cating], where Mr. Woods is, and we have to police the grounds. These men are divided into three details of 24 men each. Mr. TAWNEY. Is the Capitol and grounds policed twenty-four hours in the day? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir; and we have two bicycle policemen. Mr. LIVINGSTON. What suggestion have you to make in regard to equalizing the salaries? Mr. Casson. I have no suggestions except that I think it ought to be done. Mr. LITTAUER. How many hours are they on duty ? Mr. CASSON. They are on duty twelve hours and twenty-four hours off. Mr. LITTAUER. How many men do you have on duty at night? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir; I have three men who do nothing but police my office. During the sessions of the House it takes 10 men on detail in the corridors and by the elevators on the House side. Those are permanent details during the sessions of the House. Mr. LIVINGSTON. Have you any connection with the outside police department? Mr. CASSON. No, sir. The Metropolitan police give us considerable assistance sometimes; but when you take into consideration that the Senate has 90 messengers, at $1,440 a year, who stay here a little part of the time, and some of them not any of the time, it does not seem to me that 72 policemen is a very large number to take care of the buildings and the outside grounds. Mr. TAWNEY. You say the outside grounds. What is the area of the grounds policed? Mr. CASSON. Just the Capitol and grounds and the outside buildings. The Maltby takes three men. Mr. TAWNEY. Does that include the Library ? Mr. CASSON. No, sir. Mr. TAWNEY. And the Botanical Garden is not included? Mr. CASSON. No, sir; only the Capitol building and the Senate warehouse and the Maltby Building. It takes eight men to police the grounds, at night, and the balance of the detail-one is over at the Maltby, one over at the Senate warehouse, and the balance are in the building, one at the Senate door, one at the House door, one in Statuary Hall, and one at my office as a guard. Mr. TAWNEY. You speak of having three men in your office-not all at the same time? Mr. CASSON. No, sir; one man at a time. Mr. TAWNEY. But you have a guard there all the time-twentyfour hours ? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir; that is almost necessary if we are going to carry any money there. Mr. LITTAUER. You have the money in a safe? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. TAWNEY. What facilities have you for getting the money from the Treasury ? Mr. CASSON. Not any. Mr. TAWNEY. How do you get it from the Treasury ? Mr. CASSON. We send down to the Treasury on a street car or walks down. Mr. TAWNEY. What does he bring up, the money or the draft Mr. CASSON. The money; and it sometimes amounts to as much a $100,000. Mr. TAWNEY. You say that sometimes he brings up as much as $100,000? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. TAWNEY. In a bag from the Treasury? Mr. CASSON. In a satchel. Mr. TAWNEY. Do you think that is a safe way to carry the money? Mr. CASSON. No, sir. I called the attention of the committee to it several years ago that I did not regard it as safe. Mr. LITTAUER. Is he accompanied by a policeman? Mr. CASSON. Occasionally I send a man with him when there is any large amount, but there is not a great deal of protection even if you have two men. We have never had any trouble about that. Mr. LIVINGSTON. Are they armed? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir; he has a revolver with him. I think they have on the Senate side an appropriation of $750 for that purpose. Mr. TAWNEY. How do they do it? Mr. CASSON. They allow the Secretary of the Senate $750. I think it is for carriage hire in order to bring the money from the Treasury. Mr. TAWNEY. What suggestions have you to make in regard to that situation? Mr. CASSON. I have not any suggestion to make about it. I called the attention of the committee to it. I forget whether it was Senator Hemenway who told me, "If your messenger is knocked down and robbed we will have to give you relief." It would be very embarrassing to have to ask for relief. Mr. LITTAUER. It has been going on for a good many years in this way? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. You stated a moment ago that all the policemen should receive the same salary? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir; they all do the same work, identically the same work. Mr. LITTAUER. They are appointed at one salary or the other, arbitrarily? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir; I have tried as far as I could to follow the rule of appointing at the lowest grade and then promoting. Mr. LITTAUER. Is there any rule? Mr. CASSON. The rule we have made as far as we could make it, and that rule has only been set aside in a few instances, for instance, where we could do it, by holding a man from the District of Columbia at $900 and appointing some man from the outside at $960. Mr. TAWNEY. You have on the police force now residents of the District of Columbia? Mr. CASSON. There is none on my force, but there are quite a number on the Senate end. Mr. LITTAUER. Do you know anything about the rule as to the Metropolitan force in regard to the graduation of salaries? Mr. CASSON. No. Do you know about that Mr. Babcock? Mr. COURTS. That is the present system. Next come the sergeants, and they get about $100 more, and then the lieutenants. Mr. LIVINGSTON. If you put these men on all fours and raise them from $986.663 to $1,000, there would be only a slight increase in the appropriation? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. BRICK. Is there any argument in this, that a policeman is liable to improve after having been here one or two or three years and become a more valuable man than one who is new in the business? Mr. CASSON. He usually does or else drops out. We drop a great many men from the force for inefficiency. Mr. BRICK. Is that not an argument that there ought to be two classes, one getting higher pay than the other? Mr. CASSON. I do not think there is. My experience is that the best policemen we get are the young men who are brought in from the country. Mr. LIVINGSTON. And get the lowest salary? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. BRICK. Then, according to your theory, the longer they are here and the more experienced they are, the more liable they are to be worth less? Mr. CASSON. I would say that I would rather take the young policeman off the farm than pick up the fellows from the cities. The CHAIRMAN. You have two clerks in charge of pairs at $1,400 each. Mr. CASSON. Yes. Mr. LITTAUER. If I understand you properly, you desire to call one of them a deputy sergeant-at-arms? Mr. CASSON. I want to call him an assistant sergeant-at-arms in charge of pairs. Mr. LITTAUER. Assistant sergeants-at-arms are usually called deputies? Mr. CASSON. I have one deputy, and then there is another suggestion. I want to make the minority pair clerk an assistant sergeant-at-arms, to be selected by the minority. He ought to have that title because very frequently I have to send him away. Mr. TAWNEY. He is now called a pair clerk? Mr. CASSON. No; he is called a minority employee under the House resolution. He is under the Doorkeeper. His duties have nothing to do with the Doorkeeper. He really should be on the roll of the Sergeant-at-Arms. As far as that is concerned, I do not believe Mr. Lyon would object at all. Mr. BRICK. What would you call him? Mr. CASSON. An assistant sergeant-at-arms, to be selected by the minority. He is a special employee now. Mr. LITTAUER. How many clerks are there in charge of pairs? Mr. LITTAUER. And this assistant sergeant-at-arms, to be designated by the minority, should also be provided for under your office, rather than under the Doorkeeper? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. There are two under my office now; but the duties of the other one really come under me, and I do not think there is any objection on the part of the Doorkeeper. LE AND J-06-2 Mr. LITTAUER. Does he to-day receive his instructions from you? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. The minority has charge of him. He comes to me for anything not political. Mr. LITTAUER. What is he called? Mr. CASSON. Special chief page. Mr. LIVINGSTON. As to the policemen. Their salaries at $85 a month would amount to $1,020 a year; that is as near as you can come to it. Eighty-three dollars thirty-three and one-third cents would be just $1,000 a year; but that might cause some trouble in making change and keeping the books; but if you make the salary $85 it would be $1,020? Mr. CASSON. That would be much better than it is now, Colonel. Mr. LITTAUER. You want to call this man we have just been talking about an assistant sergeant-at-arms to be selected by the minority ? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. You disburse the miscellaneous funds? Mr. CASSON. No; I only disburse the members' salaries and the mileage. Mr. LITTAUER. I notice that you have an item of postage in connection with your office, $200? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. Is that sufficient for the work? Mr. Casson. I have not kept close track, but, in my opinion, it is not. I have kept track of how it runs during the recess, and I think it runs short. Mr. LITTAUER. But you do not know how much? Mr. CASSON. No; I can not tell you exactly. Mr. LITTAUER. Do you suppose on the monthly postage it will run from $75 to $100? Mr. CASSON. Yes, sir. Mr. TAWNEY. You have no franking privilege at all? Mr. CASSON. No, sir. Mr. BRICK. You think $300 will cover it? Mr. CASSON. I think it would just about fairly cover it, Mr. Brick. Mr. LITTAUER. Are there any other items of appropriation under you? Mr. CASSON. No, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. Do you desire to comment at all upon the work in connection with your force? Mr. CASSON. No, sir; there is not anything that I desire to say unless you gentlemen want some information. I have a good working force and I think it gives very good satisfaction to all the members. They do the work well. We never have any trouble about it and I would not care to change the force. Mr. BRICK. You have not a great many men ? Mr. CASSON. No, sir. In fact, sometimes I am short. If I have a man sick I am in trouble. I have had two men sick lately, and it has bothered us a great deal. WEDNESDAY, February 7, 1906. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, OFFICE OF DOOR KEEPER. STATEMENT OF MR. FRANK B. LYON, DOORKEEPER. Mr. LITTAUER. Will you please describe the organization of your force, the various branches that are in your charge, and how the personnel is organized thereunder? Mr. LYON. I will start first with my document-room force. Mr. LITTAUER. How many bureaus have you under your department? Mr. LYON. The document room, the folding room, the page force, and the messengers. Mr. LITTAUER. Have you any janitor force? Mr. LYON. The laborers' roll and janitors. Mr. LITTAUER. You have five distinct categories of work? Mr. LYON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. The document room, the folding room, the pages, the messengers, and janitors? Mr. LYON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. Kindly take up each one of those departments. DOCUMENT ROOM. Mr. LYON. In the document room I have eight assistants, besides the superintendent and the assistant superintendent. Mr. TAWNEY. The assistants are clerks in the document room? Mr. LYON. "Assistants in the document room," that is the wording of the legislative bill. There are eight of them. Mr. BURLESON. It is here marked nine. Mr. LYON. One of them is Joel Grayson, carried by special resolution. I have no jurisdiction over him. Mr. LITTAUER. Your organization of the document room is superintendent, assistant superintendent, and nine assistants? Mr. LYON. Yes, sir; and the one assistant I have no jurisdiction over. He is carried by resolution-Mr. Grayson. Mr. BURLESON. Mr. Lyon, I notice in the bill a provision for nine assistants, and that Mr. Grayson is provided in an item immediately below that, and I notice also that the salary of one of the assistants is fixed at $1,600, two at $1,400, one at $1,200, and five at $1,000, making nine. Mr. Grayson is provided for by a salary of $1,800. Mr. LYON. I have left out the one at $1,200. There is one at $1,600, two at $1,400, one at $1,200, and five at $1,000. Mr. LITTAUER. Is the work sufficient to keep that number busy? Mr. LYON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. You make these appointments? Mr. LYON. Yes, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. They are not under the control of any civil-service rules? Mr. LYON. No, sir. Mr. LITTAUER. They are annual appointments? |