Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-11-23


mocracy depend upon the freedom
with which he is allowed to pick hi.
councillors of State and distribute hi,
patronage-since that offensive term
must be invoked to fitly describe it
regardless of the 'shrieks of locality,
of party workers, or even the consid
erations of personal friendships"
LEGISLATIVE WORK.
what can the Democratic Legis
lature do to help along the needed re,
forms ?"
at can do a great deal by the judi.
cious exercise of the art of not doing
it. mean that its members must
avoid the disreputable practices and
stamp out the vicious abuses which
have so long prevailed at Harrisburg,
to the shame of the State, to the dis
grace of the participants and finally to
the overthrow of the party responsi-
BILE for them. The first caucus held
should be to determine not who shall
fill the offices appended to the Legis-
Iature, but how many of them can be
abolished. The entire pasting and
folding department, now roosting
| place for bummers, hospital for de-
caying political loafers, should be
cleaned out. 1t now affords Il Job
for score or more of fellows who
draw an average of 5000 per session,
none of whom earn the half of it and
many of whom never go to Harrisburg
except to sign the payroll. All sine.
cures should be remorselessly wiped
out; all unnecessary clerkships and 9TH
er positions abolished, the salaries re.
duced to fair compensation aud the
pernicious system of voting them in
cidentals' and the 'contingents' to
cover n multitude of steals should be
abandoned. The Independents and
Democrats can together organize the
Senate in such a way as to get rid Of
the Cochrans, the Delaneys and the
Gallaghers and other rats who have
been iattening at the public cheese,
and in the House the Democrats
should organize so as not to admit to
place anybody to whom attaches ma.
lodorous memories. The people will
forgive q little honest inexpericnce,
but they will not condone the eleya
ton to places of trust of tainted men
or of those who will abuse power. If.
the members of the Legislaturc-elect
will reject free railroad passes and
confne their travelling expenses to
their mileage money the sessions will
be shorter, and instead of meeting on
Tuesday evening and adjourDing Fri.
day afternoon, they will earn their $40
a day with six days service in the
week.
SOME NEEDED REFORMS.
"The now useless and expensive
Legislative Record should be abolish.
ed or its publication reduced to sim.
pie journal of the session. Reform j.
necessary in the public printing, where
there is now lavish waste. In the sup.
ply of stationary and every other class
of articles used in the departments
and Legislature there have been gross
iavoritism in awarding the contracts,
expert knavery in preparing the bids,
fraud in the execution of the orders
aud spoliation of the State treasury in
buying personal perquisites for Off
cials. The supply of soap, buckets,
brushes, brooms, DC, can be cut down
70 per cent. The Senatorial barber
shop, maintained at the public ex-
pense, might properly be abated at
least there is no occasion to contract
for Senatorial shaving mugs at sl4.50
dozen during years when there is no
session of the Senate. These are the
proper subjects for party agitation
from now on until January lst, and
the first duty of the first Democratic
caucus will be to wrestle with
them. We have overthrow the
'spoils system Any resurrection of
it by our party will be deservedly the
death Of the Democracy"
81 would like to see a quiet, modest
Inauguration, without any fuss or
fandangoes aud at not n dollar of ex.
pense to the State. ] believe fifty
thousand Democrats would go to Har.
risburg to see and applaud such a
send Off as that would be.
"The future organization of the par.
ty in this State will determined By the
new State committee, meeting in Har.
risburg on the third Monday of Jan.
uary. 1t will elect chairman, per.
manent secretary and executive com
mittee of seven. | am emphatically
of the opinion that the organization
should be kept out Of the hands of the
office-holders and office-hunters. The
strength of the committee of one hum
dred is largely due to this determina-
ton on its part. The tendency Of
ofice-holders to organize and run the
machine for THAR ovrn prnlactiou and