The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-01-06
Congressional Salaries
and the Test of Ability.

come and here 1t is. Inc Live OAK /
Democrat says:
"A man who is not capable of earn |
ing $4,000 a year outside of congress, !
is not fit to draw that much money in (
congress-" says The Pensacola Jour /
nal. Go slow, brother; that's very |
sweeping declaration of yours and /
we doubt if you could make it good |
if put to the test. The present con- !
gressional salary is away beyond the
pay of an overwhelming majority of
the American citizens, and We feel |
sure that in that majority there are
very many workers along skilled lines,
men who do large and useful thinking
and accomplish excellent results, who
are entirely fit to be congressman 1t
is notorious that some of the members
are better paid in congress than they
ever were out of it, although it is
doubtless true that some could make
more money in private life than as
congressman. A mans mere earning
capacity as a money maker is no
measure of his utility as statesman.
Many of our foremost public men have
been comparative failures in their
business affairs and more than a few
swollen money bags in congress have
been mighty sorry statesmen. Great
Britain pays her lawmakers nothing
for their services, but pays all her
other public servants generously,
many of them extravagantly, an in
consistency hard to understand from
the American point of view. We pay
our congressman good salaries, many
of whom are worth the price and
some of whom are not, but the propo-
sitiOn Chat the man who can't earn
$4,000 year outside of congress is
not, on that account, qualified for a
congressional job, is at least very
wide open for debate
Our contemporary argument is
ingenious, but not ingenious; at
tractive, but not altogether logi-
cal. If, as it assumes, there are
many men who cannot earn $4,000
outside of congress, but who can
earn $4,000 in congress, then it
necessarily follows that these men are
fit for but one vocation in life, viz:
that Of congressman-for a mans
proper place in life is where his tai
play and where the world may get
the largest benefit from them
But If these men are fit only TO be
congressman, then nature evidently
made a gross INSTRUMENTATION by pro-
ducing too many of them, or we of the
great American commonwealth have
run grossly contrary to the law of
eternal fitness by not providing
enough congressional square holes for
all of these square pegs which, our
friend of the Democrat assures US,
are waiting TO fill them.
We readily agree with our contem-
porary that there are many men out |
side of congress who are not earning
$4,000 year who would make better |
congressman thans some of the men
--<---A---4----svrIrc-
crat AYERS 1T is notorious that they !
are better paid in congress than they |
ever were out of it, but that does not |
affect our original proposition.
The Journals contention is that |
the position Of a public servant is |
the most important position with |
which the public has to deal, and
that being such the man who fills it |
should be paid a salary commensu-
rate with the responsibility which he
has to bear and with the ability re-
quired for the duties which he has to
perform. A congressman is direc-
tor in big corporation whose stock
holders are the people themselves.
and his work is more important to
these stockholders than is the work
of any director to the stockholders of
any private business corporation.
If, then, the congressman is to man
age this big corporation in which
every citizen is a stakeholder why |,
should he not be paid just as good a
salary as a private business corpora
ton would pay him to manage its af-
fairs? Why should the people pay
their representatives less than the pri-
Vate corporations pay the special at
torneys, lobbyists, and emissaries
whom they send to influence the peo-
pies servants?
AT a time when private business cor
porations are hiring all of the best
talent that can be secured to manage
their businesses and to influence leg
islation in our state and national law
making bodies, the people will do we'll
TO retain a little Of that talent for
their own use and not depend alto
sether on patriotism and honor of
high position as compensation for the
service which they expect to have
rendered These things are all right ,
in their way, but patriotism alone ,
never fed a hungry household and
honor of high position never laid up d,
competency for old age.
Pay congressman good salaries.
elect men who are worth the saIa-
ries, and get legislation which the
needs and which cannot be