The Tombstone epitaph., 1882-01-09
Comparative Cost of Governments.


 Comparative Cost of Governments.
 It is as natural for man to com plain of the expense of being gov erned as it is to breathe, it mattering but little whether the burden be great or small. The following state- ment of the salaries of the great rulers of the world is fitting sub ject of study for all. Those who think American salaries are too high have little show for relief by emigra- ton to the older countries of the world, whatever other localities may offer.
 President Arthur receives $5O,O00 year salary and the occupation of the presidents mansion, together with perquisltes for entertainments, etc, not exceeding $5O,000 more. The comparison. to be complete, should show the population contained in each country. The little Swiss re- public pays its president only s3,O00 a year, and his seven councillors. S2,400 apiece, making total of S19,S0O. The French republic pays sl20,000 year. Now, it is instruc. tive to contrast these figures with the cost of personal governments, where the executives are hereditary or monarchical. Francis Joseph l, emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. is paid by his subjects an nra;ly, s4, 4,650,O0o. Leopold II, king of Belgium, only gets $660,000 for his services. Christian TX, king of Denmark, draws from his loyal sub jects only s3l1, 200; while William 1, emperor ot Germany, is compelled to live on the annual pittance of S3,- O79,S2O. Little Bavaria pays her king only $l,37s,s65 year, and Wurtemberg manages to have king at the cost of only $4tO,O0J a year. Saxony gets along with $762,950; and three -cornered little Baden has to pay for the luxury of ruler only s374,65O. The cost of royalty in England is the mere bagatelle of $3,075,000, but her people have the satisfaction of being governed by Commons much more costly, their queen being an excellent old lady, whose virtues (barring parsimony) all the world admires. Poor old Italy, after taking care of the Pope, is compelled to limit King Humberto's income to the small sum of $3,lO0,OOO. In dear old Netherlands, William III bargained with his loving subjects, owing to his vast wealth, to govern them for S25O,000 year, with an addition of $62,500 to keep the palaces in re- pair. Louis l, King of Portugal, is a generous old soul and returns one. sixth of his income into the ex- chequer, and consequently is com pelled to live economically on only S6.0,000 year. The royal Alfonso, King of Spain, has only $2,0O0,0O0 a year with which to buy his olla po- drida, and the Czar of Russia is con fined to his palace with the beggarly annual pay of $10,000,0OO only. What shame! while the pagan, Abdul Hamid, Sultan of Turkey, an- nually consumes S22,500,000 of the old bird he lives upon. We have omitted Sweden and Norway, but then MT. Oscar No. , only gets s529, ,44O, starving salary compared to-that of the president of the United States!
 The Boston Herald well says: "lt will be perceived that, if Europe has the fancy for being governed by em- perors, kings, princes and grand dukes, it costs great deal to carry that fancy into actual operation. The highly-pai magnates, who ought to be the dependents and utility people in the great drama of political gov ernment, have increasingly proceed ed during the centuries to make themselves masters instead of servi- tors of the people. Single families have thus absorbed the property of the people, whom they seem to re. gard as serfs. From royal lips and pens these ever are the words of ownership-such as, "my people" "my army" "my navy" 'my pal | acasn end Umv intarests