Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-11-23
Aanraster fnteIligencer.
Affnr Their Money,

After Their Money.
The Republican senators concluded
not to play out the game which Cooper
and Quay set up for them. These two
leaders went to Washington TO set up
another game with Arthur, which Lee
and Stewart, representing the Inde-
pendents, we're to join in. There was a
miscarriage here, because the Independ.
ent senator's were unayoidably alb
sent. Messrs. Cooper and Quay should
not undertake to arrange too many
things at once. Their undertaking tc
persuade the Republican legislators at
Harrisburg to forego any part Of their
per diem was sufficiently arduous TO
demand their personal attention. III
the legislators aforesaid could only have
felt sure that they could play the
game without losing anything by 1t they
would have done 1t cheerfully. They
took to it very lovingly in the Senate at
first, and the committee reported the bill
which Senator Mylin says was set up in
Philadelphia. The idea was to put the
senators on record as demanding pay.
ment only for their days of actual ser.
vice and to let the members of the
House take as much as they pleased
But when the Democratic House threat.
e1ed to display as much virtuOus self.
renunciation as the senators, the Repub
lican legislators became suddenly
persuaded that it would be very foolish
not to take all tho compensation the law
allows them. So the senators turned
upon the bill that had been prepared for
them to swallow, and appropriated in
brief paragraph enough money to pay
the legislators for every dayOf the session.
The lovely encomiums which have been
passed upon the senators in their party
organs now need revision. 1t is definite
ly determined that they are rs fond of
ten dollars day as the Democrats,
There has been a general suspicion atlOat
which we now know has done the Re
publican legislators no injustice, that
the extra session would have come TO
conclusion long ago if the ten dollars a
day had not been as seductive TO the
Republican as to the Democratic legis-
lators Honors are very easily between
them on this score The Democrats lad
to bear in the late canvass the burthen
of the ten dollars a'day, because the
Republican Senate pretended that it
wanted to adjourn, when it did not
burn to do anything Of thekind. ItfOund
it very profitable to stay in session when
it met for few minutes but twice a
week, at ten dollars a day for every day.
1t would have been very well if the pre-.
tence of not wanting the money could
have been kept up, until the Democratic
House forced them to take it bu, it is
amusing to see how quickly it was drop
ped, when there came a fear that the
Democratic House would not do any
thing of the kind.
When the Legislature gets through
with its appropriations the governor
will take hand in tie game There
seems to be a suspicion that the ten
dollars day men will need to recruit
their numbers up to two-thirds to get
away with their money under the gov.
ernor's objection. One thing is plain,
and that is that the money has not been
earned by the majority of the lCgis-
tors. They had u plain duty to
perform which could have been done in
ten days. 1t was not done. The ques-
tion is whether the majority should be
paid to prevent injustice being done to
the minority. We do not think that the
Republican legislators havO earned any
compensation and there is strong
Hessian contingent among the Demo.
cratic legislators, who have been sitting
only for their money, who do not de.
serve to get what they have been after.
A bill apprOpriating Ten dollars u day
for every day Of the session should not
be passed. We are persuaded that the
present Legislature can not determine
what it has really earned. II had better
adjourn without an appropriation bill
and leave the adjudication of the matter
to the next Legislature.