Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1869-09-16
FACTS FOR TAXPAYERS

} bly,, after nm unexampled labor 0
134 days in 1868, brought forth
volume of 337 pages Of laws;
: short and acCulRte accouchment il
, 1868, resulted in a miscarriage, ant
no increase Of our interesting fam
lily of statutes resulted, but anothe
: protracted labor Of l2G days dura
lion, in 1869, produced the largcs
increase ever made In one session
no less than 460 pages, ant
weighing something like eighty
pounds, avoirdupois, in manuscript
The united product Of the three
sessions of this General Assembly
is thus seen to be 797 pages Of
Democratic legislation added to the
statute book.
| Even good and necessary legis.
lation is apt to be expensive to the
people. 1t costs something for the
expenses of an economical Legisla,
.ture-its per diem, the pay for its
numerous Iangers-on, binding, its
fuel, lights, stationery, printing,
binding, distributing laws, and doc
Iuments, and so forth. Every addi-
tional day adds to the expenses ;
every additional law makes more
work for all hands and more pay
for everybody. And every change
on the statute books makes a haf =
vest for the lawyers. Tie fifty
eighth General Assembly deserves
the name of Lawyers Friend. 1t
has done more to give employment
to lawyers than any other Legisla-
Iture ever assembled in Ohio. Now,
if even the indispensable legislation
Of an economical General Assem-
bly, is expensive to the people,
what shall be said of this General
Assembly, that sat longer, at q
higher per diem, and made mofe
and worse laws, than any body of
the sort that ever before existed
"Satan finds some mischief still,
for idle hands to do 1t was not
to be expet ted that our Democratic
Legislature of unhappy memory
would avoid doing a great deal of
devilment during the excessive leis-
ure of two hundred and sixty days
at the State capitol, on the com
Portable salary ofiye dollars day.
True, they might have finished up
their work and adjourned prompt
Ily, but no Democratic Legislature
ever had an opportunity before, in
the history of the State, to draw
five dollars a day; and the oppor-
tunity was one to be improved to
the utmost. 1t was probably the
Hast change of most OF the members
of the party, accidentally in the
majority as it was for that one
term. There was a large number
Of old political hacks to be fed,
whose no ses had not been inside the
public crib for a long time before.
They looked gaunt and hollow
eyed, Their bones asserted them
selves unpleasantly And they
gobbled the public plunder vora-
ciouslyi taking rather more than
full rations. A few facts in details
as to what may be called,
EXPENSES PERSONAL TO THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY.
1868. Sessions of 1874 days, cost
of per diem and mileagej$l2b, ,445,H
1869. Sessions of 1876 days. cost
of per diem and mileage, l25 ,46o'93
geo days SOU o'5I4'lo
c. B. Flood, editor of the Ohio
Statesman the State organ of the
Democratic party, was made Chief
Clerk of the Senate. He continued
his labors as editor of the Ohio
Statesman during the whole two
wears of his term, and received full
pay therefor. He drew from the
State of Ohio, at the rate of five
dollars a day, for the year 1868,
four hundred and sixty two days,
and for the year 1869, three hun
dred and eighty-three days; or
eight hundred and forty-five days
pay for the two years from the State
of Ohio. AS there were only sew
en- hundred and thirty-one days in
the two years according TO calen-
dar, it occurs to us as a curious
problem how Mr.. Flood manages
to do eight hundred and forty five
days labor for the State in addition
to full employment as editor OF
party organ. Mr. Flood has been
urged to explain this process, bnt
he does not seem to be communi-
cative on the subject.
Amos Layman, late editor OF the
Ohio Statesman, now correspond
ent of the Cincinnati Enquirer; an
other organ of the party, was made
Chief Clerk of the House. MIR.
Layman seems to have carried the
method of his colleagte into the
utmost perfection He draws from
the State of Ohio for the year 1858
five hundred and sixty days pay,
and for the year 1869; estimating it |
at the same rate as fpr 1868 for la.
Dor not yet charged up five hundred
and forty six days'pay, or eleven
hundred and sixty days pay from
the State for two years service.
These two Democratic politicians
certainly have no reason to COM
plain of the neglect of the party
tits as little as they can do to de-
fend the Democratic Legislature
with their utmost vigor from as
sauts from whatever quarter.
Mr. Bayman processes to draw
his pay under authority Of a law,
which is III exact words as follows |
(Ohio Laws for 1857 page 25.): |
uCaot;on Q Tho clerks of the |