The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-01-06

sls2s,4s2ss.
Government expense accounts are fun.
hy things
Why should Il cost a clerk in the in.
terror department Ave times rs much to
60 % certain point in the state Of
Washington IS Il does for the secretary,
his superior officer, 20 make a trip 10
Honolulu and certain western pointsvi
Why should it cost the commissioner
of the general land office only ono-half
what It cost the clerk that accompanied
him on the same tripi
Why should ii cost man n the in.
terror department seven or eight times
as much 70 take trip down to Alabama
Mississippi and Florida a. it does for
an employee Of The post office department
to 50 to Spokane, Portland and saa
FranciscoY
Why i Il that a very large proportion
Of the big travel items ttat are turned
ia by government employees seem to b
for trips to the South Il winter and to
the North II the summer time
According to the accounts 81 the post
master general, secretary 81 the interior
ard the interstate commerce commission,
submitted Il Congress for KS approval
ona Of the clerks in the general Land
Office il tho most expensive traveller IN
the three departments mentioned He
turned IN bin for s6G47 So. o. account
81 trip to the state Of Washington ~
examine surveys ia the diminished Cal.
vile Indian reservation, Washington.
IF the reservation had not been dimin
ishad BY the Indians eafelessly giving
away or selling their land ibis clerks
expense account would possibly have
been some larger n July, 1908, seere.
tary Garfield took trip 70 the Sandwich
islands and various points IN western
states and spent only sl0s7, OF much
less than one-ffth Of what it cost tie
land Office clerk to look over that
dwindllng Indian domain
The smallest account submitted among
the papers Is that Of p. IL Andrus, sd
perintendent Of the man lock repair
shop Of the post Office department, who
made trip over to Bridgeport, CoAu..
to inspect a riveting machine that the
department thought Of buying Andrus
spendthrift chat lie Is, actually blew in
sls5 Of the governments good money
for this iunket IT should be mentioned,
however That postal employees travel
free on the trains, So il Is fair to pre-
sumo that the sls5 went for hotel bills,
wine and automobiles.
Fred bennett, commissioner 81 the
land Office made a journey 70 salt Lake,
Portland. Spokane, Seattle and other
western cities during the year and spent
s2o570 on the trip. Fred Newburgh,
bis clerk, turned u statement for
s4s9.s5 for expenses while accompanying
the commissioner on the same "trip Pos
sibly Mr. bennett was entertained BY
friends in the various places visited
while his clerk bad to put up at hotels
There IS suspicion in the minds 81
the congressman that when Secretary
Of the interior department
travels he pays some Of the expenses
himself If he doesn't 10 down into bis
own pocket, BE must Get reduced rates
at tbe hotels Last summer the score
tary took a trip % various points IN
Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming and
The bin be turned in was only sls772 !
Perhaps Be avoided the exections 81 the
hotels by living on the trains and eating /
lunches carried from Washington.
Hot Springs Arkansas; The Weirs
New Hampshire Denyeri Wisconsin and
seem to BE popular summer
points toward which to travel o. govern.
nent business ia the heated months, and \
Florida, southern California New Or.
.aans and Tevae Ga tina tefpfav tifna