The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1873-10-16

The Hon. Nv. Willard, Republican ne IN
Der OF Congress from Vermont, has b-tl
moved TO give the history of the doubling
of the salary of the President last winter
The Republicans of Massachusetts wer,
guilty OF Justification III their platform 81
making q discrimination betw en- the ln-
crease of the salary Of the President and
that Of members OF Congress. Mr.. Willard
says:
Il is lot true that Congress or the eoun-
try supposed any increase OF the President
salary 10 De more Just aDG necessary than
the additional salary OF members Of con
gress. W hen the proposition 10 increase
the Presidents salary iir>T came before Con-
Eress. standing ty itself, iL met with small
fayOr either in Congress or the Country !:
salaries was an afIeFthougfIt aud rpSortcti to
10 help the bill through 10 increase the
Presidents salary. The President fat ored
the bill before II passed either House. and
personally expressed 10 members Il desire to
have his own salary increased; and the SET
nsh Interests of members ia Increasing their
own pay was only ore Of the devices by
which the President salary WAS raised ia
OTHER words. il pulled Thar increase throu I'll
aud the whole Measure tad favor AT The
" iIite House Oh that scconnt.
How Ia u There j. any opininn that Tie IN
crease OF the Presidents salary i more i 9~5
and necc ssars' than rtFst OF memheg- II
Congrc,s j. not quit c,ear, but the CONVEX
ton in Massachusetts i Eho 1irst one 1t
held that has expressed such opinion.
Ii Is certain that most OF the members OF
Congress " no opposed the one opposed the
other. The salary OF the President was
$4,000 year previous To the passage oil the
bill. About $4,000 more was annually ai,-
propriated for the White House and
grounds. The g. stablishment'-that Is The
White House, grounds, etc--has ALWAYS
been kept at the public charge; besides the
annual salary, carpets, furniture, gas, fuel
and many servants are paid for by separate
appropriations. In short, the President only
has the personal expenses OF himself and
family and the expense OF his table 10 pay
for. Besides - his public entertainments
cost him nothing-the few dinners he gives
10 members of Congress are the chief items
ofexpense outside oi the ordinary expenses
OF private family. There is not q mOmueT
OF the Cabinet who keeps house in Wash
iEgton who does nothave 10 81 end more mon
ey than the President, even without taking 4
into account house rent, furniture, servants,
and care Of grounds; Yet the salary of i
members of the Cabinet l. "Gly, now. So /.
900 year while the Presidents is $4,000,
and $4,000 morc--aud This sum is annually :
house. grounds etc. These I
who think that, in view of these facts, tie 1
Presidents salary was properly doubted, 1
have, of course, Il right TO their opinion, buC
it is not easy to see why they should, al the
same time, denounce members of Congress
tor making their salary. in tact, about one
tenth that of the Presidents. The CON
favored this increase has been in the main
deserved, but even an Ameri-
can love OF fairness ou1 lit not to mate dis
tinctiOnS between those voting for, and the ,
one urging the passage OF aud approving
with his signature. necessary to make the
bill law. u measure unfairly and unrea-
sonably increasing salaries. Members of
Congress voted for the bill increasing their
OWN salaries. for which they have been pro-
perly criticised; the President urged the
passage OF this bill in advance, approved it
after it passed. and thereby made it law
and doubled his own salary. and the Massa-
;husetts Republicans practically approve
his course. Then why object to Gen. But
er's advocacy of the measure?
After writing the above, Mr.. Willard
ooked into the Apr prations for the White
Iaase and grounds during the last four
ears. and finds his estim ate OF $50 0O0 per !
hnum quite too small. lie gives the fig