Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-01-25
WHAT 1T COST.
The Expenses of n Session OF Con-
gress-Some Queer Items,
Washington Correspondence OF the Chicago


sress-Some queer Items.
Washington Correspondence Of the Chicago |
Journal.
If anybody thinks it doesn't cost
much to run a Congress let him at
once dismiss that idea. At least he
would be likely to do SO should he be
permitted the opportunity of reading
the expense accounts of one. The
annual report of the Clerk of the last
House, Mr.. Mcpherson, has just been
put lntoprint 1t show some interest
ing facts about the cost of great
machine like the House of Representa-
tives, and some rather unexpected
ones. Who would have supposed for,
instance, that it costs several thous-
and dollars year to wash the towels
that are used in the bath wash-rooml
Yet IT does, according to this report.
Take the month of July, for instance.
The Clerk certifies that in July, 1882,
he paid for washing S67 dozen towels
for the House and its employees alone,
over 10, 900 to @els for the month, or
nearly 500 day during the days IL
which there were sessions The cost
of their trifling service was pretty
nearly 5000, the rate paid being so
cents per dozen Adding to this the
Senate list, aud it is easy to see that
the figures run well up into the thou
sands in the year Funerals, too,
are very expensive Injuries. 1t costs,
as appears from the report of Clerk
Mcpherson, over S., 900 to bury Con
gresham, about $4,000 i'll some cases.
Take, for instance, the funeral of Con
gresham Hawk, of Illinois. 1t SO
happened that among the men chosen
to attend his remains home, several
were home and had to be sent for. 1t
cost $50 to get them here, one item of
this bill being SO as railroad fare for
J. A. Logan, though it is distinctly
remembered that it was announced
that Senator Logan was with him at
the moment of his death, aad was in
deed the first one to discover that he
was dying. The next item of expense
in this funeral is 'one dozen matches,
so cents" Then, following these items,
seven cases of Apollinaris water and
two eases Bethesda, $3.50, which
suggests wake" in very mild sense
especially, when you add to it sus-
picious item of . sundry expenses "
not included in the above, S53, 25. :"
The casket, which the gentlemanly
undertaken mentioned in his bill as
the very finest cost s425 and the plain
box or case which inclosed it is char
ged up at SIS The silver plate with
name was $1S, and the cost of twenty
four silk sashes was only $240. Ten
Inlancl fNN e;lt- cochNr 20
very little when you feel real sad,
| though why this same item should
come in for every funeral during the
entire Congress, is just q little diff
cult to understand In nearly every
one of the eight or ten funerals occur
ring during the existence of the last
Congress, there is an expense account
of from 800 to $3.50 for silk sashes.
making the total for this item of the
Congressional funerals from 81, 900 to
50, 600, and causing the query,
What becomes of them every time?
| Then there is another item of some
interest, in kid gloves. In this par
ticular funeral it was rather small,
| the number of black kid gloves pur-
chased being only forty-two pairs,
| hOW Gttu 81 IIIdui dS IlllS
could have been needed is something
of a question. However, the list in
| this case is SO modest as compared
with others, that it passes with little
comment. AT the funeral of Congress
man Schackelford, which occurred a
few months later, the number of kid
| gloves purchased seems to have been
| lis pairs, and the other curious items
of the Hawk funeral are 81 60 for satin
ties, cuffs, collars, studs, ETC., whether
| for the members who accompanied the
remains or otherwise, does not appear.
| Then there is another curious item, of
81, for an ice-pick, Ratchet and towels.
The cost of properly conducted flu
neral, including the sashes, gloves,
meals, lunches, railroad fare, Apollo
naris, ice-picks and miscellaneous, y
seems to have beer trifle over So, 900,
or say $25, 600 for the members of last
Congress who died during their term
of office. This is, however, a great deal
cheaper than contests of elections, as a
| single one of these costs as much as all
| the funerals of the two years.
There are some other queer items of
expense. Take, for instance, the fold
ing room, y where the members manu-
facture political capital by having
tons of their speeches sent out broad
cast over the country. The cost for
paste alone with which to have the
wrappers sealed about these and other
documents was over 81 900 a year. a
dollar bucket was the good round
price paid, and there were over 900
buckets of it.
In the stationery room there was
the usual queer collection of articles
which the members might draw and
have charged as stationery, the cost
to come out of the annual allowance
of S125 to each for stationery. Among
these articles thus furnished were a
lot of photograph albums, dozens and
dozens of 'articules," several court
plaster cases." probably intended for
use after personal encounters on the
floor of the house during heated de-
bates, a number of belts" whether
for prize-fghters or baseball players
is not noted, several dozen ''pocket
necessaries," fans, opera glasses,
papeteries, pocket-knives, bound
volumes of Shakespeare, Science of
Politics." Walkers Political Econ
omy," etc. Yet with all this tempt
ing array some of the members scorn-
ed the stationery-roo The Hon.
Ace Hewitt only drew Sc worth of
stuff from it in the year, and the
Hon. William D. Kelley, better
known perhaps as ''Pig-iron Kelly"
only drew about the same sum from
the treasures of this storehouse. On
the other hand, Tranquiling Luna,
the delegate from New Mexico, tran
gully drew 1924 Is worth of his s136
allowance, and several others ran
pretty close to the margin.
1t may be interesting to add that
the salaries OF the members of Con-
gress now amount to over $4,000, 600
a year.