National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-10-15
LETTERS FROM THEPEOPLE
eovERSmENr EMPLOYEES AND SAL

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND SAL
70 tie Editor Of ne NatfondE Republican.
Over the signature OF "P. McC.r q writer in
your issue Of the 20th instant is pleased 70 say:
81 an in the employment Of Government for the
past six years-a common laborer-an have wife
and three children, whom have always kept
we'll clad and supplied with an abundance Of good
food, and have saved In that time tl0oo, with
which purchased lot to build on" Thanks for
the information. reach out q long arm In the
spirit to clutch the right hand Of ''P. McC.n and
congratulate him on his good fortune. Very few
Government employees on his salary have done
90 well. He undoubtedly appreciates his own
success. He has not proved that laborer's COM
pensatiOn Is ample. or that an increase Of pay BY
Government 10 that class Of employees to which
be belongs would be an act Of supererogation,
only that be has lived on It fed and clothed three
children, and saved O, 900, which he believes he
has judieiously invested in q house lot. Il Is %
4 house and furnish It with an necessaries. And
what II he should, by an increased value In real
estate, sell bis house and lot for $4,000, would
that fact, added to his declaration above alluded
to- prove that O. 200 s SUFFICIENT pay for Govern
ment clerkG A FrenchmanWould Introduce such
an argument with eProPos Dc bottles not quite see
ing the relevancy 70 the cal question In discus
In regard to compensation Of Government
clerks IL Is necessary consider the service rem
dered the cost Of living where the service Is rem
dered, and also the opportunity that Is furnished
them Of Increasing their incomes BY extraneous
lsbors. First, as 70 the duties. These are Of the
most Intelligent kind, requiring the exercise Of
the higher faculties. Head work Is always better
paid than hand work. Lawyers, physicians, book
keepers architects and the like are paid for their
knowledge and intellectual performances, and
not for handieraft. The duties Of Government
clerks require, TO their best performance, an &C
quainanee with laws, rulings and routine. The
better the clerk the more he is united for out
side work Of q different character TO that he Is
daily engaged upon. His mind Is IN and with his
daily employment Such persons require nxed
salary, and that It shall place them above the
want Of the neeessaries Of life. Congressman have
recorded their declaration that e5,0OI was small
pay for their services, owing to the expenses Of
living here. But for the capacity and Industry
Of clerks the wheels Of Government would stop.
The work Of executing the Will Of Congress In the
several Departments is performed not BY "heads
Of bureaus" but by subordinates. Therefore
there must be superior class Of minds engaged;
and there is. II Congressman requires 5000
for Q residence here OF not more than six months,
how little can an intelligent clerk with his family
live on for twelve monthsG That Is the question.
And L for one, am willing to submit it to his con-
Il Is the high price 81 rent that is the one
onerous burden Of living In this city. II is not
much the size Of house as it is the location that
establishes the price. This IL is that OF necessity
ances in some sections of Washington that to men
who love their wives and parents who live for
their children are impossible places Of residence.
To live there would be to abide in PandemOnium.
For such persons q different neighbOrhood must
be obtained, and this involves q heavy expense
for rent under the ruling scale Of prices asked by
landlords. Hence It is that g, 100 is insufficient
for capable Government clerk. There are many
demands for charity, tOO-irregigtible demands
and benevolent clerk feels these drains upon his
purse and income as almost uncomfortable. Then
come educational and church expenditures with
not q few political taxations. Amusements are
no part OF clerks expenses-S20 year Will cover
all 70 majority Of those having families. But
fuel food servant hire, necessary conVeniences Of
housekeeping, furniture, dress and doctors bills
these are the sbsorbents Of Government clerks
salary. and often, particularly the latter and the
fasten upon him the lmpudent eolored boys
sobrfquet Of "poor white trash.n
Outside OF Government doors there Is no work
for Government clerks in any number, for there
Is . supply Of Workmen q thousanfOld greater
than the demand. Livery sensible person knows
this The city Is filled with unemployed la
borsrs. These are self-evident facts The blind
That there are clerks who could labor at some Of
the trades, were the opportunity offered, is IN
doubtedly true; but with most Of them. II labor
we're offered them, they could not perform It. To
compare clerks with laborers would be as absurd
as TO compare city militia company with regu-
lar army corps for military purposes or the hands
Of q canal boat with the crew OF man-of-WRr.
There is hardly q resemblance, save that in COM
mon to the human family as creatures In the I'm
age Of Gsd. Labor Of the head Is entirely differ
ent from the labor Of the hands, and the habits,
tastes wants Of the laborers are not alike. It Is
not which Is most respectAble-both are respeeta-
BILE; but what is competent salary for each class
The expenses Of one class are not Of the same
kind as those OF the other. nor are there assOca-
have always existed differences in society, and
there ALWAYS will COMMON SEN9F