The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1888-07-21
EXCESSIVE MILEAGE.

We publish elsewhere II table show
ing tho amount Of mileage received by
each n,eint'er Of the House for the late
session 1T the Legislature. TIE table
will be read with nlingt, Il sorrow and
h~is'nisI'mlrni, when the amounts char
geti Ivy some ut tn. .., vt.n'l men for ra,i-
road a. d ~ienu,t"'Hi fares are compared
with tho actual cost Ut travel so Il atom
Rouge.
The law provides tia, each leg ,>int,n
shall toe paid his act ual travelling rX per,
SOS to the seat 0f government and home
again yet We find that tait ,h.. ,ne..,-
tiers ot 'n. House d,u ,"t m-,'n,. T."
demand excessive mileage, aud to axe
more from, the pub!w tr a-ury th..n
they are entitled ln.
The amount of uvcrcharge in each
case is not large, ranging from IS to
$50, or say $500 altogether; but 1t is the
spirit of the thing that must arouse
feeling of indignatiOn,-that members
of tho Legislature to whom we have en-.
trusted the law-making, should cOndes-
cend to sign vOuches declaring that it
cost them $50 to get TO Baton Rouge,
when it actually cost them $5, $40 or
perhaps nothing.
That quite a number OF the members
have railroad passes is admitted. We
do not propose, however, 10 inquire
into this matter. The State has enxag.
ell to pay its Legislators the cost of trav-
el to and from Baton Rouge; and ought
to pay them; but a majority were not
satisfied with this, and fifty>four of the
ninety-eight Legislators charged and
received considerably more than the
k<>e NA.AAS
incidental travelling expenses.
A study of the list will show the
most remarkable variations in the mi
leage demanded. Look at the parish
Of Orleans for instance? Why has it
cost so mpny of tho delegation three
times AS much TO get to Baton Rouge
as the others, and more than twice as
much as railroad fare? Why again in
certain parishes has one member pu,
in mileage bill twice as great as his
brother member living only three
miles distant from him? Why is the
mileage from places on the river, with,
in a few miles Of Baton Rouge, so ex.
cessive, and why does it cost members
coming from a parish in the immediate
neighborhood Of the capital the make
mum of $50 to get there and back ?
We recommend perusal of this IN.
BILE to the coQstituants of each legisla-
tor. Let them see how much it costs
their "member" to 60 to Baton Rouge
and return. and how much it costs
otherr, ana they can then find the cx-
act amount of extra pocket money the
Representatives has received from the
State.
The truth is, that Il very bad practice
has grown up, or rather been handed
down from Republican days, OF ciiarg-
ing excessive mileage. and regarding IL
as one of the perquisites of ii member
of the legislature. The law says just
how much a Representative shall re-
ceive, and for him to demand or take
more than his proper compensation is
to take money of the people to which
he has no claim whatever. WG sup
pose many of the gentlemen who pock.
eted this extra mileage thought the
amounts thus taken from the Treasury
50 small that ii mattered little. They
are mistaken; it matters greatly.
Louisiana needs a Legislature in which
we can have the most complete and
implicit confidence men above suspi-
ciOn, men whom we can feel sure will
not make the mistake of Il dollar in
their accounts. These, aud these only,
can we fully trust.