The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-01
TWO BIG SCANDALS IN THE
PUBLIC SERVICE UNCOVERED.
Pay Roll of House Juggled
With and Employees Asses
sed to form especial
Compensation" Fund.
OF COMMITTEE.

REPUBLIC PECIAL
Washington, Feb. 2S.-More scandalous
than anything that has been brought to
light by recent congressiona investigation
OF executive departments is the condition
OF affairs disclosed by the report of the
special committee appointed by Speaker
Henderson to investigate the system OF
appointing and paying employees of the
House Of Representatives.
The worst feature of it all is that re-
sponsibility for every irregularity or in
fraction OF the law can be traced directly
to the elective officers Of the House, and
In many instances, individual members are
seriously implicated. The report shows that,
although present conditions are the growth
Of years, matters were made worse by the
advent of the so-called "hog combine
which has controlled the patronage Of the
House since the beginning of the Fifty
fourth Congress.
The committee found that at the begin
ming of the Fifty-fourth Congress members
Of the House promised more places, or
places with higher salaries. than the Of
ficers of the House were able to find under
the law. and to the efforts of Representa-
tives to redeem their promises to Emporium
ate constituents most OF the trouble can
be attributed.
LOcksmith HinklinE's Case.
Removals and substitutions are made
WITHOUT ally eShIQ Whatever y IN ltlucoS
Of the man removed or the man appointed.
THE officers Of the House." says the re-
port, though responsible for the charac-
ter Of the service rendered by the employees,
have in reality little or no voice in their Sc
lection"
One of the worst cases brought to light
by the committee was that of the appoint
ment Of a locksmith. Daniel P. Hinkling
does the work. and when first appointed
received the pay-$1,6 $40 per year. The Michi-
gan delegation in the House was not salts
fled with the patronage given their State
and demanded this salary for one Of their
men-W. ]. Jones. Jones was appointed,
though Clerk Mcdowell, who made the ap-
p%ointment, said that he did not know that
Jones had any qualifications as a locksmith.
Hinkling was reduced to the place of a
session employe at SIS per month during
sessions Of Congress, though he still per-
formed the work of a locksmith in a salts
factory manner.
1t was shown that Jones was a persistent
absentee and that Mr.. Mcdowell had yield
ed to the demands of the Michigan delega-
ton and had appointed him without any re-
gard whatever for the interests Of the pub
lie service. Men whose services were
needed were often absent for a long period.
and Clerk Mcdowell said he had no control
over them. A member of the House would
simply demand that a man should be al
lowed to go and he would GO.
Assessed to Pay Other Men.
In order to make up larger salaries for
favored men or to pay salaries to men not
on the rolls at all. other employees have
been assessed from IS to $40 per month and
sometimes more. Dennis E. Award, a
reading clerk at $500 per year, has con-
tributed 5000 Of his salary to the fund from
which special compensations were paid.
The worst case under this head, however,
that OF Robert and William Richard
son, two colored men employed in the
House bathroom at $72O each. From April.
1900, until recently. these two men have
been compelled to send SO a month each
to W. +. Ridley, a colored man living at
Media, Pa. They testified that they did
this by order of Clerk Mcdowell, but that
official denied this.
The committee has recommended a thor
ough o~verhauling of the entire system and
the enactment of a law that will prevent
abuses in the future.