The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-31
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HARDRUN CONGRESSMAN
REPRESENTATIVE MILLS AND OTHERS
SAY THEY MUST STEP OUT.
The Cost OF Living at Washington In
oreases Far Beyond the Growth of SAL
aries-How The Congressional Record
Was Greatly Frightened Up.
Especial Correspondence

aries-How The Congressional Record
Was Greatly Frightened Up.
Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.-Roger Q. Mills,
of Texas, has announced his intention to
retire from public life at the end of the
next congress. asked Mr.. Mills why he
was going to retire, and remarked to him
that by this time probably sitting in seat
in the house of representatives had become
second nature to him, and that in all prob
ability he would never be happy elsewhere.
cit is true" replied Mr.. Mills, that / am
not fitted for any other employment but
that of legislation but I think / have
worked enough in my time, and / am
ready to step aside and give some of the
younger men chance At the close of the
next congress shall have been sitting here
for twenty years, and that is a long time.
have decided to quit for the simple rea-
son that am tired. Visitors to congress
think it very easy work for us to sit in our
seats, do nothing and draw what appear to
be large salaries. They do not think of the
hours of work we have to perform after
the sessions are at an end. 1t is positive
fact that / have for the last sixteen or
eighteen years sat up almost every night
till long after midnight working at my
correspondence.
81 have never felt able to hire a secretary,
and, at any rate, like the good old fash
Toned way Of writing ones own letters.
] have written letters night after night
till nay wrists and fingers were SO stiff it
seemed as if could not move them any
more. have sent out hundreds of letters
written in such crampeR and miserable
hand that / could not read them myself.
and how my correspondents managed to
decipher them is more than / can under
stand. In addition to the letter writing
there is no end of running around the de-
partments to do for ones constituents.
For instance, I have just come from the
court of claims, where | have been busy
for two hours searching out the record of
a case in which constituent of mine is in
terested. 1t is work which he ought to
have called on his lawyer to do, but it has
become the fashion among many people to
call on their congressman for all sorts of
drudge and errand work in Washington.
j am tired of it. / have reached that point
in life in which / want to take rest, and
there is no rest for the wicked congress-
man. Therefore, shall retire from con-
gress and go down on my farm in Texas
and pass the remainder of my days in
peace"
Mr.. Mills, who is a man of simple tastes,
and whose family is not an expensive one,
remarked to me that in all the eighteen
years he had passed in the service of his
state in the house of representatives he had
not been able to save anything from his
salary. All he had found it possible to do
was to get out about even from one year to
another. This reminds me of talk had
a few days ago with Judge Payson, of ILL
nois, who was defeated at the last election.
DIR. Payson said that just after the cleo
ton he was naturally very sorry he
was beaten, but that now he was as
glad as he could be. "My wife and |
have agreed" said he, "that / shall never
again stand for an elective office. | am
going to retire forever from public life and
devote the remainder of my existence to
an effort to get as much happiness out of
She world as the world is willing to give
me. Congressional life is a species of
drudgery which wears man out, makes
him sort Of machine, and renders it i'm
possible for him to enjoy that peace and
contentment which go so far to make up
aappy existence. Save money out of a
congressional salary and lay aside some
thing for a rainy day? That is well nigh
impossible. My wife and live very -sim-
ply. We have but one child and keep but
one servant The house we live in at
Washington is a small one, and we rent
but half of it. And yet last year / saved
out of my salary as congressman just S4O0
That is all. In my Judgment there are not
o score of members Of congress who save
anything worth mentioning out of what
they are paid for their public work"
find that the old members of congress
are predicting increased salaries for repre-
sentatives and senators within few years.
The first thing will be to give each mem
Der of the house a clerk at the governments
expense, as the senators now have, and af-
ter that viii come an increase in pay. The
day is coming when the public will see that
st is not wise to keep congressman, who
are subjected to so many temptations, on
salaries which give them no opportunity
20 save and make it necessary for them to
exc out their incomes in some other way.
Previousto 1916 the compensation of men,
bers of congress was only So day, and
when a bill was passed in that year to
raise the compensation to 81 500 a session,
a sum barely sufficient to afford a decent
living even in those days, there was a
great public outcry.
The whole country was excited, and |
find in an old newspaper in the congress
sional library the statement that on &C
count of this increase of pay "the nation
was shaken to its center; parties were
formed and political armies marshaled,
and the patriotism Of the country was
aroused to ebullient Indignation at the
bare proposition that a member of congress
should dare 70 take thought for what be
should eat and drink or wherewithal he
should be clothed, ana the liberties of the
country were menaced with destruction
when congress ventured TO demand the
of life in payment of its thank
less services" So great was the feeling
that at its next session congress repealed
the bill and made the compensation of its
members IS day, ut which rate it stood
Cor many years.
But the world moves, and public opin-
ION, though quick to condemn, is as ready
20 approve when convinced of the justice
of any innovation, and [ hope to see the
day when these men who do so much faith
full work here viii be paid therefor accord
ing to their deserts.
A few days ago made little discovery
the manner in which certain
poor senauors-for there are senators who
are not rich-mansge to make both ends
meet financially. 1t is by keeping a best
man. a senator's best man must be a good
bu siness fellow, tinancier, with an eye to
the main chance and good nose for trades
and profits He must also be discreet and
faithful An instance Of this may be found
ia the case of a western senator who has
had no income for fifteen or twenty years
but the salary be has earned as governor of
his state, member Of congress and senator.