Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-11-24
PLUMS OF THE NEXT HOUSE
Aggregate Value of Places on
Payroll 100000.
Democrats Expected to Make Practic-
nliy n Clean sweep Of Present EN-
pioyees-somc Have Been in
office sixteen Years.

Democratic control Of the House Of
Representatives has a cash value of more
than 100000 year to members of that
party. That sum represents the annual
payroll of the House. IT has been six
teen years since the democrats In the
ranks with claims to preierment have
had a chance to get any OF this money.
The last legislative appropriation bill
carried an aggregate of S697 600, exclusive
Of the salaries of clerks to members. to
pay the salaries OF tho several hundred
employees of tho House. To this amount
should be added a sum In excess of &c.,
900, which went for extraordinary service
and special employees. All of this
amount with the exception Of few
thousand dollars, represented in the pay
of half a dozen minority employees, went
to the republicans.
The democrats Of course. will make A
clean sweep, with the exception of the
six official stenographic reporters Of de-
bates. and possibly the aplaincy and
one or two old committee clerks. The re-
portcrs get 5000 a year, and the chaplain
is paid $1,000 The mail of all the newly
elected democratic members and of tn"
cid members who were reelected is filled
with applications for joos on the House
payroll. If Champ Clark is elected speak
err ne will have the appointment of a pri-
vate secretary at 5000. and clerk at
$500, another clerk Mt $500, and s. mes
senger at $1,000 annual salary.
The important posts to be filed by
election of the House are those of clerk
of the House, the docrkeeper, the SER
Eeant-at-arms. and the postmaster.
These officers have the appointment Of
practically all the subordinate employees,
with the exception Of the clerks to com
mittoes and janitors, and messengers TO
committees. which places are the per-
sonal patronage of the respective chair
men Of the committees. There are more
than sixty of these clerkships to be filled
and it Is probable that the only present
clerk to retain his position will he James
c. Courts. clerk 70 the committee on APP
preparations, whose services are regarded
as invaluable. He has held his place un-
der various administrations of the House.
| CLERKSHIP OF THE HOUSE.
Representative Alexander Mellow
ell now holds the choice perth of clerk
Of the House. which pays $3.50 year.
Frank Il. Lyon Of New York Is doorkcepor
| Of the House, Henry Casson OF Wisconsin
| is sergeant-at-arm Joseph c. McElroy
is postmaster, william }. Browning OF
New Jersey Is chief clerk, and Herman
A. Phillips of Illinois Is journal clerk
| All of these Jobs pay between $3.50 and
| s.. 00o year. They are plums worth
| picking, for on alternate years the legis-
| lative year begins in December and ends
| March 4. It Is small wonder that the
democrats should be scrambling foI
| them.
Some of the men who will be turned on,
! have been continuously in place since the
republicans captured the House sixteen
years ago. Many Of them have spent the
best part of their working life in these
! well-cushioned Jobs. and it will be hard
for them to accommodate themselves to
| the competition of commercial life. Rep
! resentative Livingston of Georgia. the
ranking democrat on the appropriation
! committee. who has been twenty year
| in Congress. is one of the candidates fol
/ tho cerkship of the House to succeed
! Major Mcdowell. He was defeated foi
denomination at home. and became q
candidate for tho clerkship even before
| the election. He was seventy-eight years
old last April, but still feels competent
to serve his country. If not in ono capa'
city. then in another,
For many years the best-paying JOBS
on the House payroll have been parcelet
out under the supervision of what is