Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-05-29
THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCES.

THE VOICE or iC\PER1E FEN CE.
 It is somewhat singular that our legis- lators should be anxious to return to the experiment of annual sessions before the biennial system has been given a full and fair trial. Certainly if they pay heed to the voice of the people as reflected in the press of the state they will make haste slowly in going backward in this matter. There is no call for annual sessions of the Connecticut legislatures, and certainly the people are anxious that the present
 plan be given an opportunity of proving its efficiency before anything is done toward a change.
 Meanwhile it is well to note the eX perience of Massachusetts where the leg
 most influential portion of the press is urging the wisdom of the biennial sys- | tenn The industrial, social and political conditions of the bay state are much like those that prevail
 here, and what is said against.
 the annual sessions plan there has a pc
 culiar relevancy of application to Con
 necticut. So we can endorse what the Boston Herald says when it urges the | wisdom of a change as 1t does ill these | words: They (the legislatures) come too often and they stay too long. The peo- | pie of Massachusetts do not need, nor do l they desire, a session of their legislature oftener than once in two years. There is a natural conservatism among them as to any changes in the state consti-
 tuition but the politicians have had a keen scent as to their feeling on this
 point. and they will not give them the opportunity to exhibit it. When it was proposed to submit the prohibitory con-
 stitutional amendment to the people, | these politicians were willing to assent
 in the calm assurance that the people would vote it down. They will run no risk with the amendment lesSening the sessions of the legislature, because their instinct tells them the people will not
 vote that down. A new legislature comes in too soon after it's predecessor to be much of a novelty, and though it is generally received kindly at first, by the time it has been four months in session the people get to be very tired of it. It is in this way that our legis- latures are proverbially unpopular.
 They do something of themselves also to become so. Meeting too often, and con l tinuing too long, they do not contine themselves to necessary work. It is, in a modified form, a case of mischief being found for idle hands to do. If there
 was legislation but once in two years, there would be but about one-half the l same amount of work, or the work that
 was done would be done in half the | time. In either case there would be an
 improvement. A legislature is much
 more likely to do mischievous work if it
 does unnecessary work. We seek sub iects of legislation we are not half as
 industrious in the work of legislation
 as we ought to be. It is this which
 makes the work of our legislatures at
 all times a subject of apprehension.
 The people feel safe when their legisla-
 ture is not in session. If it met but once
 in two ysars, the people would be but
 one, half this time in dread of what
 might be done."
 Connecticut is not particularly anx-
 ious for annual exhibitions such as has been given by the legislators of this year They would much rather, we think, have the legislature in session less often than every two years, and we have confidence
 that if an amendment to that effect were : offered it would have better chance oi , acceptance by the voters than the one } proposed on Monday by the house com } mittee. If the house adopts that report
 of the COL stitutional amendments com mittee it will commit a mistake whose
 full import will not appear until tn,
 people shall have had chance to ex , press their feelings at the polls.
 l A Turtle With Iron Jaws.