Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-01-31
WHAT 1T COST.
The Expenses of Session of Con-
gress-Some Queer Items.

gress-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 into print. 1t show some interest
ing facts about the cost of a 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 a year to wash the towels
that are used in the bath Mushroom?
Yet 1t does, according to this report.
Take the month of July, for instance.
The Clerk certifies that IN July, 1882,
he paid for washing 867 dozen towels
for the House and its employees alone
over 10, 600 towels for the month, or
nearly 500 a day during the days in
which there were sessions. The cost
Of their trifling service was pretty
nearly 5000, the rate paid being 80
cents per dozen Adding to this the
Senate list, and it is easy to see that
the figures run well up into the thou
sands in the year Funerals, too,
are very expensive luxuries. 1t costs,
as appears from the report of Clerk
Mcpherson, over So, 900 to bury Con
gresham, about $4,000 in 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 $S6 to get them here, one item Of
this bill being $40 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, aHd was in
deed the first one to discover that he
was dying. The next item of expense
in this funeral is zone dozen matches,
so cents, Then, following these items.
seven cases Of Apollinaris water and
two cases Bethesda, $63,50, which
suggests wake" in a very mild sense
especially, when you add to it sus-
picious item of " sundry expenses
not included IN the above, $53, 25."
The casket, which the gentlemanly
undertaken mentioned in his bill as
the very finest cost 1926 and the plain
box or case which inclOsed it Is char
ged up at SIS. The silver plate with
name was $18, and the cost of twenty
four silk sashes was only $240 Ten
dolarsl apiece for silk sashes is
very little when you feel real sad
though why this same item should
come in for every funeral during the
entire Congress, is just little diff
cult to understand In nearly every
OGe of the eight or ten funerals occur
ring during the existence of the last
Congress, there is an expense account
of from 500 to $3.50 for silk sashes
making the total for this item of the
Congressional funerals from 81, 900 to
$4,000, 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,
though how even SO many as thi>
could have been needed is something
Of 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
few months later, the number of kid
gloves purchased seems to have been
is 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 a properly conducted fu-
neral, including the sashes, gloves,
meals, lunches, railroad fare, Apollo
naris, ice-picks and miscellaneous, ,
or say $25, 900 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, " 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 a bucket was the good round
price paid, and there were over 1000
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 1925 to each for stationery. Among
these articles thus furnished were a
lot of photograph albums, dozens and