing except the provision IN reference TO
the salary of the members OF Congress.
wish to state in a few words the condi-
ton of that question in the conference. In
the first place the Senate voted directly on
the Proposition to strike out the provision
increasing the salary of members OF Con-
cress, and by large vote refused to strike 1t
ont. The Senate confsrees insisted that
the Sc 500 clause cutting off mileage, ac-
tually reduced the pay of some eighteen
members of the Senate. They refused there
fore TO submit to an amendment which cat
down the salary Of SO many Senators.
The Senate eonferees were unanimous in
favor of fixing the salary at 81, 800 aud cut
ting off all allowances except actual lndi-
yidual travelling expenses OF member
from his home to Washington, and back
apciu, once a session and cutting of al
other allowances of every kind. That
pronosition was agreed to by majority OF
the conferees on the part OF the House.
was opnosed to tbs increase in conference
as have been opposed 20 u II tne discus ..as
sion and in my votes here, pus 10y 49,
cia,e conferees were in favor OF " oeua.e
amendment, and was compelled to Z. 'OoSo
between signing the report and running tn
risk of bringing on an extra session Of Con-
gress. have signed the report, and pre-
sent it as it is, and ask the House tc act on
it in accordance with their best judgment.
l now yield for five minutes to the gentle
man from Illinois Mr.. Farnsworth).
Mr.. Farnsworth. Before the gentleman
from Ohio Mr.. Garfield takes his seat,
desire to ask him what the conferees did
with reference to increasing the salaries
of the female employees from 5000 to ST.
200.
Mr.. Garfield, of Ohio. That was reject
ed. Before the gentleman from Illinois
[Mr. Farnsworth] takes the five minutes
have yielded to him, would suggest that
if any gentleman has any question to ask
with the view of Obtaining al explanation
of any portion Of the report, it might be as
well that tie question should be asked now.
Mr.. Hibbard. desire TO ask the gen.
tleman how much plumber will be taken
from the Treasury If this raising of salaries
is adopted?
Mr.. Garfield, of Ohio. l am glad the gen.
tleman has asked me that question. The
report presented here, tsking into account
the changes made with reference to the sal
aries of members and officers of both
Houses and other increases of salaries in
this bill, will, according to the best estimate
l have been able to make, involve an an
nual Increase of expenditure of about three
quarters of million dollars.
MFR. Hibbsrd. How much for the pres
ent Congress?
Mr.. Garfield, of Ohio. For the present
Congress it involves an additional expend-
iture Of about one and a quarter millions.
think the House ought to know all the
facts.
Mr. Dawes. Did the gentleman hear the
form in which the gentleman from New
Hampshire put his question:: How much
this ''plunder" would amount to?
Mr.. Garfield, of Ohio. l do not accept
the gentleman's statement as to that. 1t
may be an unwise expenditure in some re-
spects. But in most cases the increase is.
proper, and ought to be made. 1t is not
"plQuder," unless gentlemen here consider
themselves not deserving of the proposed
pay.
MIR. Farnsworth. l desire to place upon
record my earnest protest against the adop-
ton Of this conference report, and if pos
sible to awaken the House and the country
to what it involVes-that within less than
twelve hours Of the close of this Congress
we ara gravely proposing to vote to our
selves some five or six thousand dollars
each out of the public Treasury of the
United States, and at the same time to
double the Presidents salary, and to In
crease the salaries of nearly all the attaches
of this House and of other officials Of the
Government who now receive high sal
aries.
When this bill was before the House, the
committee of the House and the House
adopted an amendment which increased the
salaries of a certain class of most deserving
clerks, who now receive but 5000 per an
mum, to $1,000; class of clerks very meri-
torious, and in the main very well educated
and accomplished, and who, nine-tenths of
them, are performing duties that were be-
fore performed by male clerks, who re-
ceived from 81 200 to 81 300 year. This
committee of conference-I was going TO
say has the shamelessnes5-but | will say,
the lack of manhood to refuse this little in
crease to that class of poorly paid clerks,
many of them widows with families de-
pendent upon them, while they propose
that we shall vote to ourselves out of the
Treasury what has been characterized very
well by the gentleman from New Hamp-
shire Mr.. Hibbard] as "plunder" of from
$1,000 to $4,000.
Some gentleme basestheir advocacy of
this scheme upon the position that it is ne
cessary to increase the Presidents salary,
and that cannot be done unless this ring is
made, including ourselves. Sir, right there
propose to take this scheme by the throat,
and protest against doubling this high sal
airy which all other Presidents have found
sufficient. Abraham Lincoln served the
country four years at $50, 900 per annum,
during part of which time gold was worth
two hundred and fifty per cent; yet Abra-
ham Lincoln laid up $4,000 during his
term. Why, sir, we appropriate annually
to the President of the United States in
emoluments and various other things
what he could not buy for $4,000. We
provide the President everything except his
provisions; and we provide even q part of
those, for we furnish bis garden and gard
eners; we furnish all his furniture; we fur
nish stables, recently rebuilt at cost of
over $4,000. We furnish nearly all his
all his clerks and secretaries, his
gas ana fuel, and now 1t is proposed, in Vio-
lation of the spirit of the Constitution,
which declares that the Presidents salary
''shall not be increased or diminished dur