Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-12-24
Members Of House Hope for an Increase in
Their Pay.
FEARED TO VOTE THEMSELVES A RAISE
Senators May, However, Take OppO-
site Course and Throw out New
Provision for Clerical
Assistance.
(From a stan Correspondents

| salaries of nearly all executive departments
| OF the government, as we'll as the pay
| Of members OF the house and senate and
! OF the judiciary. When the bill was Up In
the house last week an attempt was made
/ to provide for an increase of the COM
pensation of senators and members up to
! $500 q year. But the attempt failed,
| largely because members were afraid to
vote for the increase, although It Is doubt
full IL there is really one in the entire body
who was not prayerfully anxious that the
amendment would go through. As usual.
many members who were afraid to vote for
! their own interests are expecting that the
senate will restore the appropriation when
| the measure comes up in the upper house
next week.
But II is more than likely that instead
of doing what the house really wants to
have done the senate will resent the ac-
ton Of the lower branch in adding $500
year to the compensation Of at least
| half its own membership. Ten or twelve
years ago the house concluded that each
| member was entitled to a clerk. The SEN
ate has for a great many years allowed
| each member Of that body the privilege Of
appointing a clerk or private secretary.
! The names of the employees are placed
upon the regular roll and they are paid,
| just as other employees are paid. by the
| disbursirg officer II one dies or resigns
the salary of course, ceases. The mem
bers of the house are entitled to clerks or
secretaries equally with the senators. This
fact dawned upon the members of the
house some ten years ago and they voted
themselves 1920 a year each for clerical
assistance, with the proviso that the MEM
Der must certify that he had paid or had
agreed to pay 500 during the preceding
month for such assistance. This year the
house has increased the allowance Of each
member for clerical assistance to $3.50
per annum and has stricken out the pro-
vision requiring certihcation.
Equivalent to Bigger Salary.
In other words. the house has virtually
increased the salaries Of every member who
does his own clerical work to $500 per
annum, for 1t is well known that large
number Of members employ no secretary.
Some of them claim to have paid over the
previous allowance to their wives or daugh-
ters or to some other members OF their
family. This was simply to ease their con-
science but now this will be unnecessary,
provided. of course, the senate acquiesces.
During the last few days senators have I
freely discussed this action of the house
and the consensus of opinion seems to be |
that every man who draws the pay of a |
CltIh vi SECRETARY SnOulu nave MS name Oh
the roll, that there can be no chance |
for the petty frauds which have been |
common in the past
Members of the house have openly ex-
pressed the opinion, on the other hand. |
that the senate will restore the increased |
salary samendmept. But the senate grew
sick Of raking chestnuts out of the fire for |
the house some years ago Until three /
years ago 1t was the annual custom to /
insert in some general bill paragraph to /
the effect that no liquors, wine or beer /
should be sold within the capitol building. |
This clause would invariably be adopted |
by the house, and then members who voted |
for 1t would go over to the senate and |
urge their friends to knock 1t out. Finally |
the senate grew tired of this sort of thing .
and permitted this obnoxious paragraph to .
remain in a bill to which Il was in no /
sense germane. The result is there is not /
a drop of intoxicating liquor of any kind
sold in the restaurants in either end OF the ,
capitol
But don't let anybody think II is necessary
to go dry on this account, for number of |
handsome buffets have been built and the /
supply Of liquid refreshments is as great |
as ever The only difference is that the |
thirsty visitor must know the ropes and .
must secure an invitation before he can /
quench his thirst.
Hoist by His own Petard.
Congressman Sherman of New York is a
victim Of the 'petard." The cheerful chair
man of the republican congressional COM
mittee was the prime mover in the matter
of the enactment of the law which prohibits |
the use Of label on food products which .
Is in anyway misleading as to the contents /
of the package. 1t seems the congressman .
is large stockholder in a cannery in
Oneida county New York. His brother is I
the manager of the factory and last sum
mer. owing to the shortage of the sweet /
corn crop, It was found the Sherman can
merry could not I'LL all the orders which had |
been booked. In consequence the manager
brother made an arrangement with pack
ing house in another state to nil the order
and agreed to send on the necessary labels
to place on the cans. During the late con-
gressional campaign Mr.. Sherman spent
most Of his time in headquarters In New
York and enc day he was called upIby tele-
phone.
Hello, Jim, is that your asked the
voice over the wire.
YES" was the response, who are you
and what is it?'
Il am your brother up in Utica Is there
any other man in congress named .
Sherman
No" replied the man in New York why
do you ask"
wen, / have just received a telegram
from those corn packers. I'll read It to
you" And then he read of a dispatch as
follows:
I'VE can't use those labels. Some fool in /
congress named Sherman secured the enact
ment Of a law which prohibits the use Of a
label which indicates that the contents Of /
the can is New York state corn when that |
corn is packed in Maryland"
That is the reason why the customers OF /
the Sherman cannery in Utica are selling |
their customers canned corn this winter !
with a label differing from that heretofore
used
Murray Gets Pension.
Congress has just enacted a law granting .
a pension Of so per month to Charles r.
Murray. Murray was for nearly twenty
years a newspaper correspondent here IN
Washington. He served through the civil /
war and was badly wounded But he never
applied for a pension until he reached the
stage Of need. Murray was brilliant man.
He has written a number Of interesting
novels OF Washington life and al ore time
was considered quite wealthy, as wealth
goes among neWspaper Wrftera But he /