Year: 1873

EIHE 9ttahAs


In course of the discussion in Con
gress on the biIl to increase the .sala-
ries of members and other Govern
ment officers, Senator Scott Of Penn
sylyania made the following sensible
remarks, which viii be endorsed by
every thoughtful reader:


sMr. President, I intend to vote to
recommit this report. and have thus
far RETAINED from saying anything on
the subject; but I can no longer re-
frain from saying few words, giving
the reasons why I shall do SO.


1t is very evident that the interest
upon this question concentrates al
most entirely upon that part of the
proposed Legislation which affects the
pay of members of Congress. That
is the only increased pay which is
proposed to be made retroactive
While there is q constitutional pro-
hibition against legislating for the
increase or decrease of the salary of
the President during his term of
Office, there is no such prohibition
with reference to any other officer or
person named in the bill, and what
has been already said has been well
applied in reprobation of this practice
Of carrying the pay backward.


Mr.. Carpenter. VIII my friend al
low me to interrupt him a moment
and remind him that the members of
the Cabinet during the last four years
have had more pay than we propose
to put up for ourselves even in the
future? Their salary has been $4,000,
and we only propose to put ours at
$500. They have their pay for four
years, and we shall have ours for two;
that is the difference.


Mr.. Scott. I am aware of that;
but the difference between the mem
Der of the Cabinet and the member
of Congress is still observed, and
you raise the salary of the member of
the Cabinet, putting him at still more
than the member of Congress; and
if he is worth more for the future,
why is he notworth more for the past
as well as the member of Congress


We are legislating on this subject,
I fear, in a bad atmosphere, and what
I say I say perhaps from some old
fashioned notions that l have imbibed
on this subject; but nevertheless I
must say it. 1 fear that when we get
to Washington, where we are in the
habit Of attending dinners-or if not
in the habit do at least occasionally
attend dinners-that cost five hun
dred or a thousand dollars, 'and we
see mode of l:fe that is so entirely
beyond the means of the average peo-
pie of the country that we feel per
haps little reflection that we are not
able to live up to it, and we get the
idea that our salaries ought to be put
up to such a figure as to enable the
members of Congress here to live as
well as those who are much better off
in the goods of this world than the
average members of Congress can
hope to be at home.


Now, sir, salaries for members of
Congress are not made for the pur-
pose of actual compensation. Every
body knows that; and no one better
than the Senator from Wisconsin,
who enjoyed a very lucrative practice
and whose talents and abilities entitle
him to it. He did not leave his prac-
tice and come here for the purpose Of
making money by being a member of
Congress. Everybody knows that
men who are engaged in large bust
ness enterprises, the heads of large
mercantile or manufacturing estab-
lishments, those who are in any large
business that brings them in great
money returns, do not leave them and
become members of Congress for the
purpose of making money. When
we come to fix the salary of members
of Congress, if we fix it at a price
which does not exclude from that