The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-05-20
1T SAV)RS OF A GRAB.
Clerk Hire For the House Dur
ing Recess.
NOT OBJECTIONABLE IN ITSELF

WASHINGTON, May ie.--[special. l-One
oct OF the dying congress will be pretty
sure to return 10 plague those who are re-
ponsible for 10. The people Of the United
States once cot the seal of their oondemna-
tion most unmistakabiy upon anything
savoring Of salary grab, and for this rea.
son the vote of the house to pay each MEM
Der 500 month for clerk hire during the
recess will not be popular. In discussing
this matter 10 Is we'll to avoid extremes,
that injustice may not be done 60 either
side. The facts are plain. During the ses-
stons OF congress each member of the house
IL allowed 500 o month with which to
hire clerk TO attend to his routine public
business, the letters from his constituents,
etc. This II not wholly objectionable. IL Is
true that many of tho members of the
house are annoyed with letters and re-
quests Of trivial nature 80 numerous as
TO take all their time In attending to them.
Constituents think it all right to ask their
representatives to look after pensions, pat.
ents, claims, copies of papers, public docu-
ments garden seeds and thousand and
one things. Every request of this sort takes
time and trouble.
One Kind Of statssmanship.
know members Of congress who never
do anything Of public nature that at
tracts the attention Of the country. They
take little part In the work of the house,
either on the door or In committee room.
They apparently do not care to be influen-
tial and have NO ambition except to please
their constituents and secure re- election as
a reward for doing small jobs at tho CAPT
tai. This IL not very high plane upon
which 20 put statesmanship, but IL Is q
useful one. These men spend nearly all
their timo writing letters and running er-
rands. 1t Is their stock In trade, their
sole political capital, and quite effective 1t
seems to be, for their constituents send
them back here term after term. And yet
Il is an open question whether that Is or is
not the very work for which they are en-
ployed, for which they get their IS, 900 a
year, $3.50 stationery allowance per annum
and mileage, which in many cases runs
up to very comfortable figure
1t should be understood that only a
small number Of the members of the house
are overburiened with correspondents and
requests from their constituents. Perhaps
half Of them are able to get through with
all such work without assistance, II they.
are reasonably industrious. But because
some of the members are overburde:sed the
house, leaning to the side of generosity to
itself, decided to give every man clerk to
do his work for him, on the plea that II
was public business. Members said to
themselves there was no reason why they
should wear out their lives as GRAND boys
for their constituents. They must have
some time to attend to the more important
part of their duties, to devote TO the study
of public questions. One member said to
me:
81 have made reputation on the silver
question, and my speech on that topic is
in great demand. desfreto keep In touch
with this question as Il develops and TO
have some influence upon 1t. But how
am going to do SO II must spend four
flfths of my time running about after gar
den seeds and penuions and patents and
writing letters about themf'
Money Paid tn Member.
This is the argument which justified the
employment Of a clerk for every member.
and there Is great deal Of justice In 1t.
The mistake was In paying the money to
the member Of congress and not directly
to his clerk. In the senate the names OF
senator's clerks are borne on the rolls, and
the clerks themselves receipt for their sal
aries, just AZ the senators do. II this had
been done In the house much of the scan
dial would have been obvinted. Instead,
the money Is paid to the member, and he
may dispense 1t as he pleases. I could II /
wished tell some queer stories as to what
Is done with this 500 month, but I re-
frain. 1t Ia enough to say that many men,
bors pay out all the money In good faith
Many others hire members of their fam.
lilies, their sons, daughters or even wives
Still others, perhaps the majority, employ
young men or women at $40 or $50 a
month to do their work and pocket the
difference A few-I am happy to say only
few--put all the money In their pockets
and make u q mere addition to their sal
aries. A few more, and perhaps only a
very few, pay the money to persons who
make only pretense OF working for II,
but who are favorites, social. personal or
political, Of the member. The less said
about this the better.
A Cause For Scandal.
Whatever justification there Is for the
employment Of clerks during the sessions
Of congress, and there is a good deal, there
does not seem to be any at oil for hiring
them during the recess No one believes
that 20 per cent Of the members will use
this money In good faith. Some Of them /
know Of who voted against the grab, will
refuse to draw the money at all and intend
to cover 1t back into the treasury. While
it may BIO admitted that most OF the mem.
bers will have some correspondence with
their constituents to attend to during the
summer, that Is what they arc paid for.
Their own salaries do not stop. Besides,
every one knows that tho great bulk Of
this correspondence Is personal to the
member, relating to his canvass for re-
or reelection or to bis private
business affairs Considered as whole,
the clerk hire appropriation Is salary
grab, . sneak upon the public treasury,
and nothing else can be made OF 10.
II the clerks were put on tho public rolls
and the money paid to them In person,
there would not be much scandal. In
that case $50 or 800 month would be
ample compensation, for there are hun.
dreds Of young men and women In Wash
Misunderstanding to work
for those wnges. But members objected to
having tho matter made Of record, as 1t Is
done In the senate, because they wanted to
employ members of their families to do
the work and pay them the money A
few might be courageous enough to say:
" Yes, the work is OF a pnblic nature, IL Is
IL IL for the good Of the people,
and my son or daughter can do IL better
than any one else know Of. Therefore ]
put his or her name on the roll and intend
that the money shall be earned But the
great majority would not touch the money
1T all II they were required 10 make public
confession that they had kept II In the
family" 1rsl WALTER WFLbNAN.
EpWORTH LEAGUE. |