The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1866-02-03
Good Legislative Theory.

Good Legislative Theory.
The inimitable Sam Wood who manages
to get elected every year as member of the
Legislature from the sun down portion of
the State, at the commencement of the pres
emit session found himself snow bound on
the western plains far beyond the limits of
civilization, and from that situation so ia
vorabls for cool and calm reflection writes
as follows to the Lsaven worth Times.
II regret that cannot be present at the
organization, not that l care fig for it, for
I do not care whether Kellogg, StotIsr or
the "Jayhawker," is elected Speaker; that
matters nought 10, me; that no great amount
o. legislation will be done the first two
weeks, k0ow full well, yet after the organ
ization. comes proposition after proposition.
calculated to tax our people to deaIh, and
impoverish the State; aud the member vote
for this and that proposition never taking
athought as to the consequences. Almost
the first thing will be Resolved, That the
Sergeant at Arms furnish each member Of
this House with four copies of the Topeka
Daily Record, or Trbuue, as the case may
be. A nice thing. think the new members,
and the resolution is passed. A simple
thing to be sure, yet that resolution costs
the State SO 600, and SO proposition after
proposition is voted, until the running up
Of 100000 must be appropriated to pay
current expenses, and the people taxed to
death.
Now as 1 cannot be present to vote NO,
on this propO ition, d. me the favor to say
TO the Kansas Legislature, when they vote
this worse than useless expenditure of pub
lie money, to except the member from
Chase be will accept no paper at the ex
pense of the State, he will feed his intellect
poor as il is, at his own expense; constitu
ents are not paupers; they take and read the
papers, and are conversant with the cur
rent events of the day. say further, that
the member from Chase will vote against
any appropriation bill containing any item
''fJr papers furnished members of the Leg
islature. But says one, daily paper can
not be supported at the CAPITAL unless this
is done. Better, thea a thousand times
that none be printed. Papers are printed
at Lawrence, Leavenwort and Alchison,
and they will have our smart sayings in
quite soon enough, please K that these pa
pers be sent to me, during the session, with
bill. Another enormous expense is incur
ed every year. Our Constitution provides
that mo law of generl nature, shall take
effect until published Published in the
Statute Book is the plain reference, yet al
most every law winds up thus:
Section-This act shall take effect from
and after it's publication in the Topeka Daily
Recorder Topeka Daily Tribune. as the
case may be. THIS costs nothing at the
time, and members do no. reflect that it all
has TO be paid for at ten cents per line, and
from IS 600 to $40 600 more is gone
Much better would it be for the people,
if the most of those laws did not take effect
until published in the Statute Book, and that
we lived three or four months longer under
the same laws that we Lad for year past.
Better perhaps if halt the laws passed
never took effect at all, for it is solemn
truth, that we are legislated to death 1t is
true saying, that that country is governed
best, that is governed the least
The clergymen of Topeka are invited to
pray for us each morning, and five minutes
is spent in this venerable practice, and 1
am not prepared to say that the custom is
not good one; have observed, almost
with shame sometimes, that at the close at
the session they preysd with almost equal
zeal upon the Treasury for their three dol
lars for each prayer. hardly know some
times which to admire the most, their
prayers, their preyings. How would it
do TO invlte the clergymen of Topeka, to
open our sessions with vocal prayer free Of
charge as is even done in some of the older,
and ADLER States, and at the same time re
quest the good everywhere even at the fam
lily altar, or in their closets, to remember to
intercede for the Kansas Legislature, that
we may have short session, pass but few
laws, be economical, commit no ''frauds. .
EEL adjourn and go home. a. Garrett Plain
dealer.