The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1873-02-16
THE DAILY HERALD.
ID. McCALEIS, Editor.
Our Agents.
The Salaries of Public Officers,

WY ohiOuht va "StVsAt ssaN
which has passed through endless
discussions in times gone by, in
which the most gifted and trusty
men OF our nation have participant
ed. The results Of the various pro-
cesses through which the perplex-
ing riddle has gone, are everything
but satisfactorily, both to those who
receive the emoluments of Office, and
to those who pay them. Some of
the old fogies of the earlier days Of
tho republic were silly enough to
believe that the honor Of represent
ing u confding constituency was
all sufficient, so far as the profits of
the office were concerned and that
money enough to defray personal
expenses while engaged in tho dis
charge of public trusts was all that
an honest and Jealous man could
ask for or desire. From George
Washington down to Andrew John
son, the presidents of tho country,
by close economy and q judicious
disposition Of their salaries, have
been enabled to subsist on S25 900
a year, but in the pacsent age, when
money is the aeknowled and rocog-
nized test Of everything that is
reputable and commcndablc among
men, we find that this small sum is
about TO be declared entirely mad
euuate to the wants of the present
distinguished occupant of the pr es-
idential chair, and that double the
sum heretofore paid for the guardi-
an vigilance of the chief mag
istrate is about to be voted
to Gen. Grant, as his salary
for looking out Of his office win
dows upon the fast teams and fast
men which are daily exhibited be-
fore his mansion for his peculiar
and personal delectation. Even
the Congressman themselves have
begun to discover that the pay es.
tablished for their services by gu CHI
men as Calhoun, Clay, Daniel
Webster and others, is a long way
behind the avaricious propensities
which regulate the peculiar ideas
they entertain with. reference to
the object of their annunl missions
to Washington. In the olden times
it was neither popular or customa-
ry for Senators and Representa-
tives to be directly interested in
defrauding the government en-
trusted to their keeping for faith
full administration. This modern
invention has been productive of
much profit to such Congressman
as have seen proper to avail them
selves of it, and as they are all like
ly to escape any chastisement for
their venality, we think that the
President will open up q tiel&'suf-
ficiently wide for the personal graz
ing of that delectable body without
the necessity ofadding anything to
the amounts they receive for mil
age, salary, etc., and for that rea-
son wo are disposed to kick against
any Legislation having for its OBJ
ject an increase Of pay for represen-
tative lahors. With the President
the case is different. lie can on
ly speculate upon his inau-
ence and turn an occasional
penny from some outside job which,
with the law.giving element, the
keys of the public vaults area at their
service whenever they can turn
them with q charter bill or q land
grant, they generally manage to
grab enough to supply the pressing
demands, which seem to be con-
stantly increasing against them.
There seems to be q calamitous
issue ahead of our country in which
money is proving itself to be really
the 'root of all evil" The ends
and objects Of government appear
to be centralized in the personal
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Of the governing
element, who forget that the con-
sent of the governed is q princi-
pie of our constitutional liberty,
and one held sacred by those who