West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-02-06

scene here. have seen many acts OF
Congressional kindness in this room.
Last year there was a poor old woman
who used TO come here and send in
her card about once q week. The meme
oerS generally came out TO sec her and
she would tell her story. The few she
called out always gave 10 her. and |
nave seen two dollar. tive-d dollar and
even ton-dollar bills go out of their
pocket into hers. CougreSsmen are Gen.
orally liberal and kind-heaItcd. and they
give freely"
As leave the room stop moment
and speak to a doorkecper know. lie
tells me that ladies sometimes try to
get into the House while il is i'm session.
and that during the last term one came
to the door with blood in her eve and a
cowhlde whip under her sealskin sack.
She started 10 90 inside, but was gent
ly pulled back She said certain
Congressman had ill-usei her and she
WAS bou' to 60 in and horscwhip him
IN 'he presence of the House, The
threat of policeman restrained her
At the end Of this hall is the elevator
which keeps going down and up. from
gallery TO sub-baSemcnt hundreds of
tunes day. Ii often carries as many
as five hundred people an hour and its
daily passengers are numbered by thou
sands Jump into il and go down with
me to the post-oilicc in the hall below.
There are two pos'-oiliccs i'm this great
city called the capitol building. and its
daily mail weighs many tons. Here
on the House side five wagons are kept
busy hauling it TO and from the city
poSt-oilice, and they carry away more
than five thousand pieces every day i'm
addition TO the tons of documents which
are always going.
The postmaster, pleasant man with
red whiskers tells me the Democratic
mail has increased five per cent. with
the election of Cleveland. and that
scores of ollicc-secking letters are com
ing in daily. Says he: The Spencer
gets the largest mail of any one i'm the
House. Randall comes next, and then
follow Cox, Morrison and others
Perry Belmont gets very large mail
from New York, and Congressman Hit
gets larger foreign mail than any
other member. w. ID. Kelley has a
very large number of papers. magazines
and periodicals sent him, and the old
members generally get more letters than
itol where the members OF Congress re-
ce.ve their salaries is an interesting
place. and | spent an hour i'm il TODAY
watching the members come in with
checks, and 90 away with haudfulls of
fresh, new grccnbacks. Members of
Congress are always paid in new
money, which is brought here fresh
from the printing presses, and none of
geant-at-Arms is the President of this
bank, and he has entire charge OF all
money payments TO Congressmcn. IL
is located in the north side of the
House wing, just next 10 Speaker Car
h'lc's private room, and its appearance
Is much like that of an ordinary bank
ing room. 1t Is IA long, hall-like
room with high vaulted ceiling
and wall kalsomined in a Hght
pink. As the door opens YOU step
INTO carpeted space like that i'm
front OF narrow bank, and at
your right Is the counter with It's high
wire network and its little dug-hole
spaces through which the teller and
the cashier do their business. On the
left OF this opposite the counter are
desk shelves fastened up against the
wall, on which are racks holding checks
IN blank directing the Sergcant-at-
Arms, United states House OF Repre-
sentatiye3, TO pay 10 bearer -- dollars
and charge TO the account OF --- Con
gresham. Back OF the counter is tho
bank safe, which usually holds from
500, 900 to $500 IN greenbacks and
which pays out from 1000 to $1,000
every day. During the year it contains
about $3,O0O,O 600, and many OF the
members use it as place of deposit.
Washburne, of Minnesota, used TO have
at times rs much as $4,000 i'm that
safe Now that 50 many Of the Wash
ington banks are failing, COngre
prefer TO leave their money here and
check on the Scrgcant-at- Arms. 10 risk
ing II in them. This bank Of the Can
itol does a regular banking busincs, ~
far as the members are concerned II
deals with no Others. a Congressman
can check on 10 and it will cash hi,
drafts and receive his deposits. His
salary Is due him in monthly payments.
and he can not ovcrdraw. Every
month Sil6.G6 is put to his credit
here, and this is pretty rapidly checked
out. Some members check their money
out as fast as IL comes in. Others take
IL in fve-dollar bills. and bill at time.
Some draw bat little. and instances have
been OF congressman taking nothing
until the c.o,e of the year. None so far
have refused 20 take lhc.r salaries. If
a Congressman dies his salary stops at
his death, but 10 is now the custom of
Congress ~ vote his widow n wears ex-
ira pay. As 20 mileage. each Congress
man gets forty cents mile each session
for the distance from his home 10 the
capital, and this pay ranges all the way
from $3.50 10 81, 800, according 90 the
distance. Mr.. Oury. the Territorial
delegate from Arizona, gets 81 500 e.
year mileage in addition TO his salary.
When 10 ls remembered that this is
enough tOpay one passage around the
world, and that you can go from New
York % San Francisco for less than
one-cighth OF it, it seems n good deal.
Congressman are also allowed sI25
year for stationery. The Sergcant-at-
Arms bank also attends TO this. Most
OF the members do not use an Of this.
and they are entitled 10 draw out the
remainder This bank must keep their
accounts Of this as Of other things. It
does 50 carefully. aud has complete
set oi books, which must be balanced
every morning - journal ledger and
cash book II a cent is wrong thc
whole must be gone over with. and good
buslnes, men are needed for the work.
The money used D. brought up daily