CONGRESSMEN’S LUXURIES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2419, 6 February 1909, Page 11 (Supplement)

CONGRESSMEN’S LUXURIES.

Each member of the House of Representatives and of the Senate (says ‘M.A.P.’) .gets .a salary of £1,500 a year. In addition, ho is -allowed £2o for stationery, and, what is the nicest of -aid, he has £3OO -a year for a secretary. Each member of the House of Representatives has a room, all to himself and his private secretary. But, excellent as this is, it is nothing in comparison to what the senator has in the way of luxury, as this extract by the Washington correspondent) of the /Morning Post will prove:—“Each senator is to be £•- von a suite of two rooms and a bath, the latter to be appreciated in the semi-tropical heat of midsummer in Washington, when to obtain, even a semblance of comfort clothes must be changed two or three times a day. Congress seldom rises until the end of June, and frequently later, and June in the American capital is no leafy month with .gentle breezes to temper the mild heat. There is. always a great deal of humidity, and the slightest exertion produces .perspiration, and a bath ,give.s pleasing but only temporary reilief. There is a barber's shop where senators may bo shaved ■without cost, and there is a large and a-very handsome dining room reserved exclusively for senatorial use, where meals will be served at a moderate price, as the dining room contractor pays no rent, and is furnished free heat and light and several: other incidentals.” /