Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 April 1895 — FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

FIFTY-THIRD CONGRESS.

To Moot -in Short Session JMondajr, -December 3. Seme Trilereitln c Facta Abowt the "Work to Be Performed Between Now and Uatreh 4—Queer Way* of Cesne•ceaefal Candidate*. ' [Special Washington Letter,’] The congress is about to convene and * number of the' representatives- of the ■ people are already here making preparations for the winter. The Fifty-third congress’will expire by constitutional limitation on the 4th day of next March; and therefore the ■ ensuing session,' which will last but three months, will -be called the short session. Al-' i though-the first session of the Fiftyworth- congress will not convene until ' the first Monday of December, 1895, un--1 less especially convened by presidential proclamation, the life Of that congress will'begin on the 4th day of next March, at noon, when the life of the present congress will expire. That is ’to say,- although the next congress will 'uOt’constitutionally convene until December, 1895, the terms of all the members elected to that congress’ in the recent elections will • commence on the 4th day of next March, and their sala- ■ vies will begin on that date. During the nine months intervening between the 4th day of next March and the first Monday of the following ! December each member of congress will be entitled to the sum of $416 every month, which he will draw from the sergeant-at-artns of the house of representatives. During that period of inactivity, so far as legislation is concerned, each member of congress will draw the sum total of $3,744. : There are 356 members of the house of representatives,and the total sum to be ■drawn in salaries by the members of the house during the nine months of legislative inaction will be $1,232,864. There are eighty-eight senators, each of whom will be entitled to the sum of $3,744, so that the total amount to be paid in salaries to the members of the senate the nine months of legislative inaction will be $329,372. Consequent- ■ ly, the sum total to be paid to the members of the senate and house of representatives in salaries during the nine months of legislative inaction will be $1,562,236.

The reader will be astounded at .first with the figures, which show than one and a half millions of .Jailors will be paid to members of the,senate and house during a period If nine months when they are not in session, and are therefore apparently Ifeeiving compensation from the government for doing nothing. As a matter Jof fact, although the senators and representatives will not be in Washington, except as a few of them may come individually to look after departmental affairs, each and every one of them will be diligently engaged in rendering the best possible services to his state and congressional district. Although they may .remain at their homes, every mail will bring to them letters from some of their constituents relating to public business, and it will be the duty of the senators and representatives to attend to the wants and desires of their constituents as expressed in their letters. Although the senators are entitled to annual clerks £o look after the routine part of their business, each and every one of them will be-kept busy during that period of seeming inactivity in attending to the wants of their people. The representatives are not entitled to clerks, except when the house is in session, and therefore there will fall upon each of them an abundance of work of a routine nature which may be presumed to be a great deal more exacting than the labor required of the senators; but inasmuch as each state comprises several congressional districts, the burden of public duty will be about evenly divided. Fortunately, under our system of government the senators and representatives are the servants of a somewhat exacting people, and if they desire to remain in public life they cannot and will not be slucgards and lacgards in tnelr work, Tnererc-c, although it is true that a large sum of money will be thus drawn from the treasury for the payment of the salaries Of the senators and representa-tives,-when we remember the magnitude of the country and the important interests which require the attention of these public servants, we may naturally conclude that the money thus disbursed is properly placed. It is fair to anticipate that during the short session of the congress which is about to, convene a number of our public servants may be indifferent tc national legislation and local interests. Only where a man’s treasure is may it be said that there is his heart also. The many men in public life to-day who failed of renomination last summer, or who recently failed of i reelection at the polls, feeling that their race is run politically, may prove - indifferent to the wants and wishes of their people, and therefore recreant to the trusts which have been committed to • them. This is always the .case diiriv-’ the short sessions of con--fress, and it is fair to presume that indifference and lassitude will mark the ■iourse of at least a few of the unfortu- : late statesmen during the coming wfacn It is not an uncommon thing for nen who have thus politically Gillen ay the wayside.to pack up their traps, CBVC Washington ostensibly for the Uristmas holidays and devote their irtire time, attention and energies to fie preparation of plans for the future, i. is -probable, 'however, that the solilled "docking ’law," which deprives aembers of congress of their salaries (fates* they are actually on duty, may, luring the coming short session, preI rent a great <deal<qf that absenteeism which has been so prevalent upon rimlar occasions’in the past. There are thousands of bills upon the -alcndar of the house, or in the custody jf the regular -eommittees, the miority of them representing claim; igainst the government—and probably a large- percentage of them arc fast claims. They have been introfaced by members of congress in compliance with the wishes of their comitjtuents, and there is great anxiety jonccrning them in every congressional llstrict fa every state of the union. Very few of them will become laws. li night almost be said that none of them yvxll ever run the gauntlet of both jonses of congress and receive the approval of the president. During the short session of congress the committees on appropriations consume the greater portion of the time of. both jonse*. to the almost total exclusion of rtber business. It is primarily neo**wy for the present congress to *onildar and peas bills making *g grip* to tiMO for t l ™ l expooditawef A* ffVRWMk

meat rrom miy V Jcrt * 1896. If this were not done, there would be no money available for the I purposes of government expenditure liter the 30th of next June; andcon<rees’will'not be in session to make ap- ‘ oropriations 'until the following December. Therefore, persons interested fa private bills may as well dismiss ail hope-of their passage during the THftythird -congress. Except in rare fastancesJnothing’bf this can be done. The short session of congress‘will occupy* only 91 days. ‘Under a provision of the- constitution, on the first Monday of December the vice president and the speakffr’wili assume tne gavdl in the senate and fa ’the house, the chaplains will offer prayer in each place and the session will begin. There will be 2f days'of the session fa December, 31 davsifa January. 28 days in February and 4 days in Marcn, making a total ol 91. But congress always adjourns foi 10 ' days in order that the Christmai holidays may be uninterruptedly enjoyed, and -thus there will be but 81 days of -actual legislative work, including Sundays. In that brief spac« of time the -committees on appropriation must consider and place before the senate and the house for discussion and final passage bills appropriating fa tiro aggregate aoout 5500,000,000. mu enormous amount of money must nol be carelessly granted. It must be dis tribute.!’ wisely, so that each bureau o> each executive department shall hav« sufficient, but no more than sufficient, for’■ the actual expenditures required by an economical administration. 11 is a great-trust, a wonderful responsibility which the people commit 'tc their public servants. Naturally, therefore, the subject of appropi iations wAI occupy nearly all of the time oi the statesmen during the coming short .-jjssion. Private bills, the matters fa which single individuals are vitally interested, must be laid aside for the general welfare. By the way, •that isone of the principal state ments set forth by the original constitutional convention over which George, Washington presided. The declaration was made that “we, the people of the United States, in order to form & more perfect union (et cetera), promote the general welfare (et cetera), do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.” Consequently, it may be said that under “the general welfare” clause of the constitution congress acts wisely in attending to the enormous and important appropriation bills, to the exclusion di the just claims of private individuals Smith D. Fby.