Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-04-15
LOalng LEGISLATORS. L


FRIDAY EVENING. APRIL IS. 1881.
LOaflng Legislators.
Before an informal meeting of the
members of the Legislature last evening
appeared Collector of Delinquent Taxes
VIM. J. Donohugh, of Philadelphia,
and a committee of the reformers, to
argue respectively for and against the
continuance of the Office which Dono-
hugh holds, and out of which, as he ad-
mits, he makes anywhere from $50, 900 to
slOO, 900 per year. At the conclusion of
the discussion some of the members, in
cluding Representatives Tyler and
Wolfe. took occasion to complain, amid
the applause of their fellows, about the
public and newspaper criticism upon the
Legislature for its inef1iciency. We
have no doubt great many of the men,
bers feel sore at the low esteem in which
their body is held and the frequent
gibes to which it is subject, but
they cannot expect much else when
the conduct of the joint assembly war
rants no better opinion of it than that
q large majority of its members are
willing to drag out its sessions without
accomplishing any substantial good to
the state, because their pay Of $40 per
day is more than most of them can hon.
estly earn at their ordinary vocatiOns
AMI because they have not enough pa
triotism to try to dispatch the public
business.
That the time for which they receive
pay is wasted, nobody who goes to Har-
risburg often enough to look we'll ut the
Legislature can doubt. A hundred days
of this session have already passed and
they have done substantially nothing !;
the reason for it is not the long senator
ial deadlock, but the Legislative habit
of wasting time. The members are paid
$40 day-Saturday, Sunday and every
other day-and they owe to the common
wealth six or eight hours of honest work
six days in the week. At that rate they
could accomplish all the necessary legis.
latiOn in fifty days. AS it is they adjourn
on Friday and come back Monday, and
until lately the only real working days
were Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurs
day. Upon almost any day after the
session is closed, scores of members can
be seen loafing on Capitol Hill or around
Harrisburg. They would he much more
comfortable and safer, not to speak OF
their usefulness, if they had something
to do.
The gentlemen who leave important
business and professional engagements
to serve the state ut Harrisburg, and
who require frequent leave of absence
and intermissiOns of the sessions to &c
home and attend to it, would FIND
that shorter. continuous daily ses-
sion devoted to the dispatch of bust
ness would Ike greatly to their advantage
The members who reside in remote part:
of the state rarely get home. During
adjournments time hangs heavily OF
their hands. These adjournments are
made mainly for the convenience Of thu
members living near by, mostly thos'
from Philadelphia, who used to have :
special car for their own use put on tn,
Pennsylvania railroad every Friday and
Monday. 1t is in this way that bust
ness is interrupted, delayed and neglect
ed. 1t is here reform must begin ald
until the members agree to do Il full day:
work for their salaries they cannot COM
plain of being regarded as set o.
loaferS.