The Wilmington morning star., 1944-08-09
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER

NEW YORK, Aug. 8.-The wife of one Of the
Republican governors at Tom Dewey's St. Lou
is seminar ran loose at the lip with a sugges
ton that any statesmans loving little treasure
who wouldn't help her old man with his letters
without publie pay, ought to get divorce
She was talking about Mrs. Harry Truman
who has been drawing $4,000 year from the
government for such work.
Deplorable as it is for its nastiness, this
remark might do some good, nevertheless For
one thing, it should embolden other husbands
in the campaign, on both sides, to call up their
manhood and issue orders as to who is to do
the talking and who is to keep quiet.
Not all husbands face this problem of mari
tai discipline and none could hope to carry
the burden of political blame for meddlesome
statements that President Roosevelt has borne
SO lightly for twelve years. But Mrs. Roosevelt
is unique and special case She has adver.
tised and endorsed shows and books and com.
nlunist persons and projects, called her hus.
band the ruler of the American people
given aid and comfort to rackets and racketeer:
and journeyed far at public expense in the
hitherto non political and almost holy habit
of the Red Cross
BAD PRACTICE
But this extra emphasis on the Trumans
arrangement for the collection of some petty
white graft may be salutary in another way,
too. 1t calls attention to a snide and disreput-
able practice which the members Of both houses
OF Congress have resorted to as pathetic com
promise between decent dignity and the neces.
sites of their economic condition.
Although Congress is supposed to be the mas
ter of its problems, any proposal and every
vote to raise their salaries to fair Level
would be unfairly condemned as self-serving
act Only lame duck or man determined
to retire could take responsibility for such 9
bill and those who voted for it would be ham
mered in their home districts for unconscious
able greed even though it were designed te
take effect at future session.
Congressman's pay of 1000 should be rails
ed to $25, 900 at once.
He runs for office every two years The cam
paign expense varies but is, on the average
$1,000 year. It may be more if he has to stand
a primary contest and some rivals run In
primaries with no hope of winning but only tc
cause the incumbent expense. In presidential
years some of them get help from their nation
al organizations but this is not necessarily
generous and is never RELIABLE
The statesman gets 20 cents mile to ano
from a session but many of them make four
or five trips a year to their home districts
and none of this political expense is deductible
in their income tax returns Neither is the
expense of living in Washington for 200 or
more days a year which, with unavoidable
touches and the cost Of entertaining, will be
about $4,000, although statesmen, executives and
the like may charge off such amounts Mean
time he maintains a real home in his district
where he must be substantial citizen and
nowadays. the sessions are so long that his pri
vate law practice or other business wanes o,
dies of neglect.
In granting the raise the people in effect
would be substituting the political expenses Of
their servants. That sounds worse than it is
and anyway, the people are doing it now and
as for the hold-the-lne order and the little stee
formula. it should be remembered that prac
tcallv all labor is receiving inflationary pay
sidney Hillman recently got raise Of $4,000
YEAR from his clothing workers at con
vention attended and addressed, of course, by
MRS. R. The reason public opinion condones
this nepotisn is that we all know the ex
nenses of the position and the price levels O.
the time call for. The people, in this case. are
in no positi1p to pull shoots at the Humans