UN 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



thin Government existed, always included the 

 lentathres and the Congress in 

 hi.-h the increase was made. We are only 

 following the precedent without exception, tor 

 the plain reason we are supposed by exp.Ti 

 eoc to bare (baud out our salaries are insuf- 

 ficient, and, finding that out, we increase for 

 oar successors as well as for ourselves." 



Mr. Gartiold, of Ohio, said : "1 desire to an- 

 swer some of the points which have been made 

 in support of this amendment. Some of the. 

 salaries referred to in tho amendment, 1 doubt 

 not, are too low perhaps all of them. But I 

 feel it to be HIT duty to call the attention of 

 the committee to the movement of salaries in 

 the lost twelve years. I hold in my hand a 

 statement of salaries other than legislative as 

 they were paid in 1860. The total amount of 

 salaries of officers of this Government in the 

 several Executive departments here in Wash- 

 ington in 1860 was 9809,864.67. The war so 

 greatly increased our civil service that now in 

 ar just closed, in the calendar year 1872, 

 the total for the same classes of salaries with 

 the increase of bureaus that have been put on 

 the various departments, was $3,598,978.85 ; 

 being an increase of $2,789,118.68. 



"Now, the fact that the salaries of the of- 

 ficers of the Government other than legislative 

 have been thus increased in the twelve years 

 is a fact that the House ought to know. And 

 when it is proposed to increase the salaries by 

 a sum I think somewhere in the neighborhood 

 of a million and a half or two millions of dol- 

 lars in one amendment, I feel it to he my duty 

 to show them what the total of tho salaries 

 will be. 1 of course believe that the propor- 

 tions in this amendment ought to bo separated. 

 Some of them gentlemen ought doubtless to 

 vote for. Hot to pass that amendment in the 

 lump, as laid before the committee now, I do 

 not think it just, I do not think it equitable, 

 and I do not think the House will do it; it 

 onirlit not to be dor,. 



Mr. Dawea, of Massachusetts, said: "I offer 

 this as a substitute for the amendment pro- 

 posed by my colleague." 



The Clerk read as follows: 



That from and *fter the lit day of January, 1978, 

 tfcare aboil be paid, in addition to their compensation 

 now Bled by law, twenty-fire per cent, of (lie name 

 In aiMition thereto u compcnoation tn all offiri-m in 

 tho MTeral cuntom-houMi of the I'nitod State", 

 whoM anno*] romneniation an now fixed by law 

 dM not noted H,&00 per annum. 



Mr. Bnrcharil. of Illinois, said: "I should 

 be pleased to hear what plea can be urged 

 by gentlemen at this time in favor of an in- 

 crease of salaries. Is it because the purchasing 

 power of money in 1873 is lem than it was in 

 1864 and 1866, when nor currency wn<i 

 elated f Is it because there is more businesK to 

 be done by the employes of the Government and 

 by members of Congress than there was fit tlmt 

 time I Is U because the Treasury is now fjnuhcr 

 It has bctnf What do you seef Why, 



that only during the month of January the 

 Treasury balance hud decreased ; and perhaps, 

 if you go ou appropriating increased million--, 

 you will find that, instead of having mi\ MU-- 

 plus to apply to a reduction of the debt, .tour 

 Treasury will fall short. Is this the proper 

 time to increase salaries? 



" 1 admit that there is force in the propor- 

 tion to increase the President's salary, Lul un- 

 fortunately the Constitution does nut pirn.it 

 it. The tirst suction of article two ol 'tin 

 gtitution provides that 



The President shall, at stated times, n ci ! 

 his aervicea a compensation, winch shall mi: 

 increased nor diminished during tin-). rid ii.rwhich 

 he shall havu l-n-n rKvud, and U- nliall not n 

 within that pi-rind any other cnjoluuiuil 1'roui ibu 

 United States, or any of them. 



" He has been elected President for his sec- 

 ond term. He may not have been inaugurated. 

 but he has already been elected, and that 

 would prevent our increasing his salary." 



Mr. Dawes said: "I desire only to complete 

 what I was saying when I last occupied the 

 fioor. I oppose this amendment because it la-- 

 gins at the wrong end, and raise.- the compen- 

 sation of those who now have the highest com- 

 pensation. 



" I do it because, upon looking into the re- 

 ceipts and expenditures of the Government, 1 

 M-C- that it is utterly impossible for us to raise 

 all these salaries. I have a stall-mint of tin- 

 receipts and expenditures of the lust i|iinitir 

 of the years 1871 and 1872. From that state- 

 ment I learn that in that last quarter nU m- 

 we have fallen behind in our receipt- the HUH 

 of $8,585,169.94. And although we hist vein- 

 paid $100,000,000 of the public debt. c<ih 

 month for the last quarter we hove been run- 

 ning behind, and the public debt is being in- 

 creased. Yet with the public debt being in- 

 creased, with the receipts over the expendi- 

 tures this year falling short of the receipts of 

 last year a't the rate of some $27,000,00(1, we 

 propose to increase not only the sn)nri< 

 members of the next Congress, but of members 

 of this Congress. 



" We propose the first thing after the presi- 

 dential election not only to increase the sala- 

 ries of members of the next Congress and of 

 this Congress at the rate of $8,000 a year each, 

 but we leave all these under officers ot the (iov- 

 ernincnt who need this increase of coin] 

 tion without the slightest provision for it. 

 Now, I call the attention of the members of the 

 House, and of those who are looking on this 

 night, to tin- fact that the (irst thing we do is 

 to take care of our own salaries, while we 

 leave the salaries of those upon whose integrity 

 and fidelity the whole revenue service of this 

 country depends entirely uncared for and un- 

 provided for." 



Mr. I in tier, of Massachusetts, said: " As my 

 colleague (Mr. Dawes) has offered his ninend- 

 ment as a substitute for mine, I must in 

 nire it If he had offered it simply as an ad- 



