Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-01-09
POLITICAL POINTS.
TIE HOUSE AT HARRISBURG.

NJ eek starts Some Keforms-Wil; The House
Follow :-Some Good Advice For IT
Proceedings of Congress
Harrisburg Dispatch to the Times.
Chief Clerk Meek has caught the reform
infection He mas made his selection Of
pages and scrubwouen and the effect is
great disappointment among the various
applicants. The number of pages employed
at several past sessions has been fifteen,
but Meek has chosen only six, i'll the be-
lief that they vii: be adequate to the ac.
commodation of the officers and memberg
of the House. The number Of scrub
women has been reduced from 11j to G5.
By this stroke of reform Meek will reduce
the expenses of the House about $2. 500 in
a session Of one hundred days. If the
Democratic House caucus should ratify
the action of the committee cr reduction
Of Off ces the total reduction Of expenses,
including taat projected by Meek, will be
about $4,000.
Democratic Opportunity.
POtIsviIlc Standard, Dem.
With some people prosperity is a more
searching test of the true elements of char
acter than adversity is. The same thing is
true Of political parties, Sometimes tho
surest way to kill political party is to
put it in power. To-day the main reliance
of the Republican party is on Democratic
| blunders. 1t remains to be seen whether
this expectation is we'll grounded. or
whether the Republican leaders will be
| disappointed in their bslief that the Dem
| ocratic party will speedily demonstrate
its incapacity to successfully govern q
| great country. In the organization of the
Legislature the Democrats at the very
outset, will be cpr'rrH, {! Hy 4 question of
| practical reform, on which they will b.;
| compelled to show their hands. The nun
Der Of subordinate officials usually appoint
| Ell to dance attendance tD Iii" l. ,gislaturc
ought to be cat down to at least ono half
It's ordinary proportion. Under Republican
rule this has become shameful abuse.
The Senate has 4S officers to attend to the
wants of fifty members and i'll the House
the proportion is almost rs large. Every
session of the Legislature men have been
named for many of these subordinate
positions, who have never even visited
Harrisburg except to draw their pay or
who have farmed their positions out to
substitutes, who were glad to take the
Contract for little Or nothing, and then let
the work take care of itself. Still others
come to Harrisburg to pass the winter,
loaling around the hotels, and bravely
drawing their pay, in utter disregard OF
the duties they are supposed to perform.
The Democrats i'll the Legislature must
grapplc with this form of public robbery,
with the opening of the session. Il is 4
question which admits of neither compro
mise nor postponement. 1t will be a diff
ficult question to handle satisfactorily, fol
it is safe to suppose that each member has
two or three inchoate statesmen on his
hands who insist that they shall be pro
vidrd for at the public expense. A law
should be passed at once limiting the
number of employees in either House
The position OF resident clerk should be
made Il permanent one and the appoint
mept Of all the officials who have in charge
tbs care of the capitol building and the
comfort and convenience Of the members
should be vested exclusively in him. L
would certainly be a great relief to mem
bers of the Legislature if the regula
scramble Oh p,,,>:rs and folders could be
avoided and while few aspiring states
men may go home vowing vengeance be
cause they nave not been permitted t.
feed at the public crib, yet every Demo
cratic representative will SO strengthen
himself with his constituents by such
policy that he can afford to disregard TIL
growls of tie soreheads.