Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-05-17
Our Dear Senate and the
Cost of Its Keep.
MORE LORDLY THAN THE LORDS
Fat Perquisltes and Servants
Without End.
Private Secretaries for All and Private
Rooms for Their ConSenience-A >ena-
tor Is a Costly Luxury White Living
aud an Expense AFTER His Death--The
Softest Snap on Earth.
30 .tlmors sun sneelaL

been told more tnan once, II is recital
which will well warrant repetition.
The House of Representatives in this
republican country costs very much
more than any similar legislative body
under any other government 10 the
world. Enormous, however, as its out
lay, 1t is moderate, indeed, when COM
pared with the lavish waste Of public
funds by the Senate. The House, with
1856 members, costs the people of the
United states considerably more than
! S2,500,000 per annum. Most Of the
lower houses OF the legislative bodies of
Europe have two aud three times as
many members as belong 10 the lower
branch Of our national Legislature, yet
| they cost tue people for whom they
legislate scarcely a fraction OF what We
pay for the honor OF being governed.
But 1t Is the Senate, the American
House OF Lords, which benrs the palm
Tor expenditures in its own behalf; ex-
penditures, the amount of which is
| enough to take the breath away; ex-
penditures which grow year By year in
volume; expenditures 80 outrageous
| and indefensible that Il seems almost in.
credible for the men who are plunging
their hands 50 deep in the pubic pocket
70 show themselves with uncovered
faces. The British House Of Lords COM
posed Of nearly 700 men, about eight
| times as many as are in the Senate of
| the United States, draw from the British
treasury for its entire expenses not 50
| much money as our Senate throws away
in the unconsidered tritles which may
| be denominated as extras. But no British
nnbleman who has u scat in the House
of Lords would dare for one moment
to saddle his private expenses upon the
public. The English public would not
| submit to such an imposition for day.
! The House Of Representatives Of the
United States, with its 1856 members,
| takes $4,000 per amman to pay its EN-.
| plOyes. The Senate, with IS members
has taken $4ls,000 for this year for the
| same purpose, and, as it constantly in
| crcases its tilching, next year il will no
doubt take more. 1t requires $4,000
| 10 pay the mileage of members of the
| House, but the Senate cannot get along
with less than $4,000 annually for the
same purpose. In ali probability there
are not more than half dozen of its
| members (if so many who do not travel
on railroad passes and coolly drop the
money which belongs to the people into
their wallets. The House contents itself
with 81 committees, one-third at least
Of which are Of no use, but the Senate
cannot get along with less than 60.
The innocent reader will ask, why,
then, do they want to bother with SO
many committees? Simply because the
chairman has then q private room for
| hsH at,A knt 3 ii Te;u IL
clerk to attend to his private business
without any cost 10 himself. The titles
of some of these committees are highly
amusing. When ingenuity was finally
exhausted in devising names for COM
mittees aud its list had grown to 60 for
body of S8 men, it might have been
supposed there would come halt.
But oh no. The bull was taken by the
horns and the Senators for whom no
committee names could be found were
voted clerks any way. And so it is that
every member OF the Senate has clerk
Of his own, at his individual beck and
call, with no drain upon his private
purse therefor. The clerks, messengers
and employees of one kind and another
around the Senate wing of the Capitol
are as thick as flies around sugar
barrel. Each Senator does not cost the
country less than $4,000 per ennum.
In other words, each one gets $4,000
for wages, and it is much higher wages
than the majority of them are worth
and in addition some $1,000 more to
provide him with clerks and walters to
minister to his comfort generally while
he lives and pay his funeral expenses
when he dies.
d You must know it takes great deal
of public money to bury Senator
Fancy what Il howl would come up
from all England if the government was
called upon to foot the bills for the
burial Of deceased member of the
House of Lords. A Senator who die:
must, like an Egyptian king, be en-
balmed at an expense ranging from $50
to 800. He must have casket to cos
$3.50; kid gloves in quantities must be
provided; attendants and hangers.on
Of various kinds are paid per diem
from the time the breath leaves his body
until he is put in the ground. Carriage.
must be provided for all who may wist
to ride. If he is to be taken home, Pull.
man cars must be had for the funera
party ut an expense of $1,000 or So, 00t
| VI ~ AAhbtJAo lOty Us lIt COSL II
10 be loaded upon the broad back OF
Uncle sam. Meals and lunches for thu
trip with tho liquors 10 wash then
:. down, run up TO hundreds more Thu
government is even called upon to pay
the ministers who say prayers. Well
, prayers tor some Of them ought to com,
high.
1t would be superfuous to 60 through
the long list of drugs, cosmetics, toile
articles, perfumery, books, and all sort
Of knick'knacks purchased with public
funds for Senators. Has not all this beef
r told beforea Many thousands of dollar
are spent every year in the summer
junkets Of Senators gotten up under tn
4 guise of special committees to maxi
, bogus inquiries and investigations. Pull
/ man palace cars and first-ciass watering
place hotel bills figure largely in thi
species of legislative pastime. A verl
few years since it was found there wa
not space in the Capitol for Senator
who insisted upon having rooms TO
j., their own private accommodation
$ The House was deluded into Civ
! ing its consent to the purchase of tn,
! Maltby building, large apart
ment house under the shadow OF tn
Capitol. The promise was held out Il
, the House that it should share in tn
additional accommodations. But tin
House never got foothold in TIL
= building. BY an act of grand larcen,
! unparalleled the Senate took absolut
possession, and when the House growle,
and grumbled, simply said, "What ar
you going to do about itY" 1t has beel
G fitted up in the most luxurious style
= Magnificent clocks of onyx have bee
q put into the rooms, staff of some .