Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-05-09
TALBERT ON EXPENDITURES.
Thinks There Should be Halt In Treasury
Raids.

C.l. Talbert's speech, which he de-
Iivered few days ago, is occasioning
good deal of favorable comment
among his colleagues in the house.
The house being in committee of the
whole GU the state of the union, and
having under consideration the bill
making appropriations for the service
Of the postoffice department for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1901, Mr..
Tabert made speech against raising
salaries of the postoffice employees and
thus increasing taxes. He said in part:
"In considering this appropriation bill
for the support ofthe postof1ice depart
ment, however large j. may be, we
must admit that it is more general in
its application than many others which
have been made by this congress, and
| have sat here and listened very pa
liently to appeal after appeal in the
interest of those who are employed by
The government of the United States
not only in this department, but 10 all
the others. The gentleman from llli-
nois (Mr. Mann) made an earnest ap.
peal, almost with tears IN, his eyes, a
while, ago TO raise the salaries ef the
letter. carriers in the large cities and
towns, and he says it is a pity that
they should be in the employ of
the government for twenty years and
then at the end of the twenty years
draw the same salary they did at the
start, yet you rarely ever hear of one
of them resigning, nor is it often the
the case in any of the departments of
the government. They hold on eter-
nally, still crying for more pay, never
satisfied, like unto the horse leech.
"Why, my friend, here are congress
men, some of them have been here for
forty years, like my friend from 1lli:
nois, Mr.. Cannon, and is it pity that
he is getting no more than $4,000 a,
year now or ought his pay be increased?
I say no. Now, my friend l want to
say that these men in the employ of
the government, all of them from the
president of the United States down to
the humblest employee of the gov.
ernment, are the best paid people in
the world, and yet they are all crying
out for an Increase of salary, with but
few exceptions. Why, it seems to
me there is nobody upon the floor here
except the tax consumers, and they
push their claims earnestly. want to
ask this question in all candor. Has
nobody Il representative upon this floor
except the Office holder and govern
meDt employee? Have we all been
elected here to advocate the claims OF
the salaried class? Important query
and more important the answer. Let
us see if We cannot find some repre-
sentative here who will stand up and
represent the taxpayers, the men who
have to pay these enormous sums am
I to stand alone in this case as in pen
sion frauds? hope not.
| II want TO find some man who will
stand up here and represent the men
who follow the plough down in the
cotton rows and corn fields Of the
south. (Applause.) l want to find
some man who will stand up here
and represent the men who raise wheat
and corn in the west, and / want to
find some representative, some man on
this floor, who will represent the black
smith at the forge, the laborers in the
factory, the men in the coal mines and
iron mines, and the carpenter at the
bench, as we'll as the tax consumer and
the tax eater-the salaried class-who
are all getting more than they ought
to now when you consider the ability
of the taxpayer to meet these enor-
nous demands. Why, Mr.. Chairman,
have never yet known a warrant to
be issued to force man into the gov
ernment service, where you say he has
10 work so hard and gets so little pay
for his service. daughter and ap.
plause.)
"Why, sir, no corporation or bust
ness institution in the world can afford
to pay such salaries as is paid by this
great government to its employees,
with so many privileges and so little
labor.
"No, sir, there are always nine more
standing at the door trying to get in
for every one already in. There are
hundreds and thousands of them out
side anxious and eager to get in where
these men are serving such laborlous
term of service for so little wages. Go
to the departments of this government
today and you will find them running
over each other, in each others way,
and if you want to do some service to
the taxpayers, introduce bill that
would turn out oHe third and make the
other two. thirds do the work, and then
YOU can reduce the expenses, and
maybe raise the salaries q little bit,
hut in the name of conscience stop this
indecent haste in increasing salaries,
where in many instances they are al
ready too high.
81 want 10 say that have no gen.
eral criticism to make of the bill that
has been brought in by the postotlice
committee, except as to one or two
items in connection with amounts 10
be paid railroads, and one or two 9TH
rrs. believe it is just, | believe it is
r;ph,. because it is service rendered
all the people. Fourteen millions
seems to be large sum for free deliv-
rry in cities and towns but when you
pxlend the same privilege to the peo-
ple in the country, / make no ohjec-
ion. took the position in the Fifty
third congress that the people in the
country had as much right to free de-
delivery of mail as the people in the