Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1852-05-21
Afrnid oLrfithe Seen.

ent, aud, as Tar as practicable, the anticipated
expenses TO be paid for such printing during the
present session Of the General Assembly up to
the 81 Of May, 1859; and also The amount
which has been paid for printing at this ses.
sion.
81. A statement Of the payments made to
The clerks and sergeant.aI arms, aud their as.
sislanIs. and messengers Of the Senate and
House Of Representatives annually, from l8l8
TO the end Of the present session inclusive, sta
Ing the facts IN relation To each session under
separate and distinct heads; also the names Of
the clerks, sergeanIs.atarms and messenger.
boys-the amount paid to each, and theamounI
10 which each will be entitled up 10 The 81 day
Of May. 1859.
But the Democracy promptly voted down the
proposition,
This is, so far as we recollcct, the first lime
that any party in power has been bold enough
to rOie dOUH call for an exhibit Of their own
expenses.
1t cannot fail to strike every right minded
man with asIonshment, and 10 satisfy him,
that there is something rotten behind the screen
something which ''Ihe friends Of The new
constitution" were afraid or ashamed 10 expose
TO the light Of day. Ii is equivalent to an ad.
missOn-it is in effect public acknowledge.
menI-Ihal they are unwilling TO submit their
own doings to u comparison with those Of other
Legislatures.
We have heard it rumored all winter, that
our present legislators were permitting an ex
lrayagant Ond shameful waste of the public
money; that they had a corps Of clerks, and ser.
geanls at arms. and assistants, aud messengers
averaging about lOuy-6ve in number, and
reaching sometimes as high as fCiy.Iour! quar-.
Iered upon the State ueasury-all, except the
messengers, at four dollars day.
If these things are true, no wonder the expo.
sure should be unpIeasant but they need no,
hope TO escape detection always.
They can only defer il for season. Nor
can they reasonably hope to avert the public
vengeance, which is already, in store for them.
No efforts al c0uering UD, will ever induce the
people OF Ohio, TO again trust their interests, in.
10 The hands Of those who constitute the pres
ent majOrily, 10 the Ohio Legislature. No!
uIer inc Adjourned session. lis like will never
be looked upon again. The hand writing may
already be seen upon the wall, All that they
tut do, is TO keep the true state Of facts con.
ceaIed until aGer The presidential election. The
next legislature 10 be chosen, will be one that
will lay bare all the gross corruplions praclced
by the majority of lhe present one. And. we
vii! now venture a prediction, in reference 10
those deveIopmenls-an that is, that the hire
OF clerks aud sergeanIs.atarms will be more
than Iwice--probably three lines as much as il
was at The session Of 1866 being the lasI
year the wings had majority in both houses
and we will further predict that the legislative
printing of the present session, will cost the
Stale more Than twice as much as il did al tha,
session. Upon the ruth Of these predictions
we are willing TO sake our reputation as "a
prophet"
Now, if these things are true-and if they
were not, Mr., McCall's resolution of inquiry
would never have been strangled-we ask if
the people of Ohio do not pay dearly for the
privilege of being governed by this bogus De.
mocracy! And what, may we not ask, do they
GET by way of remuneration for this vast oullayl
Why, simply the privilege Of being taxed upon
Everything tangible, which is the subject of
ownership, whether animate or inanimale"-
and that, TOO, to pay higher salaries TO all The
SIo'e officers, and higher per diem to the
members o(Ihe Legislature, Is not this a go.
rous privilegel Are not the ciiizens of Ohio
highly favored by being the wards Of such con.
sderate guardansl
But what necessity was there for this corps
of twenty or twenty-five clerks and fifteen OF
twenty sergeant4.al.armsl Or by what author.
lty of law are they quarered upon The public
CRIB! We have turned TO the law TO see il any
authority could be lound but we looked in
vain.
We did, however. find the following, passed
28h December, 1888, and, 10 be found in
Swans Statutes, page 203. 1t was Introduced
by John Brough, who had himself been clerk
OF the Senate Tor one or two years Immediately
preceding, and who, Of course, knew precisely
what amount OF force was necessary to The dis.
charge ofIhe duties Of CLERK. The following
is the reading of tho law.
"Sec. |. Be il enacted by the General As.
sembly of the Sale of Ohio, That in addition
TO tho Chief Clerk in the Senate and House of
Representatives. as now provided by law, there
shall be elected and appointed by the Clerks of
the respective houses, one assistant clerk, and
one clerk for recording and enrolling.
"Sec. 2. That, when the current business,
of The legislature SHALL in the progress Of a ses.
sion, so accumulate as 10 render the labor of
The clerk unreasonably burdensome, il shall he
competent for The chief Clerks 10 make applca.
lion 10 their respective houses, for such further
assistance as may be deemed proper"
Now, one ofIw things must be rpe-eitherI
that John Brough when he drew up this law,
knew nothing about the amount of labor re.
qured Of the Clerks-[he having been chief
clerk the previous year or else The present
legislature have perperated the grossesI sor, of
outrage upon the tax payers Of the State.
Again: the LAW does not assign 10 the Two
Houses Of the General Assembly any particular
number Of sergeaOIs.ai arms, But custom has,
until very recently. sanctioned the appointment
Of one assistant in each House. Within The
las, four or five sessions the number has been
increased TO two. But, al The present session,
it has been still further increased TO eight or ten
or dozen in each House. Their wages, too,
has been raised to tour dollars per day for each
! n,ln