Connecticut western news., 1879-09-24

men for the first time feel an Stitching palm" when they go to the Legislature, is no aetos to the ordinary citizen. Can it be surpsiae that buyers are found, where goods are for sale That it is true we admit, and call the attention of the honest tax payers to few suggestions. The Legislature sits on an ay.
 craze of eight hours week for the first eight weeks and twelve hours week the last four
 weeks Tn all-ll2 hours to the session, ac.
 tHdt time, 'maktRg ldaos." The suggestion that school keep six hours day confining
 the members no longer than delicate children are confined Tn school would give session
 of fourteen days or four weeks session. This
 is fair statement of time actually used for our legislation Any other waste of time is for paid attorneys, to secure special favora of the honest members of the committee and illicit influence on the average number to vote for their schemes Did the Hartford papers
 which seemingly oppose the amendment speak out and not let the honest voter think that
 the spending money of the members was the
 cause of their solicitude, they could so place
 this question before the people that no danger
 of its passage would be felt; but it is not best
 cry thief if you live among them, such is their
 position, l believe.
 We charge want of.sincerity of purpose on
 them. The longer the session the more they
 smlle in Hartford. Let the ground be diis fV and zee join hands with them. We say, That the annual session is needed and should not be changed We have yet to find that earlier in the history of the State, when there was May and October session, that the statute books dld not contain as pure, wholesome and
 honest laws as it does to-day. In short, the old phrase of "too much legislation," origina- ting with monied interest IS a fallacy. They
 should say, ''lt comes too often for us ta pay for it." If any lawyer lives in the State that
 says ass general rule statutes can be passed
 for all time without need of amendment, or
 that in general, repeals are not the result of
 experienced practice, that lawyer should be placed in one of the glass cases beside the bat
 tie flags in the rotunda of the Capitol for exhi-
 bition. In proof: session was needed to cor- rect the work of the Revision immediately af-
 ter it's production in 1875. Again during the last session, the notorious bell punch bill came near passing. Had the Senate passed the bill its obnoxious force would have lasted two years had biennial session been a law. We trust no Governor of this State would have felt war ranted in calling an extra session for such matters-repeel.
 This is but a case in question, and we only used it for that purpose. We say further that
 the last legislature should have passed . law that members of the legislature during their
 official term shall ride on any railroad free.
 This would place them beyond obligation so
 far as tie pass system is concerned. Let them
 be free to act. Then it should have reduced
 the pay to one hundred dollars for the session,
 which is enough for the work. That could be
 easily done in one month, saving of t4o, 200 in this item alone, and we say ripht here this
 Is better pay than any of the members of the
 last assembly earn at home, unless 1t be the half dozen lawyers that are in the paid interest 1 Of some corporation, as some of the last legis- lature, Tor instance,
 Then the able member from Litchfeld in-
 formed us that saving of something like $200 | per day would be saved by having May ses- sion instead of winter session. Undoubtedly | he is right E. that large sum could be sRv- AA NNla A.wn such a session, and then we say the facts are | that & session of the assembly under the plan we suggest could be held yearly at an expense of less than one-half of a biennial session, and we will prove it to any honest man that doubts it.. We suppose some of our friends will ask, What will you do for the time the committiea | need for their workH We answer, first, That l any committee working three hours day for
 every session day can do the entire work This will not be arduous lin all nine hours e day1; | and the same men at homo work twelve or hf- | teen in their own business for less pay than we suggest. Again, the extra members could | form two parts of a committee with proper sat- lstaction and the labor would not be arduoua. Evidently there seems to be feeling on the part of many when they get into office that | there is n right given them to get all they can
 and return as little as possible for the pay. We believe the smaller sum of one hundred dole
 lars is conclusive of good effect in getting men that have some pride of character in holding | Q public office. That we could get representa- tive men that would feel they bad crust and not license to fish out of the public chest
 much for the little they did, and we might have more men whose honesty is without price | and whose purposes wel the good of the State and her interests. Could we not afford to try | it before we went to the extreme of biennial sess onS2
 We say to the honest farmers and laboring | men of the State that this bill, if it becomes
 law, will be followed by one to reduce the
 number of representatives we have on popula- tion and the otLer, one member from town or from the cites, Should s"ch ever befan the
 towns, they will find when 'tis too late the mis-
 take. The cities o-day sends attorneys that control the legislature, and the farmers each year gather there to find no. one protecting their interest and being left to vote away to corporations every right that some able lawyer is SO cunning as to advocate and ask party
 support and for baited trap, vote to let
 board of agriculture that has no callous pro-
 duced by agriculture except drawing State salary for nothing in returnl be paid for re- port written at the fireside of luxury, and put ting them out on community of labor, to whom they are as much aid as to the sleek
 looking lobbyist that passed the bill.
 In conclusion, farmers of Connecticut, this
 proposed reform has nothing that will produce a reform in it's entire operation. Take care of your interests byvoting down this leading step to the reduction of your representation in the councils of the State. Remember that the evil once done is never remedied, and the only way
 to correct an evil is never to create one.