The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-06
THE RUTLAND DAILY MORNING, FEBRUARY 1874


department of private life would not be
Thought very valuable. Many members
devote themselves assiduously and labori-
ously TO their duties some do very little
except to look after the local and personal
matters from their own immediate district
or State.
1t is appeared, therefore, that In fixing a
compensation for members there would ma
tuallY be very great diversity Of opinion
MS to tho proper amount. But this amount
must be fixed by Congress itself, for the
power is vested nowhere else. In deciding
what was proper each man would natur-
ally be governed much by his own indvid-
ual case, and the aggregate judgment of the
whole body must be the criterion.
When the proposition for an increase of
the salary of members was first brought
into the last Congress the House ncgativcd
IL by quite a decisive majority, but just at
the end of the session. it having been
placed upOn an important appropriation
bill, enough members Wcrc found who felt,
or affected 10 feel, that disagreement to the
salary clause rs passed hy the Senate would
involve the loss Of the appropriation
bill and make n special session of Congress
necessary to pass the bill by bare major
lily. When last before the House the sub
jet had very little consideration the want
of time AMI the condition of the till pre-.
vented any full debate
voted uniformly against the Increase
was actuated somewhat by my own person
al condition and ideas Tho Old salary was
sufficient for me. But have no doubt that
many of those who voted to increase it, felt
that ii was actually necessary for them |
thought also that II there was real ncccs-
sity for an increase, it was an inopportunc
time To make IT, Certain Investigations and
developments had created n great excite.
mcnt in the public mind on the subject of
corruption in public officials, and for Il time
there was great distrust of everybody in of
fetal position. Bul Tie i'll became the
law That portion Of II making the increase
apply t. the Forly-SCcOnd Congress was ut
once denounced in very severe terms by the
public press. Little or no objection was
made ~ ihc prospective increase. | could
ROT 'rr the force of the indisCrimination.
Ii $1,000 was proper salary for the For
ty-Third Congress, | could not sec why it
was not for the Forty-Second The service
was the same, the expense of living certain
ly as great. Congress had the same legal
right TO raise the pay at the end of
session us at the beginning. and
the propricty Of the act depend
ed wholly upon the amount fixed,
whether IL was on was not an unreasonable
sum. Such too had been the invariahlc
practice of Congress and of all state legis-
laturcs. that an increase of salary always
applied to the body making it, 1t was Oh
icctcd To ON the ground that it was in the
nature of n contract between the reprcscn-
taiivc and his constituents, that he would
serve the term i1r the salary as it stood
when he was elected. regarded this
view MS wholly unsound. If there is any
semblancc Of contract in it. the contract is
that the member will serve for such COM
pcnsatiOn as Congress shall determine. II
Congress should make it less he could not
complain if they increased it, he is en-
titled To the benefit of the increase. The
apparent opposition at first seemed wholly
against the increase of the salary of the
FOrty-scconl Congress the back pay. as
it was called. could see no force in the
reasons urged against it that did not equal
~ apply to the prospective increase, and
therefore drew the increase as | did my
other pay. The public discussion soon be
gan to 20 further. and to condemn the en-
tire act, which was the same ground had
stood upon when the act was passed.
| determined, therefore, for myself to
await the action of Congress, when the
whole subject could be deliberately ex-
amined and decided. The matter came be-
fore Congress at the commencement of
this session, and was debated and cOnsid-
cred with perhaps unnecessary dclibcra-
ton. The result was Il return to the old
salary by very decisive majority of both
Houses. |, with others, did our utmost to
undo all the consequences of the increase,
and make every one now in Congress, who
had received money under it, account for