River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-02-07
BIENNIAL SESSIONS.

| the Constitution OF Wisconsin as 10
provide for biennial instead of an
nua1 sessions of the State Legislature,
a few suggestions from us may not be
deemed inappropriate. While many
of the Taxpayers who contribute the
wherewith to ssrun the machine" may
favor this proposed innovation as a
relief to some extent, the people of
Madison will doubtless stand appalled,
at what they will be pleased to term
the supreme stupidity and parsi-
mony" actuating those who long to
see our laws created ut less expense.
The people are legislated for entirely
too much, for which they are COM
PEELED to pay dearly. We are of the
opinion that with biennial sessions the
| cost of a single session need necessa-
rily be no greater than under existing
provisions of the Constitution. We
base our opinion upon the strong
probability that with biennial sessions
more care would be exercised in the
enactment of laws, in consequence of
which fewer changes would be requir-
ed. Assuming, then, that biennial
sessions would be of no longer dura-
| ton than annual ones let us inquire
what would be the average annual
amount saved to the people of the
State.
The last annual report of the Sec
rotary of State shows that the expense
of the Legislature of 1877 was 800, 579.-
OIL, including the sum of 81, 1910 ex-
pended for the contest of Il seat III the
| Assembly and other Investigations /;
as we desire to be perfectly fair in
this matter we will deduct this 81
184, 10 from the 800, 1901 as not be-
ing strictly legislative expenses, which
would leave the sum of $3.50, 394.3l
actually used for this purpose in 1877 :
at this rate. an average of $43, 1877 rs
would be saved to the people by bien-
NAL sessions. Taking the session of
| 1877, which was 4ifty-seven days long
less than the average length, for a
basis, and we find that it costs but
| the small fraction of a cent less than
$1,51569 a day to run it; allowing
| thirteen DAYS in addition to this fifty
seven for an increased length of ses-
sion by reason of their being biennial,
which would amount to about 3d.
7O3. 90, and we find that allowing sew
enty days for a session the people
would then save nearly 1874, 900 year,
and if the session should be less than
seventy days-and they all should be
add to this the sum of 81, SIS. 90, the
cost of days session, as many times
as the Legislature meets less days
than seventy and you can approximate
the amount saved by rational prac-
tice of economy in biennial sessions.
The amount of thirty-five or forty
thousan dollars year may not seem
to polit ans, and men ambitious to
becom gislators like much of a sum
to be ed annually by so great a
State isconsin, but to the toiling
massel 40 help to pay the bills au-
diteG by the proper State officer it
looks like an amount worth saving.
We would not urge biennial sessions
upon the ground of economy alone
as we have before suggested we are
legislated for too much: one OF the
modern curses of the people is an over
plus of law-making, and we trust that
the electors of Wisconsin, for the adj
vancement of their own interests, will
soon be offered an opportunity to re-
cord their verdict in favor of biennial
sessions of our State Legislature.