The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1881-04-01
THE PAY OF LEGISLATORS.

NNAS "hNa SPN'iN'o'i y. 'HN st-'sS.
THE PAY OF LEGISLATORS.
In answer to an inquiry from the Au-
ditor General as to the pay of members
of the Legislature, Attorney General Pal
mer has written an opinion in which he
declares that the act of Assembly giving
these officials 81 900 for session not ex-
ceeding one hundred days, and $40 day
thereafter for period not exceeding
fifty days, unconstitutional. 1t is now
eighty eight days since the Legislature
convened. There were sessions held on ff.
ty three days, twelve days were Sundays,
seven days there..was no quorum,a and six
teen days, no session. The House has
only passed thirty-seven bills out of five
hundred presented, and the Senate only
forty seven out of two hundred and ff
ty, but hardly twenty have yet reached
the Governor, and yet after this outra-
geous waste of time, the Legislature ex-
poets to continue its session for fifty days
longer after the expiration of one hun
dred days, for which each member wants
ten dollars day, when they could have
done all that was necessary to be done had
they worked honestly and industriously
up to the present time. We believe the
Attorney General is right, and hope that
his opinion may be enforced. 1t is high
time that heavy hard is placed upon
this body, and an end is put to this
squandering of public money to pay men
who do not earn one third of what they
receive. The Legislature is under Re
publican control. Much of the time
wasted was caused by the fight over
United States Senator, and much more
by their filibustering, and if Republi-
can Attorney General can prevent his
party from taking large amount of
money from the State Treasury, which
they have no right to take he will be en-
titled to the thanks of the whole people
for the honest discharge of his duty. Be-
low we append an extract from his opin-
ion.
"The act of 1874 first provides salary
of 81, 200 for session not exceeding one
hundred days If the session continued
but half hundred days the salary of
$1,000 would be earned, and doubtless
would not be declined. 1t then allows a
per diem compensation of $40 for such ad-
ditional time as may be necessarily spent
not exceeding fifty days, thus conferring
both salary and daily pay. The time is
limited to fifty days, but the right to pro-
vide additional compensation beyond the
salary for fifty days implies the right to
confer it for three hundred days or as
long as the general assembly may choose
to sit and take 1t; and it further implies
the right to fix per diem compensation
for as many days as the general assembly
may choose to hold its sessions without
reference to salary at al, thus perpetrat-
ing the very evil sought to be remedied by
the convention. If this part of the act is
not in irreconcilable conflict with the pro
vision that members shall receive ''no
other compensation whatever" besides
a salary, then for this case all established
rules ofconstruction fail,and all common
understanding of plain words is at
fault.
The constitution commands that the
members of the general assembly shall be
compensated for their services by a. sal
ary,and salary only. All other kinds of
compensation are expressly forbidden.
No man will say that,in face of these pro
visions of the organic law,th general as
sembly could provide for paying its men,
bers exclusively by the day. To pay
partly by salary and partly by the day
is as palpable an evasion and transgres
sion of the constitution as to pay them a
per diem alone,and the violation is worse
becauseittends to aggravate tho mischief
which the trainers of the constitution
meant to prevent
| am of the opinion for the reasons
stated,that so much of the act of 1874 as
provides daily pay of ten dollars for fifty
days or less, is unconstitutional and that
payments made by the state treasurer un
der it, would be unwarranted or unau-
thorized. In this belief, / am confirmed
by an able opinion of my predecessor,
Hon. George Lear, given on the 9th of
December, 1876, to a committee of the
Legislature, in which, after an exhaustive
discussion of this section of the constitu-
ton and act of assembly this language
occurs:
"a salary is defined to be an annual or
payment rservices,a stipula-
ted periodical recompense This is not on
ly the established definition and popular
understanding of the term, but the consti
tution,in the use of it,so qualified it as to
exclude any other conclusion than that it
is stipulated recompense or compensa-
lion for season. The per diem allow
lnce in the salary act was doubtless an
oversight, but is nevertheless unconsti-
.utional."
Aud if further confirmation were need
I'd, IL may be found in "A Commentary on
he Constitution, work by the Hon.
Charles II. BHckalew, now ready for the
'ress, which the position of the author in
he constitutional convention, and his
haracter as Il lawyer will entitle to be
egarded as valuable authority Constru-
ng the section under consideration he
ays; "Ihis section was agreed TO by the
the distinct understand
ng that it would exclude the allowance of
laily pay at any session.
! may observe, in conclusion, that the
esson of the general assembly will be in
% wise necessarily abridged By this de
isi.n. There is nothing in the constitu-
ION or law limiting their sessions TO one
undred or one hundred and fifty days |
Is length must be determined by the |
ense of public duty of its members, and
he character of the labor they are called
D perform. The compensation for ses-
ION, long or shorts as fixed at this time |
n 900 and no more"