The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-07-07
]. M. PARSONS WILL
GET LARGE SUM
IL Contestant Only Received Ion
Votes He Would Be Entitled ts
$4,000 From Discussing Fznd
Treats Congressmen Snd
Near congressman Wei


WASHINGTON. ID. c. S,e-s,T -.
I When man becomes one % ~ r.-i,.-
clpals in a contest before a cur1za5E-
! tee Of Congress for a seat h., -
! Rouse or Representative Il Sspez rrs.f
/ make any great difference wheeh~r
/ ne IS the contestant. petiti0niUr - ~
! seated or the contestee. hclfsuE eurs On.
/ the seat already gfven him. F-ste,Sf
/ financially, the man claiming to- -
\ ana not yet allowed IL is better ~
than the man already in p0ssszzisl1s.
provided the mere claimant q fsuE
/ days before the final adjOurnrueut -
declared entitled TO the seat
John NJ Parsons, Republican eo71-
| tested the seat OF Edward W Sam
ders, Democrat, awarded the csr1iG-
! cate or election from the FIFTH W.
ginia District. The case wsE 1850,
ed TO House Committee on ETecti~U.r
No. ?, was argued after considerzl,I9
delay, and after months the eouE7sf-
tee has reported finding THAI SaEu-
ders was not elected, and that Psz-
sons was elected. But the ruzFuxSev
or the committee, six RepuhIiravr
gave the three Democratic ueruberu
VINO favored Saunders, until the 6r1r
DAY OF the coming session In whissA
TO hle report. 1t is highly p-Ohal5R-,
that the House will not be in sesziau
a month after the case is decided ia
tnat body at the next session which
must expire on the 4th of March
But IL the majority report Is srg-
talneo, ana Mr.. Parsons is seated b,
VIII be entitled to two years SzIzrx-
aIthough he will sit but = few
ne also will draw $4,000 for the EN-
ployment of secretary, which b.
Will not have employed, will coIIecT
his mileage for two sessions. nzR
probably the extra session OF thu
spring and summer of 1908 arE
nr1
ing officer Of the House, if he has rv0e
done so, the sum of $4,000, which th<
House allows contestants and cor
testeeS In such cases. Mention h4-
not been made OF an annual station
cry allowance of $125, which boflR
contestant and contestee viii DIV
nor of other perquisites to wh5cs-
members are entitled and which fen
allow to get by.
Uncle Sans Expansive Way
1t naturally would occur to the ave-
rage man that where the Governmer4
mas been served by a man not entitled
20 the honor and the mistake Il Ger
recteu. his salary should cease Eheza
his service ends and the salary NJ a.,
man rlghttully elected should .bezsir
when his service begins But Crgr8~,
sam does things in a large way, espe-
claily, where members of Congress
are directly affected, and where rR,v-E
member or Senator dies his y<if3ow
is given $500 or one years salary
repeated efforts have been made tx
| nave the law changed SO that fhe szs-
| airy or $1,000 year paid conEres-
/ sional secretaries shall go direct fz.
such secretaries. but none was suE,-
ceSstul. The money is paid to tks
| member. who pays the secreazrv-
| what he pleases. While many men
Ders employ additional clerical asEssa-
ance' out of their own pockets, TX zlss,
is true that some members paw their
| secretaries considerably less than 81
900 year, putting the residue in their
pockets.
A Lucrative Business.
Contesting before Congress Tor u
seat in that body held by the menbe-
with the certificate of Election i~ =
| profession in at least one Stafe ~
well informed persons are TO De h.
! neVed. Every two years from one Tn
| three contests are made from this mar
tlcular State, although, in several In
stances none or the contestants .hA9
| received as many as 500 votes ana
one OF them never gets as many as lee
| But he and all the rest get S2RaA
which figures out net income ofsSev-
eroI hundred dollars year from this
| unique business. The member with
the certificate Of election xS-aus Tn.
$4,000. In one instance. at ,3eaass ftse,
member distributes il in the vuriouS-
counties of his district in the form or
retainers TO promising young Lawyers
employed as his counsel
Let Him Who Is Without SIM
me majority of the committee in
the case of Parsons VS.. Saunders r,st.as-
its action in voting 10 ulrseat NJ
saunders on the ground that the Viz.
gina Legislature, by an act in 1895
taking the county Of FlONn from fIvy,
/ t1fth District, and adding g. 20 ,TlpS-
sixth. was guilty of gerrymaH1liarinsx
violating the provision of the Constr
tuition that congressional districts shall
De as compact as practicable and AZ
nearly equal in population as possible
The report is eloquent in denunciss=
tlon OF the practice of 2Rcuy1F1Ruftsp-
ing, as one of the most insidfulss and
dangerous political offenses that car
menace democratic government"
Yet it is q fast that the States rvv,-
resented by some of the six members
who signed the report furnish the
most glarlng illustrations of kerr
man neutrality-suspicious. OF the clauses.
in population.
The chairman of tho committee. fox
instance, Representative Miller, az tbs
Fourth Kansas, represents Il .dSStr1St
WIN population or 1882, while W.
Tor Murdock, of the same State reu1N-
SentS a district with but 14S,116 popsr--
Iauon. while Philip Pitt Campbell. rep
Sesentng the Third Kansas. is fraRn a
I ais having population OF @E2SZz.
Inc dlnerencs in population between
Mur6ock district and CampbslES 81
nearly 10000.
Representative Mckinley, of-the SeS,
ono california who signs the reporS.
represents 20O.7s5 people, 8Gat ~.
smallest district IN the State mas uslr~
largest. ~0
Representative Burke. of PenuSvR-
EaAIa' anotner siSner OF the report -
from a State In which there Il mere
man on congressional district havin<-
j population OF over a hupdPSd fh0Es--
Sand more than the smallest districc
FlhaIIy, there is Representative Bsn-
net or New York, also "a signer OF tn
report to unseat a Democrat beca1sSs
net is from a district when had a.
population of 20S,962 at the census NJ
ISoO, while the largest district in NeSzr
York State has a population OF ga
VOo more than twice that of the dis
trlct represented by Mr. Bennett ana
his IS not the smallest New YORK dis
trict, Tor the Fifteenth New York, rem
resented by the Hon. Jacob Van Verh-
ten Olcott, sir, has a population OF ,Sut
l65,fOl, little over a third 81 that ~
no fcrfa Zoo y