The Placer herald., 1858-01-30
The Salary Bill,

which appears TO have given much umDraSe
to the San Francisco Herald. That paper is
particularly severe in its comments upon
what it terms 'niggardly and impoitic legis-
lation," and hopes, if the bill passes, it will
be vetoed by the Governor at once as an
"act Of rank injustice, and of ruinous policy
to the moral and financial interests of the
State"
But while the Herald savagely attacks the
spirit that prompts the presentation of such
bills in the Legislature, it does not touch
upon the merits Of the act in question:
Much is said about the meagerness of the
salaries to be given to the Judges of the
Supreme and District Courts, and that paper
ridcues the idea that the amounts named
are sufficient compensation to Judges learn
ed in the law. If our cotemporary had taken
time to inform himself fully upon the subject
in hand, he would have ascertained that Saf-
fords bill does not reduce salaries of the State
officers or Judges one dollar below what they
now receive with the exception Of that of
Superintendent of Public Instruction, which
is reduced to $4,000 per annum. And be
it known tha. the duties of that Office are
very light The salaries of the clerks in the
offices of Secretary of State, Controller and
Treasurer, are also reduced from 5000 to
$3.50 per month.
The true merit of the bill consists in re-
ducing the per diem of members of the
Legislature from $40 to IS, and the mileage
to one-haf of the present rates. 1t pro-
vides also that members shall receive SO per
diem, only for the first sixty days, and 81 per
diem for the remainder Of the session. The
mileage now amounts to large sum in the
aggregate-member from the extreme parts
Of the State receiving from 5000 to s4OO
for mileage alone. The saving to the S ate,
that was intended to be made by this bill,
was upon Legislative expenses only, with the
single exception above named. The cost Of
sessions of the Legislature has been one of
the heaviest drains upon the State Treasury
and to stop this enormous outlay of money
it has been proposed in various parts Of the
State, (and the S. F. Heyold has supported
the moyement) to resort to biennial sessions
The bill under consideration proposes to ac-
complish what every tax payer III the State
desires, viz: short sessions-by not paving
members, after sixty days of the term has
expired, compensation that will induce
them to prolong their labors. Small pay
will certainly make short sessions if any
thing will, and the limited time in which
this bill proposes to give per diem that is
at all remunerating, will cause members to
go to the capital with the bills they intend tc
introduce in more forward state, than at
present.
BY this bill the salaries of State officers
and Judges, men who give their whole time
to the duties Of their office, are not touched;
and we agree with our cotemporary that it
would be mpoltic to commence a retrench-
ment hy cutting down salaries that are al
ready small enough. But with the Lesis-
lature it is difierent-what with the pay of
members at $40 per diem for ninety days,
the pay of clerks, pages, porters, hangers on,
and the other incidentas connected with a
session, hundreds of thousands of the peo-
pies money luns away like water. Saf'ord's
bill provides to remedy this matter some
what; and if upon adoption it is not found
to make short sessions, then we say, cut them
down still more-even to IS per day. twill
then be seen how patriotism, that is exube-
rant under the impulse of fat wages, will
stand up to the work when it is only living
pay and no extras.
We are opposed to ''niggardly salaries" as
well as the Herald, at the same time we
have no idea that the Legislature shall cling
to the Treasury teat year after year, until
they suck every drop that it contains. We
want to be able to choke them off at the
right time, and prevent them from acquiring
the belief that, pecuniarily it is an excellent
thing to be members of the Legislature.
1t is practice of some papers in Califor
MIA to be constantly harping upon the ex
travagance of the Legislature, and yet when
member rises in his place to protest against
unnecessary expenditures of even small
amounts, those papers are ready to decry
the man as one cent legislator, or motion
maker, and endeavor, by ridicule to counter
act every effort he may make for REFORM
We do not class the S. +. Herald, as of this
number; but in the present instance, it has
been by far too fast in condemning bill,