Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 188, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 August 1910 — PROPOSITION TO REFUSE TO DRAW THE SALARY. [ARTICLE]

PROPOSITION TO REFUSE TO DRAW THE SALARY.

Babcock Thinks It Would Be Great For Couneilmdn, but Democratic Congressman Don’t Do It. We were downright sure that Babcock would suggest that the present councilmen make good on those resolutions by refusing to draw the salaries and the proposition was made last week just as we expected it would be. Did you ever hear of a democrat paying anything back into the treasury that he had once extracted. An instance of illustration is at hand. One of the present democratic congressmen in Indiana is Henry A. Barnhart, of Rochester, the 13th district. He was elected to succeed Abraham L. Brick, republican, who died during his term of office. After Brick’s death and before Barnhart was inducted into office, salary to the amount of $4,500 accrued. Mr. Barnhart did not earn it, he had never done a thing for it, nor written an official letter nor seconded a motion, but he went right down to Washington and drew the money. Every republican paper in his district called the attention of the people to it, just wouldn’t let him off. He was told he could put it back in the treasury if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to; he just froze on to it like a good democrat always does. That was, to be sure, a private action of Mr. Barnhart’s, but the democrats of his district made it their act by renominating him with a big whoop and indorsing his administration, which included the taking of the $4,500 which he had not earned. With this instance close at hand, it required a lot of nerve, yes, real gall, to suggest that the Rensselaer councilmen each turn back S3O a year of their meager salaries. The councilmen were nominated at separate conventions from the one