Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-06-08
Aarlcaster fntelltgerlcer.
FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 8. 1883.
No Good Reason for 1t.

FRlDAI NGSkNASNSp
No Good Reason Tor 1t.
The Legislatures ten days adjourn
ment has no good reason to sustain it.
In ten days all the apportionment bills
should be passed. The members expect
to draw ten dollars day for their SER
vices, whether they labor or take holi-
day. If that is just expectation, we
see nothing to prevent them from COL
lecting ten dollars day for the remain.
der of their two years term of office, If
they do not desire to adjourn sine die
during that time. The law gives them
ten dollars per diem at each adjourned
or special session. One thousand dol
lars are allowed for each regular and
each adjourned annual session not ex-
ceeding one hundred days, and ten dol
lars per diea, for time necessarily spent
after the expiration of the hundred
days, provided that such place shall not
exceed fifty days at any one session.
This limits the period of the regular
and adjourned annual sessions, for
which payment will be made, to one
hundred and fifty days but there does
not seem to be any such limit put upon
a special session or an adjourned session
that is not the " adjourned annual .
one. But it is not reasonable that the
members of the Legislature should be
paid their per diem when they stand
adjourned for a week or more and
if it be that when called in special seS-
sion they can sit indefinitely they should
not be paid if they do not stick to their
work. 1t would seem that the state
treasurer could justifiably refuse to pay
them tor the days during which they
stand adjourned. Neither of the two
bodies can adjourn for more than three
days without the assent of the other,
and the line could properly he drawn at
a three days adjournment so much of
relaxation per week has been claimed
had allowed TO the members, to enable
them to attend to their private affairs
and comfort their families. But surely
that liberality on the part of the state is
sufficient and when the legislators un
dertake to abandon their duty for ten
days they should at least have the grace
not to claim their per dicm.
SOME of the Republican newspapers
seem to think that it was great error
on the par. of the governor to call the
extra session at this time, instead of
allowing the meeting of the Legislature
to go over until the cool weather-and
after the fall elections. The governors
duty and responsibility were To immedi
ately summon the Legislature and direct
its attention TO the duty imposed by the
constitution which it had failed to per
form and to exhaust his legal powers 10
have it done. That he has done, and
none too promptly. Having done SO it
rests with the members of the Legisla.
lure to decide how they will perform their
part. If they think they can afford to
face their constituents after voting to
adjourn until next winter, with or with
out pay in the interim, they can take
that course, but they had no right to
expect the governor to share any
such responsibility with them. Ev
identity Cooper and his associ-
ate Stalwarts thought that it
would be good policy to get over the
fall elections without having made an
apportionment and to go through the
campaign with Il hnllabaloO about the
expense OF an extra session called by Il
Democratic governor. The governor 9
party nlpped that scheme in the
bud by promptly voting to go on with
the business of the session after Il bril-
breathing spell. When they meet again
the members can settle this whole bust
ness in ten days. The independents
pretend to be willing to do the fair
thing and the Democrats have shown
disposition to go twc-tl,irds of the way
to meet them. In view of this there i,
no good reason why we should not have
the appointments and IA rest for the
legislative jaw 10y the first of July. Then
the Fourth could be celebrated with
added thankfulness.
THE Committee Of One Hundred il,
Philadelphia is 4 partisan Republican
association, organized on that avOwel
basis, intended to work within its own
party and to elect Republicans to Office,
except when it cannot find honest men
of that party or cannot elect them with