The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-06-12
CONGRESSMAN ARE.
REQUIRED TO PAY
FOR THEIR EATS
SHOWN THAT GENERAL PUB
Lie BELIEVE THAT Gov
EMINENT OR TAXPAYERS
PAY FOR FOOD
BY JACK sTTNNETT
APP Feature Service writer


APP Feature Service writer
WASHINGTON. June 1.-THE
! House of Representatives went
on a "don't-get-us-wrong" jag
the other day and you would
have thought these "often hon.
estly misunderstood" gentlemen
were on a nationwide broadcast
to their constituents instead of
just talking among themselves.
! 1t came about when Rep. John
w. Mccormack of Massachusetts,
brought to the floor a bill to APP
propriate $4,000 to set up a
branch of the Capitol House res
taurant in the House office build
ring, just across the street to the
south of the Capitol.
Mr.. Mccormack explained the
necessity in detail: 1t seems that
every lunch hour the congress-
men, their guests and office en-
ployes have been getting into
that old "can't-get-a-seat-can't-
get-any-service" trouble. (The
congressman should come with
me any noon down to the War
Department, Interior or half a
dozen other departmental cafe
terias. I'd show them what real
trouble is in trying to get served
in the 80 minutes most govern
ment workers are allowed for
lunch.)
at is believed, Mr. McCor-
mack elucidated. "that if this
restaurant is established, good
part of our own office force
would eat there and in this way
relieve the situation that exists
in the restaurant downstairs"
No Free Meals
II was then that Rep. Earl c.
Kitchener Of Michigan started
the avalanche, with: "The gen.
tleman has suggested that the
people eating in the restaurant
lin the Capitol) are usually
guests of members of the House.
II want it understood, of course,
that they are guests and the
checks are paid by the individual
members of the House. There are
no free meals for members or
guests.
I'VE ofttimes receive letters as
we'll as see newspaper comments
(not i'm these columns. Mr.. Mich
enerD that members of the House
enjoy this restaurant and that the
government or the taxpayers pay
for the food. OF course, we all
know that this is not true and in
this new restaurant there is to be
no food furnished anyone for
nothing"
MIR. Mccormack said that he
was happy Mr.. Kitchener had
made that contribution, because
there is an awful lot of honest
misunderstanding in all our dis
tricts. Some people honestly
think we all live at the White
House. for example. and some
people think that our hotel ex-
penses are paid, including bar
bers and everything else.
From Rush To Stampede
BY this time, the idea had
caught on. The rush to explain
honest misunderstanding" on
the part of the folks back home
became q stampede.
Rep. August II. Anderson of
Minnesota contributed: "A good
many people also have the idea
that members of Congress do not
pay any income taxes or other
taxes.
Rep. James r. O'Connor of
Montana rushed in to explain
that prices charged in the House
restaurant to congressman are
just the same as the prices charg-
cd the public Gas Washington
restaurant prices 90. they are
neither high nor low.)
Mr. O'Connos wanted it ex-
planned also that members of
Congress enjoy no free use OF
telephones. Mr.. Mccormack cx-
planned. The only free use of tele-
phones the congressman get is on
calls made from their offices to
points in the District Of CoIum-