Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-10-03
The Presidents Salary.

gives table appropriations OF Congress
lorrepairs and care of the White House ana
grounds, for the current year, when
amount to $1,000. The Springfield he
publican. which is only too glad when 1t can
find anything to find fault about IN the
President or his administration, eagerly
copies these figures calls them the Presl-
dents "perauisites. and says: add $780,
600 salary. and the yearly compensation of
the President foots up Sl27, 600, which, OF
course. the Republican considers very big
pay.
Now what are these contingent expenses
Of tn executive department, which Con-
gress = in the habit of paying? We find
that they include the salaries Of furnace
keeper. two policemen, one night watch
man. usher. two door-keepers, steward,
messenger. secretary and clerks, amount
inr to something over 100000; together
with repairing Of White House, $4,000 {;
rernrnishing White House, SO, 600 fuel,
5000: greenhouse, $4,000; grounds,
$4,000. These arc the appropriations. To
what extent they will be expended, of
course. remains to be seen. The expendi-
tures NAV not exceed thcaveragc aggregate
ofab5ut $50, 600. But even that, doubt
less, seems to some a very big sum for the
care Of the Presidents mansion. Let such
reflect for moment. that the White House
as truly a public building as the Treas
urv Department. or Patent Office. The
portion Of it actually occupied by the Pres
dents family is far less spacious and con-
,cnirut than the residences Of most private
Gentlemen of means. in our country. The
rest is devoted 90 balls and waiting rooms
for the streams of people that are constant
ly waiting to see the President or his Sec
rctaries. and TO the great parlors, which the |
dear people FIJI to overlooking at the Pres
ideut'- leyce-, stamping the carpets to |
pieces. AMI dcfacing the furniture. not Of
purpose. but As an inevitable con sequence Of /
the lam and rush of the crowds The peo- l
pie expect that the house shall always be I
open. as it is, to visitors, and We do not .
believe that they grudgc the necessary ex-
pcnse Of keeping it, and the grounds about
it. in fair condition Very little of the
money goes to keeping up any pJmp or
state. and still less to the private comfort
and conycnieucc of the President and lis
family. To call these expenses "porquis-
itc.' of the President, Is as correct (and
no more sol a. to call the expense Of warm
ing and repairs Of any banking house the
perGuisite- Of the cashier. If it is correct
TO say that d" the yearly compensation of
the President lootS up Sl27 600, then it
would be correct to say that the yearly
compensation of the Secretary Of the Treas
ury foots up the million or two which the
cost of the Treasury Department, added to
his salary, would aggregate; or THAI the
yearly compensation ola steamboat cap
tain Is equal to his salary plus the cost Of
running the steamer for the year.
again, speaking of the bill for the in
crease Of salaries, Mr.. Willard says
The President favored the bill J,forc it
passed either house. and personally express
salary increased and the selfish interest of
members in increasing their own pay was
only one Of the devices by which the PreSi-
dents salary vas raised in other words, 1t
pulled that increase through. and the whole
measure had favor at the White House on
that account.
Mr Willard Is a gentleman for whose
candor and truthfulness We have the utmost
respect lie states the case, Of course. As
he underestimate to be. But with all defer
cncc 10 his superior means Of information.
We venture to doubt whether he is author
lied to say. or justified in saying, that the
President favored the salary bill in the
shape in which it finally passed. Ii was
no secret that Gen. Grant desired an in
crease of the salaries Of the President. men,
hers of the Cabinet, and judges of the Su-
premc Court, probably deeming them mad
equate, and not in keeping, either with the
necessary expenses attached to those offices
under the increased cost Of living Of our
day, or with the dignity and prosperity Of
great nation like ours. He might very
well have favored an increase Of salaries Of
those officers. which would take a hundred
thousand dollars from the Treasury, with
out approving an increase Of the salary
of congressman, which would take
million and half Of dollars annual
~ from the Treasury. In point of
fact, it was stated at the time, as we well
remember, by apparently well informed
correspondents at Washington. that the
President did not ike the increase of the
pay of Congressman. We hayeseen no CON
tradiction of this assertion.
lrthc device" Of raising the Presidents
salary was a selfish one, the selfshness was
largely ON the part of the members of Con-
gress. The country cannot very well be made
to believe that they raised their own pay
simply in order to secure an increase for the t
President They wanted more pay than
se'res. They doubtless supposed that the I
raising of their own salaries would look
little better before the people. if coupled {
with the increase Of other salaries very
generally admitted to betoo low. and having l
used this 'selfsh device to help pull
through their own job, we 90 not think it ]
becomes any Congressman who accepts the I
increase of hi- own salary TO find fault with ,
the President for accepting the pay voted {
to him by Congress.
But, says Mr. Willard, further on, The
President approved the bill after it was !
passed. and thereby made it law and c
doubled his own salary" We have seen !
similar statements in other quarters, ignor- c
ing through ignorance, forgctlulncSs or
iesign, the very important fact that the ;
'alIry-srab was not passed in separate v
bill, Ike previous increases of salaries Of a
longressmen, which could be discussed and Il
-oted on at all stages. and finally approved "
II vetoed, on its own merits. 1t was at $
achei as a rider" to an important appro- '
'riation bill the failure Of which would v
ave made necessary an extra session Of Con- Il
res. ilr. Garfield, in defending his Ia
curse as member of the Conference Com b
nittee. declared that he had opposed the in Ii
rea>e, in discussion and by his votes. but that "a
e signed the conference report, which con- y
minated the increase, because he "mnst b;
hoose between signing the report, and oil
ringing on an extra sessiun''-and il has W
cen generally acknowledged that there
raS force in his excuse. We presume that ST
here We're very few among the opponents p
the salary clause, who, in the existing W
emper Of the country, would have taken tn
he responsibility to bring about an extra ca
ession, BY securing the defeat of the appro- N
ration bill, even for the sake of Defeating pc
he increase ofsalaries. We do not know tn
hat the President would have vetoed the ex
alary bill, fit had come to him by itself
ut all must admit that it became different
latter sricn ia nrdar e. ,,4. :. u