The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-30


The bill limiting the session of TIE legis-
lature will, it is expected, be taken up Tor
consideration this week. 1t is very i'm
portant bill. About all the members OF the
legislature recognize the fact that the cost
of that body 10 the state ought to be limited
in some way. The cost Is now believed to
be unnecessarily great.
The trainers Of the constitution provided
! for bien ial sessions. They thought that
one session Of forty days every two years
would be sufficient for the transaction of
the legislative business Of the state. They
understood. however, that there might be a
condition of affairs that would make a
longer session necessary, and, therefore,
they provided for extra and adjourned ses-
sions.
1t has become the practice, however, for
every legislature To have an adjourned
Sc sion, and the adjourned session is really
the principal one since it is the longer one.
II is predicted that the present adjourned
session will last one hundred days or more.
Is there any satisfactory reason why the
legislature should hold long adjourned
session. There certainly does not seem to
w. ~ may 10 odlA SudI bLC ICSASAhbblC
ought to remain in session as long as there
is any important business to transact. If
that view were accepted the legislature
would be in session almost continuously,
because bills would be introduced all the
time which somebody would consider
so important as to demand immediate con-
sideraton.
The main causes of the length of the
sessions are that too much time is given to
matters of little consequence, and the failure
of members to give their whole time to their
public duties A few general laws would
remove the necessity for considering so
many purely local matters, whichEounty
commissioners and municipal authorities
are much better qualified to act upon be-
cause they are in position to know more
about them. Very little work is done in
tho legislature either on Saturdays or Mon
days, because so many OF the members are
at their homes attending to their private
affairs. Pay for these days, however, is
drawn by the members and all the other
expenses of the legislature go on just as on
other days.
Either the legislature should fix a limit
to the session or it should pay the members
salary. If a salary were paid the cost of
the legislature would be much less than at
present. and members would get
through with their work just as soon as
they could without detriment to the states
interests.
The pending bill shows that there is a
feeling that something ought to be done to
lessen a great and growing burden. No
doubt the members of the legislature mean
TO do what they believe to be right, but in
50 large a body, composed of men
having private interests which call
them to their homes in different parts of
the state, it is impossible under the per diem
system to secure the full service to which
the people are entitled and for which they
pay. There will aways be large number
absent, thus delaying business, and many
who are present will not give that attention
to their duties which is necessary to the
rapid dispatch of business. Some way
should be adopted for shortening the session,
and as this legislature is classed as a reform
one it should bring about the necessary re-
form.