The Jasper weekly courier., 1907-01-11
CONGRESSIONAL SALARIES.
Fifty Per Cent. Increase Proposed
Tariff and Trust Prices.

The pay of member OF congress is
81 900 year and 20 cents mile In
coming 10 and returning from Wash.
ington each session. In addition there
To congress votes its members Sl00 a
session for postage and stationery and
SlOO a month for clerk hire Con.
gressmen have the franking priv
| ilege for all letters and documents OF
public character and stationery Is
provided free for each committee
room. SO that practically no stationery
need be purchased As the cost of liv-
Ing has advanced nearly so per cent
and Is still rising. all government sal
aries are virtually decreasing. the
! same as private incomes are, and in
fairness they must be equitably ad-
justed 10 meet the enormous increase
in the price of commodities. IL would
be, however very unfair for congress
To add so per cent TO the salaries Of
its members and leave the other pub
lie servants who receive much small
er salaries, without any increase. The
whole question of increase of the sal
aries OF public servants should be
treated together and not leave the
government clerks and other officials
at the mercy of a Republican majority
in congress who seem intent on only
caring to increase their own salaries
and perquisites.
The whole people OF the United
States are suffering from the increased
az 1itsiptr nd q
jority OF congress refuses to consider
the cause OF high trust prices or TO at
tetmpt 10 remedy it, Ii is only the
fear OF public reprobation that pre-
vents the statndpat statesmen from in
creasing their own salaries while leav-
ing their constituents TO rustic with
the octopii as best they can. The tar
IN taxes, which were purposely in.
creased, even beyond what the pro
tected monopolists deemed necessary
to prevent foreign competition. have
never been reduced by reciprocity
agreements with foreign nations. as
was provided for in the Dineley act.
That unwarranted extreme protection
is the chief cause OF the present high
prices and the plundering of the peo-
pie for the benefit of the tariff-fos.
tered trusts. should be considered al
the same time as the question OF sal
aries OF congressman and OF govern
ment officials
When the tariff is reformed 20 a rev
enue basis the price OF trust products
will decline and that will virtually in
crease incomes. The salaries of con.
gressmen. or government officials. are
never reduced. whatever the cost OF
living may be. and before the people
are further taxed for the benefit OF
their public servants the whole ques-
ton of the tariff and its effect on tho
prices OF trust products should be in.
vestigated and the remedy applied.
This Republican congress, by It's
proposal to increase the pay Of mem
bers so per cent virtually admits the
claim of the Democrats that the Re.
publican policy Of protecting the trusts
has enabled those corporations that
control the production of all the man
ufac.ured necessities of hfe to in.
crease prices so that fixed incomes
must be raised to meet the enlarged
trust profits. AS the Republican lead
ers have determined to postpone tariff
revision, 1t would seem nothing but
fair play TO postpone the increase OF
their own salaries until the same time.
If their constituents are wise they will
insist that they will not submit 10 an
increase Of the pay of congress, unless
the matter of their own incomes is
also provided for by tariff reform.