Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-03-20
By q. @. Dougherty.l

Washington, March 20.-Congress-
men who do not think that any man
can earn more than the ray of mem
Der Of the house, and those who are
actuated by sincere desire to de-
crease the national sxpenses-notably
Representative James w. Good, chair
man of the house appropriations COM
mittee- are whetting their knives for
the railroad administration when il
comes up next session iCr the revolv-
ing FUND appropriation.
just how the new congress Will line
UP on the Issue, OF course, can not be
figured, but, under the leadership OF
Senator Hoke Smith, OF Georgia, the
southern contingent in congress sever
al years ago letied the president on the
matter Of salaries for the members Of
the federal trade commission and the
tariff commission, which the president
had desired to be $4,000 a year each.
1t was only by strenuous fighting that
the administration obtained a salary
Of $40, 900 for the trade commissioners.
At that time Senator Smith declared
positively that no man in the public
service was worth more than a sena-
tor or member of the house, and as
evidenced by the vote at that time, he
had . majority of the house with him,
Chairman Good, of the house ap-
preparations committee, has very pos
itiveiy gone On record as favoring the
curtailmsnt Of governmental expenses
In every particular. He gave notice
today that the appropriations commit
tee Of the next house will scrutinize
very carefully every request for funds,
and most convincing evidence of the
necessity of every appropriation must
be given IL the house will be expected
to pass the needed funds.
Some Of the southern members, par
ticuiarly. have been inQuiring Of late
into the salaries paid by the railroad
administration, and they are very In
dignant to discover what a large
number Of "plums," as they regard
them, were passed around" without
their having any hand In the patron
age" They are the more surprised
they say. since they had vague idea.
from reading newspaper accounts OF
the big savings to be effected by the
railroad administration thru ehopping
the big saiari IS Of the reailroad exec
utiyes. that most of the men doing the
work Of the running the country's
railroads were being paid very much
less money than the railroad corpora
lions formerly paid their same men.
Fat Jobs Galore.
Z find" said a member of the house
today, 'That of the seven regional di-
rectors of the railroad administration,
Ave are getting $4,000 a year, and the
other two are getting $4,000 a year.
The ten directors of divisions, with the
exception OF c. A. Prouty, who is still
drawing his Interstate commerce COM
mission salary of $4,000, are getting
$500 a year. John Shelton Williams
was serving as one of these directors
Of divisions without extra compensa-
tion-merely drawing his salary OF
$4,000 as comptroller of the currency
and member OF the federal reserve
board-but he has been succeeded by
Swager Sherley, who Will draw s25,-
600 a year like the others.
This Is an increase for Sherley OF
lT,5o9 year, considering that as
member OF the house he drew only
1880. II is also a big increase for w,
s. Carter, formerly head of the Bro
therhood Of Firemen in which position
l believe he received $4,000 a year.
understand Carter demanded a salary
Of $4,000 a year, and was dunn bfound-
ed when he was marked UP at s25,-
600 like the others.
Then a lot Of those federal man
ayers Of railroads, who are getting
$4,000 and $4,000 a year, were for
merry in minor positions with the rail-
road companies, and that many of them
were serving The private corporations
for a fraction of their present sal
aries.
with all this Boosting about the
economies of the railroad administra-