People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1898-03-18

ridge. In the senate Mr.. PETER offer
ed an amendment setting forth that
the law only provided for one annual
mileage. In support CT his amendment
Senator PETER said:
Our mileage is twice as much as it
ought to be. The inteu ton of the law,
doubtless, was that actual expenses,
and nothing else, should be allowed.
The mileage that we are now 3 Il we'd,
20 cents each way, is more tbaa vice
enough to pay all the expenses which
the most fastidious person ought to in
cur in travelling here"
The amendment was defeated by the
following vote:
Democrats-Bate,T Tenn; Berry, Ark,
Coke, Tex; George, Miss; Hill, N. Y.
Mcpherson, N. j.; Lindsay, KY Mills,
Tex s.
Republicans Chandler, N H.; Platt,
Conn., 2.
Populists-Peffer, KAN,
NAYS.
! EMocRATs-Butler, S. c., Brice, o.
Cockrell, Mo-, Call, Fla, Faulkner, W.
Va Gordon. Ca; German, Md; Ha--
ris, Tenn Hunton, Va; Jones, Ark;
Martin, Kan; Mitchell, Wis; Morgan
Ala; Murphy, N. Y; Pasco, Fla Pugb
Ala ; Ransom, N. c.; Turpie, Ind Vor-
hees, Ind White, La 90.
REPUBLICANS -Cullom, Ill; Davis,
Mimi: Dolph, Oregon; Gallinger, N
81 Hale, Maine; Hawley. Conn; Hoar,
Mass; Jones, Nevada; Lodge, Mass?
Mitchell, Oregon, Proctor, VT +; Perkins
Cal Sherman, Ohio; Stockbridge,
Mich; Teller, Colo ; shburn, MINI
Wilson, Iowa -17.
PoPULIsTs-Stewart, Mo-; Kyle, S
Dak.-2
Thus we have twenty Democrats,
seventeen Republicans and two Popu-
lists voting against Mr.. PETERS amend
ment, which would have saved the peo-
pie many thousands of dollars.
1
cents a mile each way. No railroad
company charges over three cents a
mile, which leaves them seventeen
cents-enough to carry them three or
four times to the capitol and back; yet
in the face of this fact they deliber-
ately voted themselves another twenty
cents, each way, mileage.
On final passage in the house the ap-
preparation was passed by rising vote
of 1879 to 4s, the yeas and nays being
denied. Among the items of this steal
are the following:
l"For s. stationery for members of the
house of representatives and delegates
from territories for the first session of
the fifty-third congress, $45. 900.
"For stationery for senators of the
fifty-third congress, $1,000"
Holman, of indiana, and Sayers, of
Texas, protested against the steal as
follows:
Mr.. Holman said: 81 wish at the
outset to enter my protest against the
discourtesy just shown to members of
the house by the gentlemen who occu-
pied the chair few moments ago, l
wish to enter my protest against it,
sir, as especially becoming when we
are legislatipg for ourselves, for the
benefit of our own pockets, legislating
in sharp antagonism with the prin
a., 0An4ua11aI
for century except on two occasions,
and the Democrats when in the control
of congress in all our history except in
one instance,
Can we afford, gentlemen, in the
midst of such a tumult as this, to vote
to ourselves, out of the hard earnings
of our people, this extra mileage of
$l3O,0OO and extra stationery to the
amount of $45, 200 and arbitrarily limit
debate to thirty minutes? Will
our people tolerate such raid on
their treasury by their represents
tives?
81 saw just such scene as this as
far back as 1862, and again in 1878,
when the retroactive salary law
passed.
within two years we have provided
clerks for members, not chairmen of
committees, at cost of about $500, 600
a congress, and now extra mileage
$4,000, and extra stationery, $45 900,
as proposed by this amendment. See
gentlemen, what record we are max
ing"
Here the hammer fell.
Mr. Sayers, of Texas, said:
ST 1 have not been misinformed,
ever since the organization of this gov
eminent, since the meeting of the very
first congress, at no time and under no
circumstances did mem bers of congress
receive mileage both for an extraordi-
nary session and for the next succeed
ing. That is my understanding of the
history of this matter from the very
organization of the government. l do
not think that we should at this date
break the precedent SO long and SO uni
formly regarded"
This is the kind of men we have in
congress, and is the way OBJ public
funds are being appropriated. AS for
Stewart and Kyle, Populists, who
voted for this steal, we condemn them