Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-12-19

Ia the important debate on the salary mn,
which occurred in the House on thursday,
Judge Poland spoke n length in support oil
the amendment which he offered some days
-,nce The amendment, 1t will be remem-
h-reI, repeats much Of the -llary aeta A.
relate to the increased pay ol Senator's anu
REPRESENTATIVE. and likes IT at what # was
Immediately prior IL that act requires
that al money pad to Senators aud Eepre-
sentative Of the forty third Congress under
the rrayi-ian- Of that act, whether for the
ibrty second or forty third Congress, shall
be charged and reckoned part pay ment
Of their compensation a. members OF The
f1rty third Congress and also, II requires
the treasurer of the United States to mail
10 each member Of the forty second Congress
who j. not A member of the forty third
Congress. and who received additional
COMPENSATION notice informing ham oi the
lepeal of the law and requesting To repay
the difference received by him INTO the
Iiea~uTy
The Judge said that he had been a few
day. ago in company with large number
oi gentlemen. when the conversation turned
on the subject, and they all coneurred with
out exception in saying that the increase OF
salary had been utterly condemned by tie
public Judgment Of the whole people of the
United State. What did the bill reported
hy the special committee propose? 1t
proposed that all the back pay received by
the members OF the forty second Congress,
snd all the increased pay received by the
members OF the iorty-third Congress they
should be allowed to keep. lie asked the
House whether that Was conforming TO the
public Judgment On that subject. Was
that " hat the people were demanding? Was
that going 10 satisfy the popular demand?
IL wa- not what the public judgment
had demanded and still demanded. What
was wanted was this That they should be
nttterly wiped out, 50 that no benefit or adj
vantage that any body had derived from it
should he kept and retained by him. That
and that alone, would satisfy the public
demand 1t was with that view and for
that purpose that he had offered his substi
tnte. lie proposed. to vote for bill that
should carry out the decision OF the people
on that subject, and utterly wipe out all the
effects and consequences and benefits
derived by the Members of Congress under
the act Of the Sd of March, 1873. He had
voted against that measure. He had held
public Office in his own State. where saia-
res were very small. and the habits Of sim
plicity and plain economy which he had ac-
quired in that way he conld very well pre-
serve in Washington, 80 that s., 900 a year
was ample compensation for his services,
and furnished him with ample means to live
in the manner which he chose to live. Be
sides. he Lad thought that it was very un-
fortunate time TO make the increase. The
public mind had been for some time excited
in regard 10 the corruptiOns of public men.
The whole world had been agOg on the sub
iect, and he thought that he knew that that
increase of salary, and especially the retro
active feature of the law, would excite pub
lie condemnation and call down popular
censure on Congress after it became a law.
The question arose, What was to be done
with the back pay The press had begun to
say that every one who took it was
robber and thief. The idea that he
was u he called thief for taking the com
penSatiou affixed to his office was not very
palatable to him 1t did not commend it.
self 10 his Judgment nor TO his conscience.
Neither did he propose to be actuated nor
influenced BY any threat of that SORT and
4. 4 L..
retained it. Other gentlemen consciences
had been more tender than his. They began
to be affected differently, and one after
another many returned their back pay to
the treasury. The result of that was that
people began To say that these men were
towards and hypocrites, and that they did
this merely for the purpose ol cnrrying pub
lie favor. That had brought him TO COM
mnne with his own judgment and con-
science. ia regard 30 what he ought to do,
whether he was on the one side to be called
a thief and Iobber, or whether he should
subject himself 10 be called coward and
hypocrite The result OF his sell-commun-
my was that he should he altogether more
amenahle to the latter charge II he returned
the pay. and that he would rather retaip IT
and subject himself to being charged by the
public press a. a robber and thief. There
lure he had chosen to retain what he had
received under the law. and 10 make an en-
deayor IL haze the law regulate the thing
~ that he might be allowed to return the
money L. the Treasury, ii that was the Will
Jf the people, without subjecting himself
Ia the charge OF being hypocrite and COW
srd lie claimed that although they could
Bnt GO hack 10 regulate the salaries Of the
Inembers Of The forty second Congress, they
tad fall power over the salarirs Of the mem
beI> vi the present Congress.