Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-01-19
Aancdstrr fntfuiQenrfr.
THURSDAY KvKxNo. JAN. 10. ,ssz
PiunAe1InG the Pe0ple.

PiunAefilg the People.
We neal exactly what We say Vhs-
xs declare tia. the annual exhibit OF The
states expenditures presents live issue
il ,be politics Of Pennsylvania one
which the people can readily understand
and appreciate and from which any
party tha. takes hold OF il honesty and
vigorously can win great credit fol
..ssH and accomplish gres; good tor the
coumoawealth- We presume the Ieo-
PIE Of .he state eA1SUviye the loss
ot $4,000 or more stolen from them
every year and 10. peroep:ioly .ee. .he
Increase Of tax rendered necessary by il.
But from state officials who tolerate and
encourage this sor Of thing pure and
honest administration can uo more be
expected than a clear stream can Be
made 70 run from a dirty and polluted
iouu.aiD. While expenses are incurred
supplies bought. supernumerary officials
employed and undue and profigate sala-
res paid at Harrisburg to enrich plum
derers and to maintain party paupers.
We cannot expect honest legislation or
upright discharge Of the duties entrust-
ed to state officials. Every sort
Of moral and political consider
ations unite in the propriety Of
the policy OF no unnecessary officials:
10 pay for work in excess Of that for
which the same kind Of work can be pro
cured to lie done in the open market, 10
purchase Of unnecessary supplies and all
purchases by bid and contract.
Let US see how these several matters
stand a the system now in vogue. We
make bold TO say that in most Of the de-
lartments One-third of the subordinate
positions could he abated and all the SAL
aries cut down at least a third, so that
these places, Instead Of being party spoils.
would Le occupied by competent men,
paid for what they do and doing what
they are paid for, instead OF being SO
many free beds in d political hospital.
But in the House and Senate this abuse
is most conspicuous, and here there is
scarcely even a pretense that the Offices
are established and their number fixed
with any other view than to give the
members the largest chance to get their
political dependents pensioned upon the
state. The Senate has seven clerks,
three Sergeants-at- arms, two messengers,
librarian, three doorkeepers, chaplain,
two foremen, engineer, three ianitOrs.
seven pastors and folders, and ten pages
whose salaries for a session amount to
s46, 1910. The compensation of the
clerks runs from Sl,2T to 81 1922,
VII ch is very fair pay for whole year
o. such services as they render.
IN the House there are eight clerks,
five sergeants-at-arIns, four messengers.
five door keepers, two postmasters the
Senate has oneJ. chaplain, fireman,
seven janitors. eleven pastors and
folders and seventeen pages. Their
pay aggregate SG3.33G. For ses-
sion which rarely extends to five
mcnths. and which includes about
five days work in week. clerks get
from $1,000 to $4,000 compensation in
either house door-keepers, sergeants-
alarms and messengers fall little below
$1,000 janitors and pastors and folders
range about the same, and pages get
generally more than $500 per term-S3 a
day, which is about three times the pay
OF Il laboring man and double the wages
of Il mechanic, who seldom get paid
when they do not work.
Of the grand total of nearly $4,000
= legislative'' expenses, we believe it is
entirely practicable to save one-half, or
agreat deal more. Half the men Ell
ployed could do the work, and entirely
fit ones could be had for half the salaries
paid. This "pasting and folding
business is the worst Swindie of all.
Eighteen men are alleged to be employ
ed at it at from Sc to a10 per day. What
they do? Who knows: We will
uarantee to have all this work, now
costing the state about ST. 900, done for
$1,000. We know of cases in which
pastors and folders, and other employees
too, paid the member who got them the
place half their salary, in others that
they hired men to do their work for
$50 and never went to Harrisburg at
all, in others still they were simply car
ried on the pay roll without any pretense
of doing any work or having it done, and
in other instances they paid their patron
by buying him handsome gift and pre-
senting it to him at the close of the ses.
sion, with great display: from his low
ing fellow members" As we have shown,
the state pays some $1,000 for distribut-
ing and shipping public documents. That
money would amply pay this work and all
the pssting and folding that is honestly
done at Harrisburg. A clear saving of
ST. 900 could thus be effected and infinite
relief given to Legislative morals. The
number Of pages is three fold larger than
necessary and we submit that to pay the
SOILS Of members and their friends double
the wages that mechanics and laboring
men get, for the light work, done is
swindle on the taxpayers.
The many thousands of dollars alb
sorbed by the departments and clerks as
"contingent" is made to cover purchases
that the state does not need and which
are not honestly bought. We have
heard of cases in which contractors,
unable to further gorge the departments
tl,1:~