Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-09-27

NOBODY snouid nave more than S6, 600 mileage
| at single session. Now those men perhaps
get about 81, 900. Besides this. il was the cus.
tom to take constructive mileage'-that "a.
mileage for short session Of few DAYS at the
end OF the regular session when no travel
ing was done; Members in those days had
pretty good thing.
II remember how surprised was a few
days after / first got here-more than forty
years ago-to have an acquaintance bring a
package Of envelopes and lay them on my desk
with the calm request that would frank them
for him to use. 1 Indignantly refused. But I
| afterward found that it was common habit
moreover, clerks in the departments wrote the
franks Of members on all the letters they could
send.
II don't think an allowance in money should
be made for postage; but think the frank
| should be restored, under conditions that
would prevent its abuse. II ought to have
been done, long ago. After the mileage of
members has been reduced three-fourths and
shame that we should have to pay postage on
the public business"
SENATOR HENDERSON AT WORK.
hunted Gen. Henderson to his committee
room (printing) the other day. He was at his
desk writing lctters-he always seemed to be
writing letters whenever CHANGED to find him,
and, although it was O'Clock and dinner time,
Mrs. Henderson sat by In ocking chair, wait
ing for her husband to finish his mail
More stamps" remarked, as an introduce
ton.
'.Yes. indeed" exclaimed the lady. sit seems
as if all the money went for stamps. / wonder
why Congressman insist on paying all the post
age on letters which they write mainly for the
benefit Of others?"
THE people seemed to have decreed that
they shall do it," said the Senator, driving on
In reply to his distant correspondent.
What Is your postage now, general?"
ventured to ask.
1T has been as high as 50 a day." he said
''fo- long periods at a time. It is not quite SO
heavy now. suppose that il people at home
knew just how matters are here they would
pay our postage. But they don't know. They
can't know. They never will know"
And he paused in speech while his pen raced
along over the paper. After little he took
up the vocal thread where he had broken it.
Take the average citizen of -, Ohio for
instance. What sort Of an image Of United
States Senator has he in his mind? To HIM
the office is snecure and its holder a
Sybarite. His ideal Senator is a man who
lives IN luxurious idleness-who rises inst in
time to dress in purple and fine linen, eat some
quail, terrapin, pate de fois gras and ice cream
drink some champagne and get TO the Capitol
in zine for the opening of the session at noon;
whose desk is loaded with flowers sent him by
beautiful ladies; who listens TO speeches or
casually makes a few himself whenever friends
in the gallery request it; who strays out fire.
quently to get cigar or q drink; goes home
early in the afternoon and attends dinner
and ball at the Presidents in the evening
THE REAL SENATOR
is q different being. Instead OF recklessly
spending large sums OF money he is compelled
to be frugal in order to bring his outgo within
his income. Instead Of Iounging on velvet
pillows with fair women to swing incense under
his nose and read to him he saws wood all day
and digs cellars all night
i ~ vii for inc
he be at all scholarly in his temperament or is
making considerable study of any question
he rises early i'll the morning at all seasons
and works before breakfast After breakfast
he reads his letters and answers them TIL 10.
Perhaps a hundred letters is an average days
budget and he cannot reply to half. Then,
three or four times q week, he goes to a COM
mittee meeting till -. At this ME citing he re-
spends when the chairman reaches him in
course and reports ON the bill or claim which
was referred TO him at the last meeting and re-
celves another to examine and report OH Mt the
next meeting. These are not mere requests:
they are packages of papers, more or less pom
derous In my callow senatorial days. when
the first case was assigned to me in the COM
mttee on claims l said to the clerk, with the
greatest nonchalance. Yes, that's all right;
send 1t up to the house and will look it over
this evening. He looked surprised, but when
got home my wife met me at the door and
said, Look here. who on earth has had all this
stuff sent hereT for there were two big mail
bags full, obstructing the hall. It took me all
my leisure TOR two months to get at the merits
of that claim.
Now ! am on six conmittees-one for each
day, II they met every week. The military
committee has had 1000 claim cases before it
this session-more than 100 to each member.
must find out wha! is in every parcel commit
ted to me, SO that can tell tho other Senators
all about it. How do You suppose get there?
l steal some time from the senate and work
m pr ho oil tb
other commlttees-the claims, the petitions
the complaints. Tonight shall write letters
IN SOCIETY.
1.-THE society that We have away from home
is chiefly at dinners which Senators give to
one another, and they are really in intent and,
in fact, business dinners. That is to say they
greatly facilitate the work OH hand. for we talk
shop. One of these little affairs is given almos;
every week by some Senator, and as they are
usually confined to one party they are ocea-
sions where quarrcls are made up. differences
composed. politics agreed on and campaigns
laid out. these dinners generally simple and
inexpensive are very valuable as auxiiiaries OF
the stated sessions OH the hill here. Besides
the sessions and the dinners and the commit
tees and the cases to examine and the letters
TO answer Senators III this Congress have in
troduced about 800 bills each on an average
and have declined to introduce about twice as
many more. Every Senator, moreover, must
run 10 the departments at least three times q
week. making of himself at once q pack horse,
o beggar and an errand boy to get somebody
promoted whom somebody i'll his state has
hoard OF, to get a messenger appointed, to get
some document sent which somebody thinks
may have been printed. to obtain the seeds Of
some new sort OF carrot or to make a thousand
and one inquiries most of which might better
have been obtained by letters direct. .,
why don't l resign? Because for these
miseries there are splendid compensations A
man will undergo n good deal in order to be-
long to the greatest deliberative body in the
world of man; to be permitted to strive to till
an office so exalted; to enjoy the mental nc
Invites which come with high responsibility; to
be able to do good to u great many people by
serving them. 1t us exhilirating 10 any man
who IL not e dolt. receive two thousand pen
sion claims year and it does me good to ex-
anime them and get the deserving ones al
lowed. The conditions of senatorial life could
be improved but it is a noble thing to be al
lowed to serve as n Senator"
A bill to give members the penalty frank is
likely to pass next winter. CnoFFUr.
Getting Onto His Curves.
From Puck.