The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-14

clerk hire as another perquisite Of their
own. If clerks to members drew their
$100 at the dsbursing Office and signed
the pay roll like other employees, OF
course there would be no rake-off for the
member But the clerks are unknown,
officially. The member signs a voucher
which states that he has paid or agreed
to pay the sum of $500 for clerk hire dur
| ing the month of - and files 1t with
the disbursing clerk who thereupon sends
the member draft for 500, payable to
his own order. The law says mot to eX-
coed $780,, and few instances are known
where members have certified only $50 or
so.
Some members have regular clerks to
whom they turn over the 500 straight.
Quite a number of bright men handle
each the work of two, three OF four mem
bers, receiving from each $40 or $50 q
month-the member making suitable dis
position of the balance of the 500. res
olution was offered in the last congress to
put the clerks to members on the pay roll,
letting them draw their own money or
course. 1t was promptly stifed.
Salary, stationery allowances and clerk
hire give the member $6,325 year, to
which must be added the variable sum re-
on the treasury, but If he Is so minded he
still has the opportunity to turn penny
by selling his seeds or public documents.
His annual quota Of seeds, plants and
cuttings" is as follows:
Vegetable seeds Give papers in a pack
age, $500 packages.
Flower seeds Give papers in a package),
400 packages.
Field corn, so quarts.
Lawn or grass seed, 60 quarts.
Strawberry plants, 40 plants.
Grape vines, 40 vines
This seed luxury costs the people about
500 per year for each member.
BOOKS OF GOOD MARKET VALUE.
AS for the public documents, the con-
gresham gets each year twenty-five
large wall maps of the United States
which cost the people % each. He gets
nearly 100 copies of the Agricultural Year
book, bulky document full of colored
plates. He gets from time to time such
valuable books as Richardson's Mes
! sages and Papers of the Presidents, in
sets of ten volumes, now selling at s24 to
$32 set the Diplomatic Correspondence
of the American Revolution seven vol
umes, bound in sheep; "Moores Interna
tional Law" quoted at 500 set; the book
on Diseases Of the Horse or Diseases
Of Cattle; reports of the geological sur
Vey and the bureau of ethnolegy, all full
Of expensive plates, and, in some cases,
costing several dollars per volume.
His order will draw a large number of
expensive charts from the coast and geo
detic survey and from the geological sur
vey. Four thousand farmers bulletins are
annually issued to him from the agricul-
tural department. The postofI1ce depart
ment furnishes him each session a post
route map of his state, mounted on
roller. He is entitled to have bound for
his personal use at the government bind
cry "one copy, and later a remaining
copy" of every document printed by or
der of congress during his term. These
are magnfi1cently gotten up in full mo-
rocco, with his name stamped on them in
gold. Or he can have a constituent
name placed upon them. A member who
serves several terms can accumulate
stock of books which have a satisfactory
market value if the government binder
has been instructed to omit the member 8
name from the binding.
The clerk OF the clerks document room
furnishes the member, each session,
three packing boxes, two large and one
small They are made of smooth boards,
with iron handles, locks and keys, and
the members name is stenciled on the
lid If he so directs. The large boxes
hold about as much as a small trunk,
DdCk
and forth from home his valuable books
and papers. The small box is sup
posed to be sent by the members order
to the United States botanic garden,
where the superintendent of that insti-
tuition will fill 1t with hundred or so
of small plants-geraniums fuchsias and
| what not-which the member franks home
to set out in his own flower garden or to
distribute to his constituents.
GETTING AROUND THE LAW.
But what the member really longs for
is to be chairman of a committee. Ar
rived at that distinction, he is in clover.
The committee of which he is chairman
| has large, pleasant room assigned to
its use, and this room becomes the
chairmans private office The first thing
he does after receiving his own appoint
ment from the speaker is to appoint
his secretary clerk of the committee The
next thing Is to obtain from the house
| leave for his committee Ito have printed
| and bound for Its use such papers and
| documents as may be deemed necessary
during the til congress- On simple
order, with his name signed to it, the
| government printer will turn out thou
sands of letter heads, envelopes, pamph-
! lets, cards-everything printable, and
| bind books in full morocco, ad lib.
The law says the expense Of this sort
| of thing t'shall not exceed $500 during
the session." but in Washington they
have a smooth way of doing things
whereby this Is construed to mean that
! the expense of any one order shall not
| exceed $500
| The doorkeeper of the house assigns
messenger to look after the room. see
that it is kept In order, guard the portal
when the committee is in session and
run errands for the chairman. These
are some of the items that go to make
representatives life happy one. Sena-
tors get the same perquisites, only more.
Their clerks get higher salaries, they
have more luxury in their committee
room and they get larger proportion
of documents and like stuff.