Morris tribune., 1909-02-20
COST $715.5O DAILY.
Employees in Legislature Nearly
as Numerous as Members.

1u0 0mplOy0S III Uuo GWO HOUSES VI
the legislature are proving rather ex-
pensive to the state. The salary roll,
exclusive of the compensation of the
senators and representatives amounts
to $715.5O each day. There are 140
employees in all, so that the average
salary paid per day is a fraction more
than $5.11. At any rate they will
cost the state $64,395, if the session
lasts ninety days.
Some of the members are wonder
ing when the limit is going to be
reached. Several have already ex-
pressed their disapproval of the COM
pensation, during the open sessions,
on the ground that the state pays
three or four times what the same
persons earn when employed by in
dividuals.
1.-TWO years ago the senators and
representatives drew only $5 day,
while today the janitors, doorkeepers
and gallery sergeants are paid that
much" said house member.
AS the session advances additional
clerks will be employed for the vari-
Gus committees, SO that the salary
roll will be few Thousand dollars
more each month.
Not only does the salary seem to
be out of all proportion to the work
done, Or the skill required, but there
are 50 many employees that they are
in each others way when they at
tempt to discharge their duties.
Frank T. White of Elk River sized
up the situation the other day when
John Lennon, the Minneapolis repre-
sentative, was making plea for two
additional janitors at $5 per day. Mr..
White said he did not believe there
was room for two more janitors on
the seats in the reception room and
lobby. The present employees al
ready filed the available lounging
places. At the time of the discus
sion the house already has three jan
itors on its pay roll, each of whom
was drawing $5 per day.
W. D. Washburn of Minneapolis
said that he thought $3.50 per month
was too much for janitors, but evil
IDENTIFY the majority did not think SO,
for one more expert sweeper was en-
ployed at that salary.
A glance through the list of en-
ployes reveals some really humorous
situations. For instance, the house
employs three cloak room keepers at
$5 per day, when there is hardly
room enough in the small cloak room
for three keepers to be on guard at
the same time. The senate employs
only one such individual.
Seven pages are employed in the |!
senate to look after the wants of the
SO senators, while the 119 representa-
tives have only five pages at their
disposal. Each of these youngsters
receive $3 day. This is an increase
of so cents day over the 1907 salary.
In the senate there are three door
keepers, while in the house there are
nine such men, each of them at $5 a
day. There are as many exits in one
chamber as in the other. The wonder
is that with so many doorkeepers in
the house they do not seem able to
keep nom members from the floor of
the chamber.
The house employs eleven stenog-
raphers and the senate only nine, but
5he latter body has twenty three
clerks in it's employ while the house
has only seventeen. Most of these re-
,eive $5 day, but several receive
1he maximum salary of $40 day, the
same as the senators and representa-
ives.
1t is well known fact that some
If the committees do not meet more
han once week, if they meet at
III, and it is said that there have been
7ears when certain committees did
lot even meet to organize. The