The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-12-19
SHALL We HAVE A CONVENTION {?
Mr.. EDIToR-

W. Shou'u Hot, ana you
objection in common with those VIII
are opposed to a convention is tn
expense and the risk of endangerin!
the victory obtained over radicalism
F.these objections were we'll founded
they would be very potent, but in as
Stunning that our expenses would b,
3. increased, or our victory endangered
you have begged instead of argued
the question.
Would our expenses be increased;
This can be easily ascertained by Q
statement of the present cost of ad
rninistering our State government
composed with what it ought to be-
and would be under new constitu.
tion. There are some of the present
expenses so exhorbitant and so Pat.
ent in this extertion, that it is diff
cult to speak of them with patience.
First upon the list we will place the
per. diem Of the members of the Leg
islature, and their mileage per diem
as it has been enacted by law. The
present constitution limits the per
diem at eight dollars per day from
the time the mem Der leaves home un-
til he returns. One would think
that this ought to be sufficient; and
the Radicals when they made it
thought it was, but soon discovered
it was not, and enacted law that
twenty miles was days travel; it
required as many days tor each mem
Der to reach New Orleans as there
were twenties in the number of miles
from his home to the capital. But
eVen this was not sufficient. The
direct road was too short; did not
give enough twenties, and therefore
the distance is computed by the sin
uosities Of the rivers. This act was
amended and thirty miles instead of
twenty, enacted to be days travel.
Must not every mans face, who in
this age Of steamboats, and railroads,
who solemnly voted that thirty miles
was days travel, (if there was the
ghost of honesty in him) have tin
gled with the shame of dishonesty
and hypocrisy? For instance, the
time from Shreveport to New Orleans
by steamboats, is from two to three
days, and the return four days, in all
six days, for which member from
that place would be entitled to per
diem of$4S, but for which under his
imaginary inability to travel only
thirty miles day, he consumes fifty
days and receives per diem Of $500 |
besides $3.50 mileage. The solemn
garb of Legislation is not sufficient to
conceal the brazen dishonesty of this
act. Our ancestors who were much |
weather. than we are, thought four
dollars per day sufficient, and l think
it would not he difficult under new |
constitution to make that or even less
sufficient, without the per diem Of
imaginary days consumed in travel.
With the per diem thus reduced and
the imaginary days spent in travel
striker out session Off convention,
and one of the legislatures together
would not cost more than two.thirds |
of what every session of the legisla-
ture now costs.
To this it may be answered that
this per diem spoilation can be rem
edied by the legislature without the
necessity of convention. But to
this the fearful reply must be made;
our legislature has met, and after a
session of sixty days, and an extra
session of equal length, and after
specially devoting their attention to
curtailing the expenses of the State,
have entirely overlooked this most
gigantic and oppressive of all. This
is the more astounding, for ofall the
footprints of Radicalism, this has
made the deepest impression upon
the welfare of our State, and is re.
flected in taxation too burdensome to
be borne; beneath which all values
lie PROSTATE. 1t was from the be-
ginning designed as means of spoil
alton, by which to reward the men,
bers of the legislature which Mr..
Warmoth characterized as 'sorgan-
lied ignorance and venality." The
acquiescence of our Legislature in
this per diem system is simply to
appropriate the nest which the Radi-
Gals had feathered for themselves.
In their acquiescence one painfully
feels that the all absorbing power of
self made them forget the economy
they were enforcing uron others, and
That the authority to pay them