The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-25
HOW CoNGREssMEN LIVE.
Members Who Try tn Get Along Upon Their
Salaries-The Difficulties in the Way.
Waabin0foD

| Members Who Try to Get Along Upon Their
Salaries-The Difficulties in the Way.
| Washington Star.
| The great question is how to live we'll without
| spending all of their salary. Without furnish
| ing any striking examples of penuriousness such
| have existed at odd times, this House tries to
| live within Its means. 1t Is difficult tor mem
Der of Congress to live in respectable stvle and
| not spend every cent of his salary of So. 000 A
| plain. economical man. with family that is in
| no way extravagant, is Mr.. Bland His wife is
| said to be model housekeeDer, and he has no
extravaeant habits He keeps house and walks
| to and from the Capitol. He spends little money
| for carriage hire; does not try to keep up with
| the fashion dress and does not drink or gam
ble He lives like good, honest, well-to-do
| Western farmer as he looks to be- Yet. during
sixteen years in the House, he has saved scarcely
| anything of his salary.
| Men Of different habits do we'll to keep out of
| debt when they have no private means to help
| out their salaries. Some of the members, of
| course, are wealthy. living in their own houses
| at great expense. and entering fully into fash
| i0nable Washington life with all that implies.
| These are but few. and they spend the amount
| of their yearly salaries several times over.
In days gone by there have been men in the
| House who have dsregarded all conventonali-
| ties, and set at it to save their salaries. Mem
bers of the Greenback party have always been
conspicuous for this few years ago there
was Greenbacker from the far West who is
| said 10 have set at defiance all the world, and
| lived In Washington for two years at an expense
of only $500 per year. He had wife and
several children, rented little house
out beyond the boundary somewhere, and
economical at every point Neither he nor his
family cared anything for appearances. His wife
astonished the House one time by nursing her
baby In the members gallery. Again, she con-
quered the cravings of its juvenile appetite in
the rotunda About that time another Green
hacker, this one from the Southwest, found
place down In the southern part of the city,
the old canal somewhere, where he had to pay
but $40 per month for rooms, board and attend
ance. There are none of these rigid economists
In this Congress. Even Mr. Holman, who has
made such a reputation for his economy of the
public moneys, boards with his family at hotel,
where his expenses cannot be small
Some OF the members who have not their fam
lilies with them club together in pairs. Two
Virginia members have suite of rooms be-
tween them and for the suite with board pay
500 each. Members generally find that their
board aud rooms cost for themselves alone from
$50 to 5000 Per month They have opportunity
to spend much besides. if they have mind to.
in theaters, drives and dinners. One thing mem
bers have to contend with is that women who
have rooms to rent expect to get more for them
from Congressman. One of the New Jersey
delegations got the better of these speculative
Iandladies by representing himself as govern
ment employe, as he conceived himself to be.
In this way he got his rooms at the price paid by
ordinary folks and found himself very comfort
aOly uXeO Inc average landlanV, however. can
tell an Nj. G. on sight and would not be victim
lied by any subterfuge of this sort. Members
who have their families And it much cheaper to
keep house. Mr.. Glover, who has family.
adops this plan not, however. for econOmy's
sake rs he lives alone in fine house on Con
necticut avenue
There are about only thirty members who
keep house. w. L. Scott lives in considerable
style in one of those handsome stone houses on
X street, near Seventeenth, built by ex Governor
Shepherd. In his earlier career Mr. S. s. Cox
lived in very modest suite of rooms, the
Capitol. Later he lived In his own house, on
Dupont circle, which he sold for $50 600 cash
the Riggs but expects to build home near the
one he sold. Mr.. Mitchell keeps fine establish
ment on Dupont circle, and lives very EXPENSIVE
ly, the size of his salary a Congressman not
being taken into consideration, he very
wealthy. The New York and New England men
the hrst-class hotels Ben Butterworth
keeps house in LIE Droit Park. Camp.
bell, of Ohio, keeps house Connecticut
avenue Senator-elect Daniels keeps house in
the fashionable northwest The Speaker always
boards at the Riggs, and Morrison is at Wizards
everv sesson. Mr.. Randall keeps house Cap
rol Hill. So do Messrs. Barbour, Dunn and G.
R. Breckinrdge. Messrs. Burleigh, Curtin,
Fisher, Eustace Gibson, James, Ketcham, Will
son, Stone OF Missouri and Swope all have es-
Establishments with home comforts around them.
Perry Belmont, like Mr.. Glover. has the com
forts of a house of his own, without the pleasure
of family. His house is in the fashionable
part of the city, on Rhode Island avenue. at the
corner of Seventeenth. Davenport keeps house
ALSO Plndar, Matson, Singleton. Springer,
Viele, Thomas E. Ward, Wellborn, Cutcheon.
Gay and Lanham are happy in home comforts
Most, if not all, of the other members live in
rooms or at some of the many hotels. Rooms
ara the rule.