Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-18
MANY MILLIONS.
A Few Items Taken from Uncle
Sans Expense Account.
What 1t Costs to Run the United
States Government.
The Machinery Needs Consid-
cradle LubriCation.

S133, 73,O OS5 - The Navy Next with
$31, O,3IS-Then Comes the War De-
partment with S94, ,s11,O11-COst of
the other Congressional
Expenses No Small Item.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19.-There are
quite number of curious things for
which appropriations are asked in the
estimate forwarded by the secretary of
the treasury to congress.
Senators and Their Help.
There are lightweight United States
senators. The salary of each is $1,000
That makes the total amount of salaries
paid them amount to $4,000 a year
Adding to this the salary paid the pre-
siding officer, the vice president of the
! United States, gives total of $44SO0
for the senate and its presiding officer.
The secretary of the senate gets s., 1886 u
| year. Each senator, during the session
of the senate, has a clerk or secretary;
| if he be chairman of a committee, the
committee clerk acts as his private
secretary. If he is not a chirman of a
committee, he has a private secretary at
| So day. Then there is also q private
|
who receives So, 220 a year. 1t costs the
United States 1925, 900 a year for report
| ing the debates and proceedings of the
senate, SO that the honorable senato.s
may know what they said in speeches
and debates 1t costs the United States
5000 for a senate chaplain to pray for its
preservation and the preservation of its
senators.
Senate Committees, Etc.
There are plenty of senate committees.
The clerk to the committee on apprOpri-
ations receives $1,000, his assistant S2,-
| 220. and messenger 81 ,4I0 The clerk
and stenOgrapher to the committee ON
finances receives So 800. The committee
on claims has a clerk at s. 220. and an
assistant at 81 ,440. The committee on
commerce has two clerks at the same
salary. The committees on printing
records, on judiciary, on private land
claims, on pensions, on military affairs
on postoffices and post roads, on District
of Columbia, on naval affairs, on the
library, on the census, on foreign rela-
tions, on public lands, on Indian affairs,
on auditing and controlling the contin-
gent expenses, on public buildings and
grounds, on agriculture and forestry, ON
education and labor, ON territories, on
rules, on interstate commerce., on cpl
demic diseases, on patents, on coast de-
fenses, on engrossed bills, each has
clerk at 81, ,22O year, or twenty-three
clerks, at an annual salary Of $51 ,O6O
Then there is an assistant clerk to the
committee on pensions.
The committees on finance, on post
offices and post roads, on pensions, on
claims, on District of Columbia, on jll-
dietary, on military affairs, on engrossod
bills, on foreign relations, have each
messenger at 81 ,440, or nine committee
messengers at at an annual salary of
$l2 $50. The total salaries paid the
committee clerks and messengers of the
senate is $50, 500 year.
The house committees clerks salaries
amount to but $55 200 a year.
The senate always gets the better of
the house in the matter of committee
clerks. private secretaries. etc, for the
members of the house really need more
committee clerks than the senate.
Rough on Congressman.
Then a congressman more urgently
REQUIRES the services of a private secre-
tarv than a senator does. The poor con-
gresham has to spend four or five hours
a day around the departments Logging it
for information for his constituent who
is anxious to know this or that, or has
pension to be looked after. He has to
answer all the communications from his
constituents, and to work like dog for
them. And yet he does not have a pri-
vate secretary. Why? Well, he is
elected every two years, and has to go
before his constituents for that re-elec-
ton. They would retire him if he We're
to vote himself a much-needed private
secretary. AS the senators are elected
by the legislatures, they are more indie
pendent and can secure for themselves
and their committees as much help as
they choose The house has to appropri-
ate the money for the senators private
secretaries and clerks to committees, for
under the constitution no legislation ap-
propriating money can originate in the
senate. So the poor congressman vote to
help the senator's and yet dare not do a
similar thing for themselves. This is
but one of the troubles Of a congress
man.
Representatives, Their Committees, Etc.
The salaries of the members Of the
house of representatives. amount to a
great deal more than do the salaries Of
the senators. for, including the delegates
from the territories, there are 3l4 mem
bers of the house. Their salary Is the
same as that paid the senator's, /. e.,
$4,000 a year. The total salary paid
members of congress is Sl,12O,OO0 a
year. The house also has a chaplain at
5000 a year. The clerk of the house
gets $1,000 a year. The speaker has
private secretary at s., lO2.4O year.
The committee on ways and means OF
the house has a chief clerk at $1,000
year. an assistant at 81 500, and mes
senger at $1,000. The appropriations
committee has the same.
The committees on agriculture, claims,
commerce, District of Columbia, cleo
tions. foreign affairs, Indian affairs, in
valid pensions, judiciary, merchant ma
rine and fisi. cries, military affairs, naval
affairs, postoffices and post roads, public
buildings and grounds, public lands,
war claims, rivers and harbors. lrf1ga-
ton of arid lands, each has clerk at
So 900 a year, or $4,000 in all. The
sergeant-at- alarms gets 100, while his
deputy receives $4,000. The doorkeeper
gets 81, 800.
The are five official reporters of the
house proceedings who receive $4,000 a
wear. and an assistant ut 81 600. Ii there
fore costs Uncle Sam $26, 900 a year so
that his noble congressman can have
their worthy or unworthy acts, as the
case may be, reported for the record.
There are in addition TO the commit
tee clerks two stenographers at $1,000
"A year. who help each Of tho committees
a little.
The senate has had appropriated for