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Show Congressional Payroll 4 Loaded With Relatives Press Survey Reveals Common Practice of Congressmen, Senators To Favor Relatives For Office Jobs Told By Senator Thomas, Oklahoma. , By RAYMOND CLAPPER (Copyright 1932 by United Press) WASHINGTON, April 23 (U.R) Congress is getting off fairly easy in the agitation for government economy be-cause be-cause nobody, not even President Hoover, can investigate that distinguished body of the people's representatives. But if congress should ever break down and tell all, as Senator Elmer Thomas, Dem., Okla., has done to the United , Press, the result would be informative, if nothing more. It would show not graft heaven forbid ! but senators sena-tors and congressmen putting their wives, daughters, sons, brothers, brothers-in-law, nieces and step-children on the congressional payroll as secretaries and clerks. ices. He said he now has two extra temporary .employees who are costing cost-ing him about $50 a week out of his own pocket. He said he has to take a clerk home with him during summer vacations and pay all of her expenses. It would show that many of these S favored relatives actually' work. It would show that others do not, except on payday. One senator from the farm belt state would be revealed bringing in a niece who, with six months business busi-ness college training, was placed on his office payroll last summer at a salary higher than, was paid for veteran stenographers in the same office. Rep. Rankin, Democrat, Miss., chairman of the World war veterans vet-erans committee of the house, would be shown maintaining as secretary sec-retary of that committee a capable young man who until recently was also serving as a newspaper correspondent cor-respondent in Jackson, Miss. He came back to Washington a few days ago. Last summer congress was in recess. re-cess. There was no session for nine months. Many senators locked their offices and had their mail forwarded. for-warded. Business was at a minimum. mini-mum. Yet Senator Park Trammel, Tram-mel, Dem., Fla., whose business never is heavy, maintained his four clerks, two of them Trammels, one a brother, on the office payroll. This is not to single him out. He traveled in numerous company. Each senator is allowed four office of-fice employees at fixed salaries ranging from $1,800 up to $3,000 a year. Most often the relatives get the high salaries and a Washington Wash-ington girl is hired to carry the heavier load of work. If !t Ira't a relative, then it is a political heeler heel-er from back home who Is apt to get the big money. Many, during the slack season, put members of the family on the payroll and keep ony one working clerk to watch the office and forward mail. Senator Elmer Thomas of Okla- ' homa had his wife on the payroll as his secretary until November 30 last. She drew the highest salary, $3,900 a year. "She worked, though she wasn't a slave and didn't punch a time clock," Thomas explained, when the United Press asked him about it. "I realize it looked bad to have Mrs. Thomas on the payroll as my secretary, sec-retary, but it was done only as a matter of necessity." He explained that he had used part of Mrs. Thomas' salary to supplement salaries of two of his other clerks when his quarters were small and they were compelled com-pelled to carry a much heavier load. When he obtained larger offices last fall, he said, Mrs. Thomas was taken off the payroll and another clerk was added in her place. The senator was quite pleasant and willingly explained at length how his larger offices enabled him to dispense with Mrs. Thomas' serv- |