Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1883-01-04
Expenses OF the Senate.


matter of selecting officers. None the
less the Democrats have rare chance
To put themselves aud tho lndepeu.
dents on the record with regard to some
vicious practices which have long pre-.
vailed in the Senate, and which were
emphatically condemned 10y the people
in the late elections. 1t reeds no de.
monstration to prove that If the Inde.
pendents lend their votes to the reten
ton of the Cochrans and Delaneys, who
have in times past oiliclAted in the
Senate, they approve their practices
and become responsible for their con.
tinuance.
1t has been, from time TO time, point.
ed out in these columns what waste and
fraud attach TO the service OF the House
by the employment of supernumerarIes
and the mysterious dispensation OF
contingent and extra funds. But,
If possible, il is worse in the State Sen.
ate, where for fifty members are re.
quired nearly as many officers, and, in
some instances, larger contingents than
for the House with over four times as
many members. According to the re.
port OF the Auditor General for the past
count OF the Senate were Si4 spool,
and for the year before $IlI.ll90j,
making a total OF SljS, ,G45 0G for single
session OF the Senate. As previously
noted, Auditor General Lemon does not
set forth in detail in his reports where
the money goes and how the coutin.
gents and pay for minor officials are
distributed around. Ul the $4i j26 Oh
paid out during the past year some 80.
900 was owing to members on account
OF their salarics-the remainder must
have gone To the minor officers and the
multitude OF mysterious purposes GOV
cred by Cpuliugeuts. Ol the $lli.Ilg.
% p,id out for the previous year there
was allowed SS.Ig2.2O for clerks and ar.
sIstants; Sl,2I1.IU tor speaker CLERK
- 1l3 for door Keeper, zcTgr4ut-at.
arms, etc. 81 Sll 20 Tor pa,tcrs and
folders, $4,000 Tor I,uitofs; - 10
Tor pages S2Uji. - OF fr~meu; $l,.s3
lor postmaster- 81 $50 30 Tor engineers.
The irrcpressible Delaney doubles up
beautifully, drawing 81 !N3 tor services
as Librarian and 81 200 additional tor
services daring the recess, cndInE Dec. /
81. 1851 Tie ImpuicuCe OF this rogue
u illustrated by the fact thnt though an
officer Of the senate he taxes uuuhl- /
pay, charging one salary tor hl- services
during the session. and au almost
equal amount tor hs services during
the recess. For the year 1870. Iu waIyu
there vas no session ul the senate at
AL, the scamp drew 81, 500 salary.
whIle in the succeeding year, when
there was a session, b,.IIr S2.i~I lrr
services, he drew - 6i5 ior postage agi
other alleged rNprnd tuic-.
Ia 1851, when the senate cxpeu-,-
ran up to 81 II 1905, teius about tNo.
thtrAs ot the CT O. TIA" session, CuH,i
Clerk Cochran drew $500 Tor "ypuf o..
gent expense OF tu" session. 500
during the recess, $500 ior index tug tu,.
journal and 50 tor taking care ot tu,.
electric clock. There nre 81 i3j nd
to b. X. Burkholdcr aud j. II. Leonard.
OF thIs city. ior forwarding documents
to Senator'S
To get proper .del Of what details
make up thp.e vast expenditures wc
need to turn back to Auditor General
Scheli's report OF 1879, wherein they
are more fully accounted tor. and az the
expenses Of the Two sessions, lN7g-s0
aud lSSO-Sl, gIegate nearly the same.
1t Is a iair inference that they were on
the same scale in their parts. In 1879
the pay OF the fifty Senators, mileage
aud stationery aud postage allowance
amounted to Nl,Jsj 40; but, besides
Librarian Delaney, referred to before.
the chief clerk got 3 >,2.2i, journal
clerk $2,3lJ, reading clerk $2,a3g so.
q D. =
gIg. message clerk 81 30, speaker
clerk Sl,2OS, sergeant at.arms SLED.
and two assistants each the same; post.
master 3 DO, two messenger. Sg27 and
and $3.50, three doorkcepers Sg336O.
1870 and Sg2]sO; seven pasters and
folders about $3.50 each. three janilors
about the same, two ircmen, an en-.
gineer and two watchmen from $g25 to
$3.50 each, a chaplain Sl2j, and ten
pages 1902 per session. The Senate,
with fifty members. had within one Of
as many clerks As the House With two
hundred members, and about two-t thirds
ss many sttaches, though having only
one fourth the members.
Any reasonable man knows that the
entire pasting and folding and forward.
ing OF documents at Harrisburg. which
have afforded places for about - men
aud cost the State some $4,000. can he
done by contract for, at the most, s..
OOO; one postmaster would suffice for
both Houses the clerical force can be
reduced one.third the page. one. half:
the "hremen" whose duty It Is to lay
hickory logs on the ornamental FIRE
places, can be entirely dispensed with
two engineers can run the heating appa.
raius of the whole capitol, aud the
force OF sergeants at arms and door
keepers can be cut down fully one half
The Democrats can lay down a program
for the efficient Off rering oi both Houses
and provide ample salar -. which will
save from $jO0"0 to $4,000 improve
political morals. and not cripple the
public seTvic" IN the sliRhiesl.
Of the S747S 10 contingent fund
drawn by CocufaO ~ ls19-wien there
we're three ianltors Tor the Senatp--we
fad that there we're paid out $2,I72 -
alone for cleaning the Senate chamber
aud committee rooms This would