Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-02-21
/ a..GIsLATORs' EXTRA PAY.
The Decision of the DauphIn County Court
Reversed-DefinitiOn of the Words
wages" and Salary Ia
tention OF the Trainers
of the New Con-

Tie Decision of the Dauph1n County Court
wages" and salary y"-iu,
'eHs,P1 af ,,,s of Sss sss Gamers Go"
stitu,iuE.
The supreme court Yesterday decided in
favor OF the members of the Legislature
the question raised by Charles S. Wolfe
vice rendered beyond the regular one hum
mardamus upon State Treasurer Butte: TO
pay the extra $500.
The Hauphin county court decided that
the act Of 1874. giving an extra per diem
allowance of SO for each day OF services
over one hundlcd days conticted with thai
clause in the constitution which provides
that the members OF the General rs
sembly shall receive such salary and mile
age for regular and special sessions as
shall be fixed by law, and EO ether com
pensatlon whatever for service upon 4
committee Or o;herwisc.' Mr.. Wolfe, or
behalf of himself and the other members
who felt themselves aggrievcd by this
decision, appealed to the supreme court,
holding that the word salary in the
constitutional clause did hot, as contcnded
by the othe: side, prohibit p per diem
allowance ; that while it was true it meant
a fixed round rum, it also meant the same
as wages, stipend OF pay that the ccsisti
tuition was to be iibera!Iy construed, and
that If the purpose had been to prevent 4
per die:n compensation the prohibition in
the constitution Should have been plain
and clear. On the other hand, Attorney
General Palmer. who had been the ;irst to
raise the question RS TO whether the n,en.-
Ders were entitled to receive more
=
argued that since .ho year 1884 many
acts had been passed . in which, the
word salary had been used, and in every
instance it had been applied to u round
sum for a stipulated term OF service and
never onco to daily pay and that, more
over, in the constitutional convention, :,
motion to go into acoEnittee OF the whole
to change word salary into compensation,
50 that the Legislature would have power
to fix a per diem consideration, was voted
down.
I.o Suprcme Courts Decision.
Chief Justice Shsrswood delivered the
opinion OF the court, saying
TO Justify :. court III pronOuncing ;s:i act
Of the Legislature unconstitutional aud
void, either III whole or in part, it must be
able to Voach some exception Or pTohbi
t:on clearly expressed or necessarily iE-
piled. The doubt is to ie resolved in favor
of the consttutionaiity 0f the act. This
rule Of construction is 50 well settled by
authority that it i; unnecessary to cite the
cases. Where the contention is :,s to the
meaning OF q wore; the rulo is that if any
meaning, technical OF popular will sustain
the exercise Of the power It is sufficient.
On the other !iand. ii the strict and
! legal Meaning. would have the et-
feet 10 limit o. destroy, while some
popular acceptation O; the word would
support the act, it must be resortcd to.
Several cases arc quoted TO show that the
popular meaning Of the word, if broader
| than the technical meaning, must be
adopted, but not il the effect be to limit
or restrain the general grant OF power.
Ii the fran OF the present constitution
had gone back to the language OF the con-
stituton Of 1876 and provided that :: the
members OF General Assembly shall re-
| ceiye such wages and mileage for regular
.Hd special sessions rs shall hc fixed by
| law the present contention would
not have arisen. Iei, accordin. to the
most approved photographers, the words
wages and salary are Synonymous. They
both meal, one ;snG: the same thing, Il sum
oi money periodically paid for services
| rendered. Arc VIC tu look to the debates
| i'll the convention for the meaning Of the
word: Surely not. The majority, for
all that appears, May have been of opinion.
that the word salary WAS as compreheE
! siyc as compensation and was q more fit
ting, word to use i'll application to such an
| honorable and important position.
| 'If 1t had been their intention TO prohibit
Il per diem salary :ilcy could have easily
said so III very few words. The trut!.
is tha: if there is any difference in the
popula. sense between salary ansi wages it
is only The application OF them to more or
less honorable services. A merchant pays
| wages to his servant who sweeps the floor.
makes the fire and runs his errands, but
he compensates his clerk or sales
man with 4 salary. Had the act
Of May II, 1874, said salary OF ten
dollars per diem it would have been good
English and perfectly iutelligible to the
common mind. 1t is contcnded that the
evident object of the clause was to shorten
the sessions of the General Assembly. II
this was the object the word was very ua-
happily chosen. n much simpler and more
effective mode would have been to have
provided a rate per day, diminishing from
day to day as the sessions continued. It is
hard to believe that the convention thought
that the General Assembly would be influ-
enced by so sordid and unworthy motive.
We ought to be careful not to hamper the
power CT the Legislature 10y any narrow,
strained construction, as it may be very
important hereafter, in view Of what seems
Z; growing evil, frequent absence of the
members, to provide that members who
are not present and do not record their
votes on the final passage OF bills shall not
receive their salary for that day. If, how
ever they receive 4 round sum for the ses-
sion it would deprive tho Legislature Of
the power to make such provision