The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1912-12-13
FANCY TRIMMINGS
. ON COkGRESsMANs
ALLOWANCE AN |TLM
CLERK HIRE, STATIONERY Al
LoWANcE AND MILEAGE PER-
MlTTED AGGREGATE A SUM.

M,TTED AGGREGATE A SUM.
How Legislation 10 Sometimes Pu
Through In an Unexpected Manner
looking to the Other Body to Stop
and It Does Not.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9.--When
new representative comes to WASH
ington he finds other perquisites tt
his Job besides the $1,000 salary He
gets a free spacious office in one o.
the most beautiful office buildings II
the United States. This office Is fur
nished luxuriously for him with ma
hogany desks and tables, the Latest
metal or precious wood filing cases
rugs and the like, as we'll as the lat
est model of any typewriter his stem
ographer may fancy. He needs use
only the costliest grades OF bond pa
Der for his letterheads and e1vei-
opes, for he is given stationery al
iowance of SIPS per month, and pa
Der, printing, pens and ink, inkweils
and all office supplies are sold to linn
at cost at the house stationery store.
Ice water, light, towels and char SER
vice are free.
He is also given $125 per month
for clerk hire. Some few representa-
tiyes save this entire allowance by
employing no clerical help. II ne
fails to spend all his stationery al
Iowance too he retains what he saves.
On the other hand many representa-
tiyes fail to make the $125 pay their
Office help. Under the law each mem
her is required to turn into the clerk
Of the house the names Of clerical
aelp paid from the $125. In the last
session Representative Rainey turn
Cd in the names Of twenty-five clerks
ii being presumably paid from the
1125 q month. ,,... 4g
Another perquisite is the mileage
allowance Of 20. cents per mile eacn
uay, for. one trip each session from
spngressman's home to Washington
thus q congressman from California
RECEIVES 1920 more than one from
: Maryland or Virginia district ad-
toining the national capital. NV.
The books. at the congressional Il
hrary are at the disposal Of tho
house members, when new member
=, fixing up living quarters n wash
ington, it is customary, for him to tell
employees OF the library about what
acrt OF reading matter he likes, and
also the, amount of shelf room he has
n his. apartment or house. These
experts compile complete library
Cor the instruction and amusement OF
himself and family, for the wiuter,
and the books are delivered in the IL
Srary automobiles. He may keep out
hooks as long as he wishes, ana
whenever he becomes tired OF his as
sortment, he can have them replaced
with an entirely new supply.
The democratic and republican
cloak rooms are in reality luxurious
club rooms in which the members can
relieve the boredom Of dry debates
BY smoking, reading and talking,
while sittign in the deeply upholster-
ed lounging chairs. Time was, alas,
when the member needed only to
press button to have fetched to him
his favorite cocktail, but-and = is
an interesting story why-no more.
Time after time the hypocritical
house had virtuously voted the bar
rooms out Of the national capitol
Buildings, relying and not in vain, on
the senator's who liked their liquor
to lose the legislation in the confer
ence committees.
In 1901 William E. Shattuck's i'm
migration bill was up, and the ran
dom debate had grown lively on the
point of liquor selling on government
reservations, which had been incor-
porated as part of the bill Repre-
sentative Charles B. Lands charged
that Shattuck, to be consistent, ought
to include government reservations
of every sort There was the Penn
sylvania passenger station in Wash
ington-liquor was sold there.
"Well, for that natter sneered
Shattuck, liquor is sold In this build
ing. Why don't You introduce an
amendment to stop it?" ssss ~
81 WILL" said lands, and dashed
on the rider to the bin
The house passed the amendment
cheerfully, strong in the faith that
the senate would run to form and
eliminate the dry clause. But on this
occasion, however, the senate called
the blum, and liquor disappeared
-. A. zo,;&ot .vnao+ a., fha nm nor.