Evening star., 1938-01-02
DELUXE MILEAGE
SURVIVES FIGHTS
Economy Arguments Lose
: to Horse and Buggy
Rate of 20 Cents.
BY WILLIAM M. PINKERTON.
Associated Press Staff Writer,

tNA>A Ooo VIC SO1AGllCAU 611u OdSh. x1t
could keep the car.
This de luxe delivery service fol
lawmakers is made possible by q 20
cent-a-mile allowance for the round
trip from home to Washington and
back again. A West Coast Congress.
man gets about $1,000 each session;
. . New York City man gets about 500;
Representative Smith of Virginia gets
: $500. He lives across the Potomac, a
!. few miles away. Delegate King Of
Hawaii is top man; he gets $2,05480.
Just now. some members who stayed
tn Washington for Christmas, are pre-
/, pairing to pocket an extra piece OF
change. because they get paid for the
trip home whether they make 1t or not
Already they have been paid once fol
the special session.
/, Some to Return Money.
Some members have announced
however. that they will return to the
Treasury the mileage paid them fol
! the special session:
. The 20-cents-a-mile policy was
adopted long before inventors thought
. up the automobile. Horse cars plodded
F. through Washington streets and In
dian fighters guarded prairie coaches
. when Congress first voted its members
, such an allowance for travel to the
. Capital and home again by the near
: est route usually travelled"
, Students say that only twice in his
, tory has Congress gone through . ses-
! sion without collecting its cash on the
line for transportation. In 1851, q
: special session was called right after
, the Inauguration Of President Millard
Fillmore. and no transportation pay
. was provided. Once during the World
. War. a special session merged with q
regular session, and no extra mileage
, pay was voted.
On the other hand. the story is told
, that Congress adjourned its ship SUBJ
, sidy" special session in 1922 at 1850
, a m. and met anew in a regular session
| 10 minutes later because members
feared they would lose their mileage on
: the extra session.
, Opinion Divided.
, Some Congressman think the mile
, age is too high; but others contend
they should be paid for every official
trip they make back to their home
F.. bailiwicks and not Just for the trip at
the end of session. Most OF them
seem to be satisfied with things as they
are.
You take the average Congress-
man." says Kenneth Romney, sergeant
at arms Of the House, "and he spends
more money on ofncial trips than he
gets in mileage. With the increase of
Federal activities he must keep in
closer touch with his community.
There's no graft in the thing at all,
and the tendency to regard it as such
is unfair"
=. Occasionally some member has tried
to get the mileage cut When the
economy act was passed Congress did
cut its travel allowance to Is cents a
mile. When the economy cuts were
restored the mileage went back to 20
cents. ,.-
Borah Economy Defeated.
! Senator Borah of Idaho won IS
votes for his depression proposal to
cut the travel allowance to S cents 4
mile. He declared, I'VE are not en-
titled to 20 cents a mile at any time,
much less at this time" The ~ votes
against him defeated the proposal.
Representative Mitchell of Tennes-
see, who has been urging a cut in
mileage since his election in 1890, won
: one other man last March to his sug-
agestion for slicing the allowance in
half. The vote was 81 to 2.
. No new member gets paid his mile
age until he actually shows up In the
chamber of House or Senate. Once his
name Is on the rolls the lawmakers
allowance both for the trip in and the
. trip out is paid him automatically in
% lump sum.
/ Inc story IS told of one Middle
Western Senator who cut this corner
very neatly some years back. He
was making . lecture tour of the
country when q special session Of Con-
gress was called. He couldn't aban-
oon his lectures, but he routed his trip
, to bring him into Washington lust a
day or two before the session ended
He got the mileage.
Nobody knows just how 20 cent?
mile was hit upon as the proper pay for
travelling lawmaker. This sum was
frst provided in 1866 as q small item
IN an omnibus bill providing "addi-
tlonal appropriations and "sundrv
expenses"
Congressman have received some
travel pay since the early days Of the
Republic. In 17e5 they received $6 for
every 20 miles.
At present the legislators Of four
States share with Congress the 20
cents-a-mile standard. Other States
pay mileage ranging down to S cents.
Some opponents of the 20-cent
mileage say it was originally intended
to meet "horse and buggy" conditions
in the days Of toll gates and hacks"
when considerable time was required
to get to Washington"
Defenders Of the present rate reply
tnat 20 cents mile Is none too much
Tor q man who must move his family
and household goods to the Capital.
maintain homes both here and in his
own district, and meet the hirh cost
OF living in Washington. They con-
slider it part of the Congressman's
pay.
Tried and True Arguments,
Most Of the arguments pro and con
have not changed much since 1874.
when the mileage issue was debated in
connection with the so-called SALARY
grab" Congress had voted in 1873 to
increase its pay retroactively by $2,5oo
year. providing that this shall be In
lieu Of all pay and allowances, except
actual travelling expenses from their
homes to the seat Of Government and
return"
Such . howl went up over the salary
Increase that Is bills were introduced
In one day to repeal it.
"The total mileage for that year
(1873) was $sl $685." argued Haw-
ley Of Connecticut. IT we deduct
from that 5 cents a mile, which would
AvAHIv rauAp Sat,,a1