Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1873-04-16
GENERAL BUrLER's ANSWER
wAsHiNsTos. D. @. 80 [.
March On l273.

-l,--..-. ' March 20, 1S73.
Sir Il acknowledge the receipt Of
your letter. On first reading 1t. and
observing the language in which IT
was eouehed, / was inclined 70 throw
it aside unmiuded. But observing
from the composition and spelling,
that the early education of the writer
had been sadly neglected, I supposed
that il expressed the honest thought
of your mind in the best language
which you could command, and per-
haps therefore it was better TO endea
vor to set you right, If you were not
Intentionally and AconstitutfonaIiy
wrong ia Your views. :, : - -------
You complain that Congress voted
to several officers of the government,
including themselves, an increase OF
salary. You object to this increase
upon two grounds, first that the
members cnnld not earn the amount
at home as you do not speak Of the
other officers, I leave them IOut-and
secondly that the, taxes upon what
men iseat and wearn are so high that
the country cannot afford the increase
which is so oppressive that, to use
your own phrase sthe people, with i
out respect to party are, sir, are mad" :"
You probably mean angry, not crazy,
Besides you complain tnat the sal
aries were voted by Congressmen to
themselves. But that is made their
constitutional duty. Nobody else can
vote any salary to any government
official, but the Congressman. twas
proposed by the trainers of the
Constitution at first, that the State
Legislatures should vote the pay Of
Congressman, but upon consideration
our Fathers thought "the people with
out respect to party might be mad
and therefore they made 1t the duty
of the Copgressmen themselves, 70
vote salary sufficient for their mains
tenanee and support. Therefore If
done at sli, they must do II, as hOm I
the beginning OF the government they
have ever doneit. ...s.....s .sszs
Your Bext complaint is that the
salary is too high-more than the.
Congressman can earn. Very posi-
bly, that may be SO as to some ofthem.
But l know but few of Them who are
not worth more IN their service to
their country than the salary they re-
eeiyed, even afler the increase, and
they knowing their own worthless
ness to the country, generally voted |
AGAINST it. Now IL there are a few l
men sent to Congress who as you say |
cannot earn their salaries elsewhere,
vhy should the majority ofCoagreas /
suffer and work for less than will sus-
tain themselves and families, because
In some sections where the people get
"mad" over small matters, they do
not send representatives of it TO do the
work Of nation of forty millions of
psople: and no man vino catInot Any-
where earn atlleast s., 500 is not fit 20
do that Werk-, - -
The mistake you make, however, !
in this regard, Is that this salary Is 4
not voted 70 members OF Congress in I
view Of their merits or their
capacity to earn money, bot
simply as liveloOd, 90 that they may
not be exposed to the necessity Of neg
iecting their duties, or to the temptasf
tions Of business, to get enough to
live on while In Congress. IL msy
seem strange to you that no Congress
man can 1--we at Washington as gen
tleman representing q constituency OF
a hundred and forty thousand people
should iiye-and how that Is may be
still more strange to you-on less than
i've Thousand dollars year Then If
he has his family of children to edu-
cate, and house to keep up at home
for the time he Is TO live In Washing
ton, he will have noting left, unless,
indeed, he is a man who simply seeks
to make money out of his position and
does not do his duty to his consIitu-
ents or his country. If there are any