The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1869-11-19
pailp Argus.
Friday Evsnin e, November ~, looe,
GoRRUPT1oN IN IEaIsIATIoN-How TO
PREVENT 1T.


,;or.l convention will be, "How can we
most edectualy prevent corruption IN legs
Iston and elections Statutes prescribing |
criminal prosecutions and penalties, the
writer thinks totally Ineffective for the rea'
son that witnesses have the same interest IN
concealing violations of the law as offenders
Themselves have. The right OF payer OF
bribs to recover it back and the taintlng OF
the whole object aud subject of the legisIa'
ton to secure which the bride may be paid,
are urged ss Offering the only available
remedy for the evil complained Of OF the
latter clause of the proposition as stated, the
Tribune says:
Blu. not only should the payment OF the
money be aunulled, but the object tor when
il is paid should also be defeated and made
void. If it is paid to a member tor his yo'e
in favor Of q bill through the Legislature
that law, when passed, should stana on Tue
same footing as al uuconstituton"i iH"'
Nothing but the annulllnR Of uncohsutu"o"'
Al laws BY the courts would ever nave re
strained or checked legislatures IN passing
.hem. Suppose unconstitutional legislation
had been left subject TO no more eihclent
check than the nominal liability OF a leg'sIa
TOR voting fer such law 10 be fined and I'm
prjsoued Does it need prophet to predict
that nobody would ever have been punished
for violating the constitution, and yet that
the constitution would have had no restrain
hv
safeguards against corrupt Legislation be as
strong against unconstitutional legisIaton
What is more criminally and baseIy IN VIC
lauon of the whole spirit and essence OF our
constitution than that legislation shall be
bought and sold? 1t should be provided IN
our constitution, therefore, that every OIL
corrrupty passed shall be unconstitutioGaI
and void The courts Of the state should De
empowered, in anv action IN which the Valld
Ity Of any law is involved, to join issue upon,
aud try before jury, the question OF Ia"
and OF fact, whether the legislative act IN
question was corrupty passed, and II they
find il 10 have been so, 10 adjudge 1t void
for the purposes of that action. When auch
a decision had been confirmed by the high
est court in the state the act would stand as
absolutely void as if it mad been pronounced
unconstitutional. Upon trial of such an &C
ton members of the Legislature, as well as
all others, should be lahla "a W. - y,
40 witnesses, and should be compelIeo 10
testify whether they had paid or received, OF
known of others having paid or received,
anv consideration for their votes on the Dill
in question. Under the head OF corrupt
consideration should be included any agree
Inc1t Of the class known as log rolIlng-that
one member will vote for bill in consider
alton that others will vote for his bills
Whether single vote for bill should be
sufficient to auuul it, or whether It mist be
proven that number Of votes equal to the
majority by which the bill passed were cor
ruut, are details which should receive care
Reconsideration. To allow q single corrupt
vote for bill to snnul it might possibly IN
duce az opposing party to vote corruptly tor
il in order to annul it. The essential doc
trine, however, should be that all corruptly
passed bills are unconstitutional and void
While we agree with the Tribune fully as
to the Importance of the subject and the
desirableurss Of the object sought to be &C
compHshed. we think the remedy proposeC
would, in part at least, NE impracNcaoie an
unjust. Our contemporary seems to oveI
look the fact that the property rights &
innocent pennlA - ---'' "'''N'' 'oE"'
or morally be charged with knowledge c
the illegal inception Of legislative ensc
mont, would be swept into the vortex whc
is proposed TO be opened for corruFtionlsls
With such law nobody would be safe IL
accepting as valid any legislation whatever
for many of what is known as general orPub
lie laws. originate in selfish motives and ma
be enacted bv "log rolling" 1t is mis-
take to put this ground OF iuyalidty on
par with constitutional defects; for the on
is defect of fact which it may be imposs
bic for careful man TO discover, and tn
other is a defect Of law which IS part {
the statute Itself, and appears upon the fac
ofit Everybody may reasonably be re
CURED to know the law, both constitutions
and statutory, and ignorance of either ma
very weN he rejected as an answer to
charge Of violating IT OF being involved i
the consequences of its violation, Butth
can be no Justice or reason in requiring
citizen Of the state TO know what were Il
secret and corrupt influences which induce
the members of the Legislature to pass
particular act, whether it be OF private {
public character.
'rLar. - a., y,,nsttpy, b1,E : hot Tho "a nT
of the most important questions which II
approaching convention will actupon. Ih
fearful eruptiou-this running sore-upc
the body polite needs to be effectively trea
ed. No remedy con be too severe that v
effect a cure, but it should not, aud need n
involve innocent people. A will consider
aud sweeping clause in the constitute
prohibiting all forms Of special and privs
legislation and requiring the object of a
bill to be expressed in its title, we think I
better policy. Let legislation be confn
to objects of general and universal intere
and the omnibus bill be no longer known
our annals Leave the business Of lOt
government to the people Of the localU
whether cities or counties, to be aiIectt
and if corruption grows up, leave the peoI
to apply the axe at the root Of the tree
they have recently done in Chicago. |
the whole system Of paying officers by ?
quisites and fees be abolished, aud every
hger be paid fixed certain salary, not 10
increased or diminished while he is in off
Ia these ways, much Of the corruption ii
is absolutely undermining our whole sys,r
Of government may be prevented.
ssA1sas-ssS--1<---z-@ns~a
"Died of Frying Pan"
nDled of a frHlng.nAnn Is the eriln