Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-03-30
rnE PAY OF MEMBERs.
The Decision Under Investigation.

The Decision Under Investigation.
Harrisburg Dispatch to the Times.
The special committee on the salary
opinion OF Attorney General Palmer met
and examined Representative John s. La.
touche, of Lackawanna. He was sworn and
testified that Attorney General Palmer
came to him, at the Lochiel house, at two
O'Clock, March 20, and told him he had
prepared an opinion declaring it unlaw-
full for members of the Legisla-
:ure to draw pay in excess Of one hundred
days and asked Latoucte to write let
ter requesting his official opinion on that
point, so that the matter could be brought
out. Latouche was greatly surprised and
expressed his incredulity. Palmer said !:
1T is bound to come and you may as we'll
write such letter as any one." Palmer
said he had consulted three distinguished
lawyers, among them Judge Black, who
sustained him in the opinion. Latouche
said he no time to write the letter,
but the attorney general said: Il
will have a letter prepared and you
can come to my Office in thirty minutes
and sign it, Latoucle agreed to do 50
and went to the attorney generals Office
about 2:3O, found the letter addressed to
the state treasurer and auditor general,
signed it and left it lying on the attorney
generals table. In the evening State
Treasurer Butler handed Hatouche sealed
letter, addressed to Attorney General Pal
mer, which Latouche delivered, under
standing that it contained the formal ap-
plication for the official opinion. Latouche
had no personal curiosity in regard to the
salary question and the matter never en-
tered his head before the attorney gen.
eral alluded to it. He signed the letter
solely as favor to and at the request of
the attorney general. The attorney gen.
eral, when bringing up the subject, said
the Legislature had been neglecting their
work and fooling away their time and he
possibly used a little profane language in
that connection, but to that Mir. Latouche
would not swear positively. LatOuche
had no consultation with Palmer or any
one else in regard to this matter before be
was asked to sign the letter and knew no
reason why the attorney general asked
him to sign the letter rather than anyone
else. The attorney general referred to NO
special subjects of legislation when con-
demning dilatory proceedings. MIR. La.
touches evidence was given frankly and
fully and convinced the committee that
every detail of his connection with the
salary opinion was now in their poses
sion.
Hunting Their s'Per Diem.''
Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.
The members of the Legislature do not
appear to be giving much thought to the
legal sOundness or unsoundness of Attor-
ney General Palmer's opinion to the effect
that they cannot draw pay if they prolOng
session beyond one hundred days, but
are bending their more or less gigantic in.
tellects to the task Of trying to discover
Mr.. Palmer's motives, and to getting even
with him by overhauling his record. We
do not see, however, that the picayune
proceedings in which the members are
indulging will help them, while we do
see that they are increasing the public
contempt for the irate senators and rep.
resentatives. If the opinion is good law
the motive of the attorney general in
making it will not affect the real merits 0i
the case. The members ofthe Legislature
may 90 to work and prove Mr.. Palmer to
be william of the deepest dye, and yet the
treasurer will not dare to imperil himself
by giving them money to which they arc
not entitled. And besides, if the members
of the Legislature knew, before tho read.
ing of the opinion, all tho un.
holy things Which they now in,
ferentially allege against Palmer dc
| not they see that they are repre-
senting themselves as unfaithful servants
of the public, through having kept
silent about them until the attorney gen.
eral made move to prevent them from
pocketirg illegal gains ? The members Of
the Legislature who are cunning after the
attorney general are-to put a plain fact in
plain language-just now engaged in a
very small and contemplate proceeding,
which ought to satisfy their constituents
of their utter unfitness for the work of
legislation. There has not been a session
of the Legislature since the adop.
ton of the new constitution that
has not been needlessly and wickedly pro-
longed for the single purpose of enabling
the members to pocket $40 per diem
the sum of $40 representing good deal
more than most of the members of either
branch could earn in a given twenty-four
hours away from Harrisburg. The attor-
ney-gencral, by calling a halt on this ne
farious tritling with the public interests,
has performed for the public very i'm
portant service, and he may rely upon it
that the more the ringsters and roosters
try to discipline him, the stronger will be
the support which the public will give
him.