The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-13
COSTOF THE EXTRASESSION
Congress Spends Millions Yearly on
lis Own Support.

SS,oOOs OOO Tor ray anu AA4A0oNo Va
Senators and Representatives-En
nous Expense of Running the Two
Houses-The Outlay for Printing
Bills and the Congressional Record.
What the Keep of the Capitol Costs.
The extra session Of congress viii take
out Of the impoverished treasury a big
sum in cash Though many OF the expenses
of the national legislature run on during
its absence from Washington, they jump
to a maximum when it sits. To make
laws costs Uncle Sam pile Of money an
nuany The pay alone Of members OF the
House amounts TO 81 100000 year, and
they get $4,000 extra for milage. To
help them transact their business they
require a small army of clerks, doorKeep-
ers bOokkeepers, pages, messengers, etc.
The salary list for this force OF assistants
runs up TO $3.50, 600. This does not include
the office of the sergeant-at-arms. which
is sort of bank through which the sal
aries of the representatives are paid. To
run this financial institution an outlay Of
$4,000 more is needed. An additional
$4,000 provides for the support Of the
House postofice through which as much
mail matter passes as comes into and
goes out of good-sized city
COST OF THE SENATE.
The number of senators being much
smaller, their annual pay amounts only
to SAC, 900, with an addition Of $4,000 for
mileage. There is an expense Of S5,45O
for employees in the office of the Vice Pres
ident The Office of the secretary of the
upper house, which does the banking and
attends to much of the clerical business
of that august body, costs S645OO in sala-
ries. Clerks and messengers to the va
rious committees draw Sl63,5OO. The
sergeant-at-arms, doOrkeepers and other
helpers get an aggregate of SllS,6OO.
There are further expenditures Of $780,
700 for the document and folding rooms,
$500 for the Senate post Office and &c.,
900 for stationery and newspapers.
FOR THE OFFICIAL REPORTERS.
This brief statement by no means COM
prises all the expenses involved in run
ming congress. Among many things left
out, which are paid for out of the cOntin-
gent funds. is the item Of salaries for the
official reporters. These are the men who
write out the reports of proceedings
and debates which make up the daily
publication called the Congressional Rec
ord. There are five of them on the floor
of the House, who sit at a table in front Of
the speakers desk. 1t is their duty TO
report every word that is said from the
opening to the adjournment Being all of
them rapid stenographers, theysmanage by
taking turns AS quickly as No. l has
got 900 words put down he holds up his
thumb and No. takes up the thread,
very likely in the middle of a speech,
while No. l goes down to a room on the
floor below, where he dictates the 1000
words he has taken to two shorthand
writers-500 words TO one and 500 to the
other
While the two Shorthand writers are
copying of their notes quickly in type
script reporter No goes back to his seat
in front of the speakers desk. Mean
while No. 2 has finished his 900 words
and held up his thumb to No. 3, who in
his turn takes up the thread, while No. 2
goes down stairs and dictates-and so on
until No holds up his thumb to No.
and the business goes on as before. This
arrangement renders IL possible to have
the complete typewriter report of the
House proceedings ready for the printera
few minutes after that body adjourns. IL
is the same way with the Senate. Thus
each Congressman finds on his breakfast
table nextmorning copy of the Record,
comprising a complete report Of every
thing that was said and done in the ma
tional legislature on the day before.
These skilled stenographers get $1,000 a
year each.
COSTS OF THE "RECoRD."
There are ten Of them, and so it costs
$4,000 year for the writing of the Con-
gressional Record, the stenographers pay
ing their own assistants. The printing
of this interesting daily publication is
done at an expense of nearly Sl50,000 an
nually. During the last fiscal year 1t used
up 1926 900 pounds of paper and 1853
pounds of ink. For the titles and orna-
mentation ON bound copies $50 packs of
gold leaf were required valued at 81 900.
Five barrels of -four were consumed in
the shape Of paste for binding. During
the first session of the last congress the
outlayon the printing of bills and joint
resolutions for both House and Senate
was S7l $50 During the two sessions TO-
S35 such documents were presented TO the
House and 1855 TO the Senate. Bills
have to be printed and reprinted at all
stages of their progress so that a single
one may have TO be put into type score
of times before it becomes a law.
FOR BULoGIEs.
Among the advantages which con-
gresham enjoys is the expectation of a
costly eulogy in case he dies during his
term of service. In such an event custom
demands that his virtues shall be en-
balmed in book form at the expense of
the government. During the last fiscal
year nine representatives and senators
were thus honored, at an outlay of
<fo, 3oI. Inc most extra CANT OF THESE
publications came to sl0,sl2. The expen-
diture for eulogies runs from $500 up.
From ten to twenty-five thousand copies
ordinarily are distributed. Fifty are
presented to the family of the dead states
man most of the others find their way,
sooner or later, TO the junk shop. Each
one must have portrait, the engraving
of which costs uniformly 1874
WASTE OF PUBLICATIONS.
Congressman have caused great waste
of the public funds by scattering the pub
lieatiQns issued from the government
printing Office broadcast where there was
no use for them. As result of this prac-
tice thousands on thousands of volumes
every year were sold to dealers in waste
paper all over the country without hav-
ing been taken from their wrappers.
Compilations of statistics, produced at
enormous expense, have excited the Won
der and dismay of bucOhc constituents.
while learned essays on Tertiary In
sects' or other equally abstruse subjects
have astOnished the untutored residents
OF city slums. This abuse has been done
away with to a great extent by recent
legislation. Among the materials con-
sumed by the public printer in the last
year, mentioned in his account. were
three gross fire balls, $50 worth of eggs,
elghty-f0ur yards Of blue jeans 206 gal
Ions of benzine, Sl6l worth of gold leaf