The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-04-17
THEY MAKE HONEY FLY.
HOW UNITED STATES SENATORS
SPEND THE PEOPLES CASH.
Nothing Is Bought for the Upper Rouse
That Is Not of the Very Best-Some As
tonishing Figures Regarding Purchases
and Appointments.
SPECIAL Correspondence.l


Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON, April 7-When we want to
know something Of the character and habits
Of a man we are lucky if we can discover how
he spends his pocket money. Incidental ex-
penses are a sure index to character and
methods What is true Of individuals is true
Of organized bodies Of men. With this in
view have made study Of the incidental
expenses Of the United States sonata It
shows some curious and suggestive results.
There is this difference between the incidental
expenses Of the senate and Of a man whom we
are trying by this means to size up. The man
presumably spends his own money-the sen
ate, we know, spends other peoples.
The senate, fat, lazy, luxurious, has sur
rounded itself with an army Of funkies.
There are eighty-four senator's, and four sal
aried employee for each senator. Even the
great house Of representatives, with four
times as many members as the senate, has
not SO many seryitOrs. Such place for
clerks and assistant clerks and messengers
and pages and laborers and other attendants
as the senate is probably exists in no other
place on this continent. To begin with, the
senate has secretary. The secretary has a
chief clerk, principal clerk, principal ex-
ecutive clerk, a financial clerk, a minute and
journal clerk, an enrolling clerk, an assist
ant financial clerk, and no end Of ordinary
clerks, undistinguished by titles, under his
direction.
Fifty senate committees have clerks to at
tend to their routine matters and to do the
bidding Of the chairmen. a number Of these
committees have assistant clerks, and ten Of
them have messengers. Messenger" !" the
reader should know, is the term which in the
senate stands for waiter, servant, attendant,
mixer of drinks, purveyor Of personal com
fort, etc. The number Of these messengers
rapidly increases from year to year. Some
of these committees which have clerks and
messengers do not have any business. They
60 not meet once year. No legislation
comes before them demanding attention, yet
they occupy gorgeous rooms and are served
ike princes of the blood at the seaside.
There is a seTgeant-aJ-alns who has depus
ties and assistants to the number of dozen.
These are the keepers of the doors. the guard
ians of the dignity. Besides these there are
thirty who appear On the rolls as simple
messengers" probably the men who watch
ike hawks at all the apertures of the sacred
chamber to see that no profane eye gets with
in a measured ten feet of the walls of the
senate during the majestic secret sessions
There is a postmaster, and ne has no fewer
than seven assistants. Eight men to handle
the mail for eighty But this is not all
There are half dozen riding pages to carry
notes from the senate chamber to the resi-
dences Of its members and other places. One
of the curiosities of Washington society is a
senate riding page, mounted on a senate horse
from the senate stables-for che senate has a
stable all its own--going about the city leav-
ing & bagful of social communications for
madam the senator's wife.
A list of all the saRates employees would
fill three or four of these columns There are
superintendents OF document rooms and their
numerous assistants, chief folders and many
helpers, chief engineers and staff OF assist
ants, and no end of laborers and carpenters
and machinists. Then each senator has e
clerk all to himself-a faithful servant who
attends to his affairs, public or private, for
$50 Of government money per month. Per
haps it would not be fair to go over this hist
of employees and pick out by name the sons Of
senator's, the sons-in-law, the nephewS, the
cousins and other relatives who are provided
for on this superfnous pay roll, but venture
the assertion that one-thrd of all the en-
ployes Of the senate are relatives of the grave
and reverend fathers who sit within the
chamber.
Notwithstanding its dislike of newspapers,
the senate evidently believes the pen is
rightier than the sword. In one day, not
long since, there were purchased for its use
So, 400 pens, at a cost of 1925 s. This was
200 pens for each senator and employe, but in
a month or two the stock Of pens had run so
low that another order had to be sent to the
stationer's. The senate is a famous consumer
of stationery, and whatever it uses must be Of
the best. do not know in what branch of
the public service fine papateTieS are used,
but about once week sucn items as these
may be found in the senate books: Twenty
five dozen paPeteries, $3.50 IS n Ten dozen
R. l. L. papeteries, S8L2Gn Even in its ink
stands the senate IS somewhat luxurious, as is
shown by one of many orders of similar ma
ture, this one reading: Eight and eleven
twelfths inkstznds, $Ii964"
The senate is place in which many cards
are used People are continually sending
cards in 10 sensto-s whom they wish 10 see,
but until looked in the incidental expense
book / did not know that senator's themselves
are great consumers Of fine Bristol board.
Here is the card record for three months:
JaDusrv-