The Portland daily press., 1879-02-01
THE SALARY BILL.


Professor s. j. Young, Representative in the
House this year from the old college town of
Brunswick, is doing some good work this year
and proving the value of the scholar in politics.
The Brunswick man always strikes his adver-
sary's shield with the point of the spear, and
there is no man on the floor who the coalition
lists dread more to encounter In the debate
Wednesday on the salary bill he made his
Drowess felt. He spoke substantially as fol-
lows. We quote from the Kennebec Journal:
Mr.. Young of Brunswick though. the trouble
here arose from general feeling of d!strust,
one OF the other. 1t seemed to be, to use 3
somewhat profane illustration, that we are all
irving to see the other and go little better
All OF US are equally interested. There is here
no taxpayers party and no antl-taX-payers
party, as he understood it, We all come here
to do what we can for the promotion OF the in
terests of the state We are all in the position
OF the man. who when reproved by somewhat
INSCRIPTIONS minister for swearing, said, ut is
all right. You pray little and swear lit
Tie, hut neither of US mean anything BY it,"
We fling thts things back and forth as if
and some of US to advocate it. 1t seems that
the whole theory of Republican government
lies In the fact that it is so often talked of in
our school houses, that every boy may become
TT6Slut Ill VI tu0 OulL6Q StaL6S, 1uSy as IN the
French army it is said every private soldier
carried in his knapsack the baton of a field
marshal. If We are to apply that principle we
must attach such salaries to the offices to be
filed, that will enable men who are fitted to
fill them, to accept them. If we fix snch
salary to the office of Governor that no man
Can afford to be Governor unless he is either
rich or rascal, or both, then we deprive GER
tain number of very desirable people, perhaps,
from accepting the office Of Governor, or from
even thinking that they can be candidate for
that position. Y9q offer reward, then, for
men Io;takathe office, either because they are
rich and can afford to take that office, or be-
cause they are rascals and can make enough
out of it so they can afford to take it. If sou
pay your Treasurer of State so little that he
then yon offer reward to that Treasurer of
State to speculate on the funds in bis possess
sion. BE did not say our present Treasurer
was going to do that, but it had been done at
some time in tae history Of our state. 1t the
salaries of the Judges are reduced to 80 little
that no lawyer will accept position on the
bench, the beuch is open to a set OF
men who will take tboss offices for
what they can make out of them.
low priced judiciary is very dangerous ex-
pertinent for State to try. Suppose we start
fairly upon this principle, that we are willing
to pay every man what his services are woctb,
and not work WITH this idea, that each party
mas got to vie with the other in cutting down,
regardless of all reason. We fiud here very
extraordinary spectacle. committee sitting
nere day after day and night after night, with
closed doors, secret sessions, and bringing a
report in here with great unanimlty, and with
almost equal unanmity voting against IL, every
man of them almost, voting against his own
report; voting that the salary of the Governor
should be S2 600, and coming in here and al
most every one of them voting for $1,000. He
| submitted whether this report was to be taken
without due deliberati0n. 1t seemed to him
| tnat time should be taken in its consideration,
and that their conclusors should be accepted
| without scrutiny.
Gentlemen of the dominant party in the
| House have gone round the State and promised
| their constituents that whenithey came home
hey would come covered with glory; they
| get the scalps home. Not being able to shoot
| Wild game, they propose to buy tame game 4;
| and they take few poor fellows round the
| State House here who are gong to work
| honestly to fulfill the duties of their Office.
| They are Immediately available. They see
| those poor fellows, and they reduce their
| salaries to Ietrencb.
| Let US calculate little how much this whole
| dill will save. 1t provides for a retrenchmeut
| Of eight or nine thousand-call it ten. Sup
0ose we calculate how much that amounts to.
| Ooe-fonrth of a mill on the State tax amounts
| to $4,000 Suppose We scall it nine thousand,
netWeen nine and ten. That would be about
| 1-6 Of IA of one mill. That is to say, every
| man would ind his account in this way; that
| the Stat- tax would be reduced about 1-24 OF a
| mill. Consequently every man who pays a
AK of $240 would be affected just one cent.
| His tax would be reduced just one cent.
Now this was all we'll to have good begin
! ming; but he submitted whether this was the
| grogramme that was to be carried out. If
| his Legislature, after all the war dances that
bave been held prior to this, are going to dance
| about and carry home these few inoffeusive
| mems scalps, it seemed to him 1t was going to
| ne very poor advertisement for the party that
| sent them here.
| All this howl about taxation arises not from
| the State tax. The State tax last year was
| fixed at four mills. This taxation arises from
| municipal taxation, not State taxation. You
| hAve loaned your credit to the railroads; you
| You could think Of; and you have loaned your
| credit to every little saw mill thai would invest
| ten or twelve Thousand dollars in town.
| Ehere is where your money has gone TO, and
| those are the bills you have got to pay.
All the point he wished to make in this mat
ter was that when members considered the
| salary bill, it should be dispassionately, and
| with calmuess, and that they should not rush
| n to try to see which will put the lowest salary
| on man, and whether it shall be Republican
| Democrat or Greenbacker that shall happen to
| give man what he is worth. He hoped this
| spirit of trying to cheat men out OF their sala
| ries that they are entitled to, by putting the
4 dates back or forward, would not prevail, bu
l lat the matter would be looked upon in a SEN
ible light and that the men would be paid
| what their services are worth. Ii our coDstitu
| ents do not sustain US in that, then let them
| send others here who shall be specially in
| structed