Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-12-16
WHAT 1T COSTS AT HEADQUARTERS
YELM. Wash, Dec. 8, 1910.

ELM, wash, Dec. y, 1910.
Ed. STANDARD:
How many of the readers of the
daily or weekly press have the re-
motest idea of the proAigacy and ex-
travagance of our public officials I?
1t is conceded fact that our govern
ment at Washington wastes about
ore million dollars every day of the
year. Senator Aldrich admits it
and he ought to know. The funda-
mental cause OF this stupendous
waste lies in the fact that the money
is secured indirectly from customs
duties. revenue taxes. etc. Most
people seem Indifferent to expendi-
lures which do not come directly
from their own pockets. AL this
money that's being wasted comes out
OF the pockets of the people. 1t is
wasted TO the tune of SIG year for
every family in the United States.
1t figures every day in the cost OF
living. What becomes of it? It is
estimated that all the salary allow
ances and pensions for 1910 of all the
crowned heads of Europe and all the
lesser royalties provided for in the
latest civil lists of Europe, do not
total by several millions sum equal
to that appropriated in the Rivers
and Harbors Bill easily passed by
Congress and signed by President
Taft few months ago. Who Is to
blame? The damphools who toler-
ate such things when they have the
power to prevent it. is there a man
with the brain Of gnat who ilnagines
such extravaganza could exist were
it not possible to extort from the
people those millions thro' the
agency of the damnable protective
system ? Millions of dollars are ap-
propriated for rivers and harbors
that simply amount to nothing.
Nearly every member of Congress
has scheme for the improvement of
some waterway and the rule is, "You
vote for my bill and I'll vote for
yours" and the result is millions of
dollars squandered for the sole pur-
pose of acquiring the appreciation of
. few of their constituents who have
scheme for exploiting the people.
AS Senator Tillman once said:
This whole scheme of river i'm
provement is humbug and a steal"
One of the most astounding exhibi.
tions OF proaigacy ever seen in any
country was the expenditure of from
GIG. .OOO, 900 to $2O, ,OOO, 600 In the last
five years for. magnificent white
marble buildings for the Senate and
House of Representatives. II ever
two structures were erected for pure
display these are they. Only chair
men of committees and the leaders of
the minority in each house should
have Offices at Uncle Sans expense.
Yet every leading Senator has o
suite OF two rooms in the Senate
building in addition to his commit
tee suite in the capitol. and l am
told. you may knock at the doors Of
half these Offices when Congress is in
session and never get response. in
spite Of the fact that every Senator
has . secretary and at least one
clerk. and that every Representative
is allowed $500 q year for clerk
hire. Say. Reub. don't you feel
small when you compare yourself
with your hired servants at Wash
ingtOn, who vote money out of your
pocket-book to build marble palaces
for themselves while you live in q
hovel :? Do you know that for every
dollar collected at the port Of Alex.
andria, Virginia. it cost $122. 40; and
for every dollar collected at the port
of Annapolis, Md. it cost 1903. 40 =?
Don't you think it would be policy
to discontinue those ports and stop
that leak ? O. no, that wouldn't do.
We must carry out our policy of pro-
lection at all hazards.
One day during the debate on the
Payne-Aldrich Bill eighteen months
ago. an insurgent Republican Sena-
tor asked Senator Aldrich abuut o
certain paragraph in the cotton
schedule. 1t would take q commits
sion nine months and COS: $3.50, 600
to get that information, replied the
boss. Major John M. Carson. who
was, at that time, an attentive lis.
tener in the gallery and who was
chief of the Bureau of Manufactures
in the Department of Commerce and
Labor, sent . note to the inquiring
Senator, stating that if he really
wished the information it would be
furnished him within nine hours and
would cost him nothing. So Boss
Aldrich was mistaken only about
go days in time and $3.50, 900 in
money. The commission idea has
become very strong in Congress of
late years. We all remember the
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