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

Market Value Among PcrqulSites.
The compensation of a member of con-
gress IS supposed to be $1,000 a year. AS
81 matter of fact it is $4,000 and per-
ouisites' Since the famous "back-pay
congress"-the Forty-third-when the
members raised their salary from $500
to 5000, and made it retroactive for the
entire term of two years, no one has
seriously proposed increasing the annual
stipend, but year after year there have
been tucked into the corners of appro-
priation bills items which are in the ma
ture of a bonus to members.
The most substantial perquisite that
goes with seat in congress, says the
Philadelphia Press, is mileage at the rate
of 20 cents per mile each way, TO ana
from the capital, once each session. For
example. if the member lives 1000 miles
from Washington, on arriving at the
capitol, he finds the sergeant-at-arms
of the house, If he Is representative,
or The secretary of the senate, If he is
a senator has credited his account with
$500, or nearly an extra months pay. The
rate of 90 cents per mile was fixed long
ago, when. transportation was high. The
members from the Pacific slope are luck
lest in the mileage hand out One of
them gets SLAP per session, or $2,SS4 for
the term If a member rides on railroad
passes the mileage is all clear gain.
ALLOWANCE FOR STATIONERY.
Congress appropriates every year Sl2o
per member for stationery, postage and
newspapers" The stationery clerk opens
an account with the member, crediting
him with $l25 al the start. He may take
his choice between drawing $125 the first
day of the session, or he may let his
account remain open during the session,
drawing from time to time such supplies
of pens, ink, paper, etc, as he needs,
which are charged TO his account as he
gets them AT the end of the session he
signs a voucher for the uneXpended ball
ance. Wise members, old In the service,
never leave a pen and holder on their
desks in the house. If they do before
the ink dries on the pen some colleague
borrows 1t and absent-mindedly locks 1t
up in his desk. Then, too, the congress-
man need not buy any letter paper when
he can get it from the committee of
which he is a member paper on which
his name appears in Splendor as a part
of the committees official heading,
The chief clerk of the house contracts
with various jobbers for these supplies,
and they are furnished TO members at
their actual cost to the government. Thus
whether he draws his SIS in. cash and
pays for what he takes from the sta
tionery room or keeps All open account,
the member pays about one-third to one
half what other people would pay for the
same article.
The allowance for postage and news
papers" included in the SIPS, is another
relic OF the old days when members put
postage stamps on their letters and news
papers--in which they were supposed to
feel the public pulse-cost fancy prices
The Thanking privilege has changed all
that, and the congressman delights III
nothing more than in his ability to send
tons of stuff through the mails free of
charge.
ABUSE OF FRANKING PRIVILEGES
The franking privilege has had its ups
and downs. Years ago 1t was practically
carte Observation-Disclosures franked every
thing, but the privilege was so much
abused that the law was repealed. Then
the privilege was limited to public docu-
ments and letters to officers CT the gov
eminent on official business. The last
change was made in 1895, members being
authorized to send under frank any COM
munication ION official business to any
person, provided the weight did not eX-
coed two ounces The weight limitation
is ignored by members and Is not enforc-
ed.
The congressman determines for him
self what constitutes Official business -
AT the beginning of the last session of
congress there came into the house post
office one day a typewriter, boxed, baar-
ing the frank of Boston member of con-
gress. To him that was official bust
ness Not very long ago one member
used to frank to and from his home, SO
miles away, weekly, the family wash.
which was laundered and returned to him
under frank as official business An
agrarian member was accustomed to have
sent in from his farm fresh supplies OF
butter green vegetables, etc. under a
frank which declared them to be, in the
members opinion, official business"
Then comes the matter Of clerk hire.
Up to the time of the Fifty-third con-
gress members not chairmen of commit
tees had to pay for clerical work out OF
their own pockets. Some rich members
maintained competent secretaries at q
reasonable salary, but the majority SIM
ply paid small sums to stenographer
for an occasional batch Of letters Those
boys for their people at home. When
they should have been in their committee
rooms or the floor preparing them
selves to vote intelligently on public mat
tiers they were scattered about the pen
sion bureau, the war department, the
postoffice department and the seed d.
vision, using the time for which the peo-
pie paid them SIG day in petty business
that could be handled by any intelligent
clerk.
JOE CANNON AND HIS CLERK.
The FiIty-third congress, therefore, pro-
vided that members should receive $lGd
per month during the session for clerk
hire. But 1t was only during the ses-
sion. The Fifty-fourth congress met the
proposition that a good clerk could not
be had on a session basis by making the
clerk hire 500 per month the year round
This did not include clerk hire for chair
men of committees. The chairman of q
committee appoints the clerk of the cem-
mittee and the clerk of the committee
acts as the chairman's private secretary
Twenty clerks on the annual roll of tbs
house get $1,000 a year each. Clerks tc
committees for the sess on only" session
clerks" as they are called-get Sc a day
during the session
In the second session Of the Fifty-fftf
congress it was provided that chairmer
of committees having annual clerks
should also get 800 per month clerk hire
not during the session, but. verify, durin;
the recess of congress.
Few people, even, about the capital
know just why this was done. but thu
reason for it lay in the fact that the clerl
of Uncle Joe Cannon's committee on ap
preparations had all the job he coult
handle right in his committee room dur
ing the recess in preparing for the sue
ceeding session. Now Uncle Joe reall!