The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24
HHV RULERS OF THE SENATE
4 FEW row WIFTgES ~ 1ONTROI
~ THE PROrEEDtN0S
Naa, q emmiters tpe, RW,J RaSrit FaH,
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suwptt WW,res sWd . lit'ir Pat9SNaa'
" seHa,sra little Wsfh aRs ea''
asIefles fsg the tsHmittee tteVha

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s,s,ult Nf,rps aHa . Ilttie PatgsHaas
" SeHa,srs little wsFh aHs Fs'r
aaiafles fss the tsWHiiiee tleVhs
,snsotoS. iunr ~ srna,of rnlmans
! fereni naht ~ hnye referred a. The TON.
mites ~ the tive t1vilsel ffii~a q Nll
aneuiha lho-e INDIANS served 10 wli after.
llun io Tho large mimtef ~ cuinmiJte-'
In tho sehaie aud ~ the Tact that ptac'ls
NaIly all thu wofh ~ that lvWly 10 done w
u few committees
The a1Andlhe and ss'ert committees ~
the senate humlef sltty-hv So far ~
tpftne nehcy u concerned, they are al
standing, anil nearly half ~ them are stand.
Ing In another sense. fot they never AZ
Sume ~ them have never had n mce'ing.
others vera called Into existence years ago
for u particular purpose which never again
appeared, while ptiil others Occasionally
once In one ysir, or two or three hh We stray
hills referred 10 them, provided always that
an expenditure " money n not involved.
for N II docs the measure goes 10 the APP
preparations COMMITTEES,
Ordinarily the committee c~hRirmAnAhips
are supposed TO lie perquiHites OF the Sena-
tora belonging to the majority party. In
the presen, Senate the Republican,, with
| the largest majority ever known, did not
have enough members TO I'LL all the chair
manships, and, after supplying all Of their
own party with comfortable rooms, COM
mittee clerks and messengers, were able
TO provide To Democratic Senators with
like conveniences, In addition, the leader
OF the minority has the minority conference
room, with a clerk and a messenger.
Senator Tillman. in his endeavor to find
some work for his committee, Acknowledged
that IL the bin in question, over which II
plainly had jurisdiction, was to be sent to
some other committee his committee
surely had no excuse for existence. He
also called attention to the fact that during
his term as chairman Of the Committee on
Revolutionary Claims, his previous assign
ment. only one bill was referred TO 1t.
1t is therefore safe to say that II the
Senate committees depended for their eN-
istence upon the amount Of public business
they transacted, nearly half of them would
be abolished. They do, however, supply
some useful purposes, for they furnish the
Senators with comfortable rooms in which
to receive their friends. provide them with
clerks to take care Of their Official and
among grateful constituents the tons OF
useless public documents allotted them.
and, last and not least, give them a little
patronage in the opportunity to appoint
clerks and messengers.
Each OF the sixty-five committees mas a
clerk, with a salary somewhere between
81, 800 and a, 500 a year; thirty-four assistant
clerks are also employed at from 81 40 to
81, 200 a year and ffty-six Of the committees
have messengers at 81 ,440 a year, AS the
sessions Of the Senate average only about
five months in the year, and these employees
have practically seven months vacation,
they are fairly well paid.
MANY of the secretaries accompany their
Senator's to their homes during the recess,
and there continue the work Of attending
to private correspondence. Even with
such salaries and such short hours, several
of the Senator's, especially those having
large private business interests, d from
their own pockets TO the pay OF their secre-
taries..
Twenty-Five Democratic Senators who
are not provided with committee chair
manships have office rooms and secretaries,
but no messengers. Their secretaries re-
oeive only 81 800 a year. and this disorimina-
ton led Senator Bailey OF Texas to offer o
resolution calling upon the Secretary Of
the Senate for a list Of all secretaries, clerks.
messengers, ETC., and their salaries, with
the object of bringing the unfairness Of
the present arrangement to the attention
Of the Senate. He desired. a readjustment
Of the salaries Of the twenty-five secre-
taries and those Of the twenty-five or thirty
clerks of committees which never meet, but
who receive 81 800 or 81, go a year for per-
forming precisely the same service as the
secretaries.
The dominant committee Of the Senate ID
the Committee on Appropriations, and ite
power was even greater a few years ago
before a revolt OF the younger Senators
brought about a partial distribution among
ing bills. Until then it had jurisdiction
over the thirteen great appropriation bills,
and in addition almost every measure that
carried an expenditure came within its ken.
Five OF the annual bills are still within lite
control. and, as they, are the measures in
committee is potent. The clerk Of this com-
mittee, Thomas G. Cleaves, has filled his
office for thirty-three years, and so valuable
is his knowledge that he has been retained
through the various changes In political con-
troll. He receives 81 800 a year, which is the
highest salary paid a committee clerk.
The regular compensation Of the office is
"a 1000, but the Senate adds $500 a year to his
salary.
Mr.. Cleaves has two assistant clerks. and
near the end Of the sessions Of Congress
they are often kept at work all night In the
conferences over the appropriation bills.
The next highest salary is paid the clerk
to the Committee on Finance, h receives
tariff bill is under consideration special
experts are also employed by the COM
mittee.
The clerks to the other active committees
receive each 81 ,220 a year and have two
assistant clerks. The most energetic Of
these committees is the Committee on
Pensions, which each session handles thou
sands Of invalid pension claims, and it re-
ports more bills than all the other committees
Of the Senate put together.
The next in number of bills is the Com
mittee OF Claims, while the Committee on
Military Affairs, in addition to preparing
three appropriation bills, passes on hundreds
Of private military bills and some thousands
Of army nominations.
The Post Offices Committee handles not
only the appropriation bill for the postal
service but also a thousand or more nomi-
nations OF postmasters. Commerce, Dis
trict Of Columbia, Foreign Relations. Indian
Affairs, Judiciary. Interstate Commerce,
Naval Affairs, Privileges and Elections.
Public Lands, Public Buildings and Terri
tories, and, just now, Philippines and Inter
oceanic Canals, comprise the other active
committees which have stated days for
meeting. A few Of the others meet at long
intervals, but the remainder make no pre-
tence Of transacting public business.
A Fourteen- Year-Old Girl Life Prisoner.
Learenporh correspondence Kansos City St1r.
Lizzie Cardish. "a years old. was brought