Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-05-20

Mr.. william Randolph Hearst
The Los Angeles Examiner, I
Los Angeles, California.
Dear Mr.. Hearst:
7 COOKING down upon the hall
II of the House of Representa-
tives the other day, from a seat
In the press gallery, my memo
ries went back TO an earlier time
when 1 was serving my appren-
ticeship i'm that gallery and looked
down upon House, which, IL
seems TO me, was a finer and more
splendid--yes, and a more patriotic
body of men.
g As my eyes swept the floor of
the House l could not see seated
there single man who, I'm my
Judgment, as of today, measured
In stature with those who had
been seated there, let us say, In
the fifty-eighth Congress- which
met In the late Autumn OF 1908.
1 think you will understand
what 1 mean, for l very vividIy
recall your own tall commanding
figure among the members Of the
House in that Congress, now close
upon forty years into history.
IT struck me as curious thing
that I could recall the names and
the faces OF great number OF
your colleagues in that Congress.
They must have left something
very worth while I'm my mind "a
remembered 50 clearly today.
Many of your associates in the
fifty-eighth Congress, ii seems To
me, were far more rugged In their
sturdy Amcrieanism than are their
success0rs In the seyenty-seventh
Congress.
I cannot help but feel that you
were In far better company, in
tellectually and spiritually, when
you were tall, slender young
congressman from New York
City district, than you would find
Yourself in were you member
Of the House today.
The late Speaker Tom Reed,
who left the Capitol scene just
n was entering upon IL. once
said that II you could dig deeply
enough into the background of
every member OF the House YOU
would find an excellent reason to
explain why he was there.
This was certainly very largely
. true of that Congress In which
you made your first appearance.
But l regret to say that one might
penetrate the background of many
OF the members OF the House to-
day and find no explanation of
their presence there except the
fact that they needed the job and
knew how 10 20 about getting IL.
think the salary of congress
men was only $4,000 a year in
1903, and for some years there
after. But certainly the American
people could command more talent
then for the smaller sum than
they can obtain now for $4,000
year.
However this il not the whole
value Of the congressional job to-
day 10 many, many members.
They get all sorts of perquIsites
That the congressman of an earlier
generation never dreamed Of
When YOU were in the House
YOU had single secretary. and
IL YOU wanted 10 dictate letter
TO constituent YOU probably
went out into Statuary Hall, threw
an arm around the marble neck of
Ethan Allen. and thus attended TO
49, oas lsorras;s@r as;,,a.~ :es ,soa. ,s,,.'ss
no private office. of your own
Today every congressman mas n
suite Of Offices and stan of
clerks and secretaries, and In too
many Instances for the welfare of
this country, the great statesman
has half the members of his own
family on the government payroll.
Tn short, II seems 10 me that
being congressman has become
such soft thing. worth upwards
OF $4,000 year to lucky con-
gressionaI family, that the aver
age politician would do any thing,
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