The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-03-19
THE PAY OF CONGRESsMEN.

Senator Jonathan Chace, of Rhode
Island, has resigned his seat in Congress.
1t is understood that his reason for going
out is that he cannot afford to work for the
pay. Mr.. Chace is a rich man. He is a
cotton manufacturer and financier, and
has gathered fair-sized fortune, though
his wealth does not compare with the
enormous piles" of some Of his fellow
Senators. He finds, however, that the
longer he stays in Congress, the less he
has, and in order to hold his own and avoid
poverty, he surrenders the Office and turns
his attention to his own affairs.
This incident will revive the question Of
the propriety of increasing the pay of Con
gressmen. A good many people will oppose
the proposition, but they will be the unrea-
sonable, the ignorant or the preludlced.
Those who understand the matter will not
pretend to say that our Congressman are
fairly paid The compensation may be
enough considering the inefficient service
performed by the great majority of the men
sent to the capital but that is not the way
to gauge the thing Washington has come
to be the most expensive city in the union,
If not in the world, in which to live, and to
Congressman more than to others 1t
is costly. Senators and Representa-
tiyes are compelled to live extrava-
Rantly. Their duties put expenses
upon them which are not contemplated
or provided for in their salaries, and
society's demands upon them are costly to
fhe degree of cruelty. There must be more
or less entertainment, more or less 'style, i
all of which is expensive. The Senator
who with his family would reside in back
street boarding house, and live within his
salary, which means to live the life OF
semi-hermit, would soon find himself and
family decidedly unpopular, If not IN dis
grace, and his influence reduced to the lowest
possible degree. We may say that this IS
all wrong, but it is the custom OF the
country and moralists cannot change 1t.
Congressman spend money as if they were
rich, whatever may be the condition OF
their bank accounts. The result is that the
Senators, almost without exception, and a
large percentage of the Representatives,
live beyond their salaries. The Senate
is fast getting to be an exclusive
body of rich men, for the reason that poor
ones cannot afford to be Senators, and many
good men refuse the nomination to Congress
because they are too poor to live in Wash
ington as Congressman is expected to
live.
Two evils result from this niggardness
Oneis the tendency to send money instead
of brains to Washington, and the other IS
to lead men to dishonesty and iobbery IN
legislation. 1t may be hard thing TO say,
but we don't believe it will be disputed that
a good many men would be more honest and
upright if they had more money. Their
necessities lead them to make peace with
consciences which would otherwise be
troublesome.
We believe it would result beneticially to
the country if the Congressional salary
were increased to such figure that good
man could afford to work for it, and live re
specially in Washington. 1t would be still
better if the number of Representatives
were cut down, and the money now paid to
all distributed among the smaller repre-
sentatiOn.