Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-08-14
L~egislating Is
Job In Itself
BY w. s. MANN.

ton Star.)
WASHINGTON, Aug. IS. The
business of being a legislator has in
creased enormously within the last
decade, in the United States. I'm
III recent years, q man could be a
United States senator or member of
the House and conduct his private
business with comparatively little
disadvantage. But all that Is chang
ed now. Congress is in session al
most continuously. When the mem
bers are not in Washington, as in
he case of present summer, they
are out in their home states seek
ing to be reelected, and aiding in
the national campaign to place their
own party in power.
In view of the present day cost of
living, the United States paying Its
legislators a sufficient salary
is a matter which is giving a num-
Der of the members of congress food
for thought. They see the salaries
Of other men increasing, they see
opp%ortunities for material success
around them gobbled up by others.
But on the other hand, they know
the demand of the country for econ
omy in government. They fear that
an attempt to bring an increase in
paw for themselves would be Wig
orously attacked outside of con
gress.
Nevertheless, an effort to obtain
an increase in pay for the congress-
men would not come as an entire
surprise, in the next session of con-
gress. In the first place, the ma
tional campaign will be behind
them, and they will not have to
think Of the political effect of such
a move. The present salary of a
member Of congress seems quite
sizeable, until the member is forced
to make up his budget of expendi-
lures. Washington Is not a cheap
place in which TO live. The cost of
food, of lodging and of clothing in
the national capital is as high as
other cities in this section of the
country-higher than in some. The
fact that a man is known to be a
senator or a representative lays him
open to excessive charges, frequent
ly. His bills are expected to be
paid promptly.
A member of congress must make
some outlay in the matter of enter
tanning his constituents when they
come to Washington. If he hap
pens to come from a nearby state,
he probably will have a lot of en-
pertaining of one kind or another
to do. In addition to this, he is
practically compelled to put some
money into his campaign for re-
nomination and re-election-if he
desires to continue in congress.
A member of the House had to
stand for denomination and r~e-elec-
ton once every two years. It may
be that he will nave to put up $1,000
or even $4,000, in one way Or an
other, to keep himself in the lime
light in his district. The senator's
are better off in n way than the
members of the House, they have to
stand for reelection only once every
six years. But on the other hand.
a senator has to cover a whole state
in his campaign for reelection, |
while the member Of the House
must only his congressional
district. So there is not much ad-
vantage one way or another.
At present Uncle Sam is paying
annually in salaries s3.782, 500 to its
435 members of the House and
ninety-six members of the senate.
1t has to pay several delegates and
commissioners from the various
possessions of the United States at
the rate OF $500 a year TOO, which
would Increase the total somewhat.
Tn1S does not lncluQe the mileage
bill, which runs into several hun
bred thousands of dollars. Each
senator and representative receives
so much to bring himself and his
family to Washington each session
of congress and o take them back
home. Salaries and mileage of
congress-. therefore. run to owe
four million dollars. Each member
of ongress is allowed two or three
employees, clerks and secretaries,
and they have to be paid by the
government too.
In the old days, the senate used
to be known as a ~"millionaires'
club There were many men of
wealth in Though it was hardly
fair to charge that it was a million
aires club. There have always been
poor men of great ability in the sem
ate. But today. especially since the
popular election of senators became
he order. many men of moderate
means, some of them with practic-
ally nothing beyond their salaries
have sat in the senate. Some of the
members of the senate and also of
the house are wealthy, but they are
the exception, not the rule. They
are men who have made their for
tunes prior to election to congress,
or have managed to continue their
outside business while in congress.