Daily public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1892-191?, 1897-03-02
Comforts Which Taxpayers Pro-
vide For the Senate.
THE MONEY MADE TO FLY.
Enough Supplies to Run a Bar
Hotel, Barber-ShOp and
Bath House.
DEMANDS NEVER CEASE

Chicago Tribune.
1t takes nice little pot of money to
run that exclusive club of ninety gentle.
men known as the United States Senate.
The sundry expense account for the last
year footed up $17O, 1855, and the total dis.
bursements on account of the Senate were
$1,127,Ss9.
An inspection of the annual report of
the Secretary of the Senate shows that
nothing is too good for the legislators in
the upper house of Congress- and under
the flexible title of Contingent Expen.
ses" one may find anything from quinine
pills to solid silver inkstands, from Will
ton carpets to steel wheel-barrOws.
There is a voucher for everything and
each item is properly accounted for, but
there seems to be no limit to the amount
Of furniture which may be purchased for
the Senate. Very few of the law makers
at the North end of the Capitol ride
wheel, yetit is taken as a matter of course
to find an item of 800 "for seventy
antique bronze bicycle holders put in the
crypt for the use of the Senate"
The Senate chamber itself is not such
luxurious place, but the committee rooms
swallow up lot ofincidentals. Commit
tees which never meet from one years
end to the other have to have new type
writers every few months, and the num-
Der of expensive desks swallowed up in
this end Of the Capitol is almost incredi.
BILE There is a sale Of condemned furni.
ture every now and then, but the amounts
received are out of all proportion to the
charges collected by local firms for sup.
plies. 1t costs $3.50 year to wind and
regulate the clocks of the Senate, and yet
the charges for repair are frequent They
pay $40 for mail bag for the United
States Senate. The Senators themselves
are provided with every comfort, and the
account for the barber.shop would make
the average keeper of a swell ''tonsorial
psrlor" green with envy.
October 14th, 1895, the office of the Sec.
rotary was enriched by two roll-top desks
which cost $40 apiece, one which cost $72,
one which cost only SIS and another val
ued at 500, making the comfortable little
item of $2aS for desks. This was not all
for the luxurious Secretary's room, for
October 23d there was purchased 6S4
yards of Administer carpet at 81 60, and
December 18th another walnut desk at
SlS was rolled into the Secretary's office
November 25th it seemed necessary to fit
up the Senate chamber with new chairs,
and twenty-five Of them were purchased
at 500 apiece, making the total cost of
this little item 1926
According to the statement of disburse;
ments they must carpet about every com
mittee room in the Senate wing every
year. One firm supplied in lump ST.
81 worth of carpets and mating for the
various committee rooms and galleries and
the carpets ran up to as high as 81 50 a
yard, even in such humble places as the
anterOom of the Committee on Foreign
Relations.
The corners of the Senate chamber
looked bare, and so two mahogany table
desks with brass ratings were ordered
made to order at cost of $3.50, The
hand.carved, leather-seated, mahogany,
revolving, tilt chair, for the use of the
Vice-President in the Senate chamber,
was made to order at the rather stiff price
of $l35. The Secretary of the Senate
wanted a hstrack January Goth, and so
he went to a furniture store and paid
see 80 for it,
During the month of August, at which
time the Senate was not in session, the To-
cal ice company was paid $l7l for frozen
water to keep the employees cool, and dur
ing the same month two humble washer
women received $54 for cleaning 1853
dozen towels, which had been soIled by
the attaches. A local ieweler was paid
5000 for winding and regulating the Sen
ate clocks from July to November Both,
When the account OF favorite drug
gist is reached the items are exceedingly
interesting. July Goth 400 quinine pills
and an ounce OF two grain quiniue tab
let's were charged for and October llth