The Democratic advocate., 1902-08-09

dent Down-Prompt TO Settle Unless You
Have Claim to Collect-Never Threatens
to Shut Down, and Not Troubled by Strikes
How His Servants Are Divided.
From the Boston Herald.
Uncle Sam hes the longest civil list in the
world. The exact number of his employees al
any given time is hard to fix. because the
number is continually changing, and the grand
aggregate is made up from SO many sources.
Much has been written about Uncle Sam
being slow paymaster, and if your interest
in his strong box is in the shape of a claim,
and you are trying to collect it, then you will
find that he fully lives up to his reputation.
He is mighty "closen customer when II
comes to paying claim.
But if he once puts you on his salary list,
ah !? Then you are fxed-that is to say. you
are fixed for about a year, after which the
promotion" bee will begin to buzz in your
| beenet. But once on the salary list, your
claim against his exchequer is as good as
wheat in the mill and the toll paid. He never
pleads dull trade or overproduction or close
competition as excuse for scaling down
wages or postponing any pay day. He never
threatens to shut down the mills, and his
hands never go on a strike.
1t seems az incongruous thing TO say, but
hard times are as actual help to the man with
Government salary When times are hard
and money scarce and trade dull, then things
are cheap, and the stated salary will buy
more.
Uncle Sam needs in his business the great
army of people which he employs He is en-
gagged in making laws; in executing the laws;
in administering Justice; in manufacturing and
selling postage stamps and carrying aud de-
livering the mails; in improving rivers and
harbors; in diffusing knowledge among the
people; in civilizing and instructing the In
dians; in coming money; in building ships;
| and recently he has gone into the irrigation
business and the colonial business. and he ex-
| poets soon to enter upon the construction OF
great canal.
Uncle Sans law factory. if you will allow
| the term, is the greatest and most luxurlously
appointed institution of that kind in the world.
/ The appropriation for the fiscal year just
begun provides for ninety Senators the round
| sum of $3.50, 900, and SAC, 900 for their mile
age. Three hundred and sixty persons are
employed TO help these ninety statesmen, be-
| ing four for each lawmaker, and for their
salaries the sum of $515,00 is provided, be-
/ ing $40, 900 more than the Solons themselves
1 cost.
Four hundred and fifty persons all told
make up the working force of this branch OF
| Uncle Sans law factory, at total cost OF
| 81, ,01O, 900 for salaries Call it round mil
lion, so long as Delaware does not fill her two
| places.
Some people have vague idea that Sena-
tors are paid more than Representatives,
which is a mistake. They are all paid alike,
$4,000 per year each. The Speaker of the
House gets $4,000 additional, and when Sen
ator fills the Office of President of that body,
| as is now the case, he gets like additional
/ amount.
On the House side there 357 members and
39s employees, making total of 755, and the
total for mileage and salaries amounts to the
sum of So, 415. .020.75.
So the grand total for Uncle Sans law
making establishment is 1906 legislators and
their helpers, with a total salary list OF $S,-
| 425, ,O2O. rs. This does not include the cost
| of maintenance for the buildings and grounds,
| nor the salaries of clerks to the members of
the House.
| Uncle Sam has the finest library in the
world, housed in the finest marble building
| ever designed for such purposes. For the
| current fiscal year it will take something more
than 400 persons to attend to this great col
lection of books, serve the reading public and
/ the members of Congress, and perform the
work incidental to the proper care of the con-
slant growth of the collection. They are on
the pay roll for something near $500, 0,000.
| Oncle Dam mas cdpltdi city VI uio o"h
with about 800, 900 inhabitants. 1t IS said to
| be the finest city in this country and the best
| governed
| But it ought to be well governed city.
| Out of its SOC, 900 residents, one of every 100
| is on the District pay roll. More than 5000,
in one capacity or another, hold office under
the District government. 1t has three Gov
ernors, who get $1,000 per year each. Thirteen
hundred teachers will teach its schools for the
coming year, for which they will receive $9lS,
7l5. Seven hundred policemen will cost
more than 100000
Nine United States Judges hold the courts
of record, and ten Justices of the Peace draw
each salary equal TO that of Circuit Judge
in State court.
In round numbers, it will cost Uncle Sam
So, 500, 600 for District salaries for the current
| fiscal year. This money he will take half out
of one pocket and half out of be other-half
out of the national Treasury and half out of
that of the District.
A large corps of Judges administers justice
| in Uncle Sans courts. Nine Judges com
pose the Supreme Court of the United States,
and their pay is 800, 500 per year. Twenty
| FIVE Circuit Judges get $4,000 per year each,
and seventy one District Judges get $4,000 per
| year each. Seven Territorial Judges get $5O0O
per year each, and fourteen Territorial Judges
get $4,000 per year each. Five Judges for the
| Court of Private Land Claims are paid $4,000;
five for the Court of CLAIMS at $4500; six for
the Supreme Court of the District of Colum
bia at $4,000, and three for the Court of Ap-
peals for the District of Columbia at $4,000.
Altogether it will cost Uncle Sam S768, 500
to pay the salaries of his Judges for the cur
rent fiscal year, and this will be only small
portion of the total cost of the administration
Of Justice.
Uncle Sans Chief Magistrate receives, as
evers body knows, the annual salary of $50,
O0J, and house rent free in the finest mansion
Ia the land. Thirty three helpers are pro-
yided for him this year, at a cost of SOD, ,O4O.
rhe Presidents right hand man, his secre-
tary, receives $4,000 per annum, and the
steward the man who buys the food and ad-
ministers the domestic affairs of the White
House, gets $500.
An army of people are on the pay roll in
the department service proper in Washington.
Altogether they will, since the great reduction
in the Census Office, count up to about 20
600 and their salary list will amount to the
round sum of $25, 600, ,0OO
But now we are just coming to the biggest
item in the long list of Uncle Sans helpers.
There are more employees in the postal service
than in all the other branches combined. Tc
! nine tenths of the people the postal service il
the visible, tangible form of the Government
Few of us have business with the Treasury
the Interior Department, or with any of the
others, but the postal service touches the life
of every one OF us.
In round numbers, 10000 postmasters helt
Uncle Sam in carrying on this great business
Nineteen thousand clerks in offices of the frs
and second class render their assistance, anC
is. 600 city carriers distribute daily the mail.
from house to house, while 10000 rural car
riers perform daily the same service in ths
thickly populated country districts. Ter
thousand railway postal clerks cover th'
country night and day over the great iroI
spider web of railroad lines, gathering and
distributing the mails as they fly.
An army of contractors and sub b-contrac
tors, operating daily and weekly schedules
penetrate the remotest and most isolated com
munities, distributing them to another arm,
of fourth class postmasters.
One hundred and six thousand, in rounc
numbers, counting everybody. from the Post
master General down to the postmaster in
fourth class office, with a salary of 81 pc
month, or even less, is the number of Uncl'
Sans employees in the postal service. Abou
III 900 is the number in all the other branche
of his civil service. About 271, 900 is thu
grand total. .
!, How are all these people paid :? The pro
cess is simple enough. The postmaster pay