Morning journal and courier., 1889-03-18
SENATOR oHAoE,s RESIGNATION.

 And she Subject 'tls Likely 60 Arouse -Is a Senator's Compensation Sufd. cient2-Our Oonnecticut Senator Ex- presses His Views.
 WASHINGTON, March 17.-The resignation
 of Senator Chace upon the threshhold of his
 second term in the highest legislative body
 in the world has aroused renewed interest in
 . subject that is bound to receive early and
 earnest consideration in congress. Senator
 Chace, in private, gives as the reason why
 he cannot longer serve his State and country
 as 6 legislator that the compensation of 8
 senator was not sufficient to warrant him in longer neglecting his business He has ex-
 pressed the opinion that he is considerably
 poorer for his legislative experience than he
 would have been had he remained at the
 head of his business.
 The question of increasing the oompensa-
 tion of congressman has been receiving the
 earnest attention of senators especially of
 late and there1s an overwhelming sentiment
 among them in favor of making the salary of congressman $10, 900 year instead of $5, 600 as it is at present. There was a frank ex-
 pression of views by the senators on this
 topic in one of the secret legislative sessions last week.
 In concluding the debate MT. Platt said:
 "Mr. President-When the proper com. mittee shall consider the matters which have
 been spoken of here this morning, I think that committee ought to go further and fur
 ther. 1 think i5 ought to consider the ques-
 tion as to whether senators are fairly paid for the work which they do and whether the salary of a senator of the United States ought not to be raised. I know it is charg-
 ed that the senate of the United States is
 composed largely of rich men to whom the
 salary is no object. To some extent it may
 be true that there are senators here to whom
 the salary is very little object, but there are
 senators here, who have nothing to live
 upon except their salary and who are paid
 less for the services which they render, than
 they would be paid in any other walk or oc- cupstion of life for similar services and very much less.
 In addition to that, senators have 8 great many expenses which their po- sition necessarily entails, and the result is that those senators who have no income be- hind their salaries are obliged to live in very unpleasant way in the city of Washington" 7" MT. Lorrill-May ask the senator from can come here with his family and rent de- cent house and live without spending twice the amount of his salarya
 MT. Platt-I have been aware-and think, perhaps I may as we'll say it as anyone be- cause think am ss poor as there is in the eenRlo-1 nave been maQe most p6l01ullY aware of the inability of senator of the United States to live in the city of Washing ton in anything like the style and with any- thing like the comforts which we have at ! home and which other people have in Wash- \ ington who, perhaps, are entitled to ! the same social position that we are | and we are entitled to the same social posi- ! tion that they are. We are put at disad- ! vantage which we feel every day of our lives; and there are senators here who will echo l what say, knowing it to be true. Now, I do
 not complain of 1t for myself. I can remedy | it for myself if choose to do so. If do
 not choose to endure the privations (for use that word) which senator of the United I States who is compelled to live on his salary ! must endure, can remedy that by resigning ! my place and going home to my constituents
 and allowing them to send somebody here who has an income which he can devote to ! living in Washington. I think that it is quite I time that some plain words were spoken on l this subject, and I have taken this occasion l to speak them"
 There are fifty committees of the Senate, | and of these twenty four have clerks who | serve on an annual stipepd