The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-02-25
FROM COLUMBUS.
The Farmer Legislators in q
Peck of Trouble.
Already They Have Shown Their
Inconsistency.

Agairsst Non-Partisan Commissioners
Gor Abe Government of cities.
COLUMBUS. o., Feb. 10.
The members Of the third house, as
the farmers of the general assembly are
called, have gotten themselves into a
peck of trouble. A week or two ago,
they voted against the proposed increase
IN the salary Of the supreme judges of
the state. Then to show to what incon-
sistancies some men can go, they voted
TO increase the salaries of the common
pleas judges Of Cuyahoga county to the
same figure proposed for the supreme
court; and that bill was passed.
Now, then, a bill increasing the salary
of the dairy and food commissioner
from $1,000 to $4,000 is staring them in
face, Here is farmer asking for a raise
and the shoe is on the other foot; all
members concede that this raise should
be made, but the farmers are afraid that
they will show more inconsistency, if
nothing worse, in voting for it.
Let me show the justice of this
proposition in this way: Heretofore the
dairy commissioner has been appointed,
and received a salary Of $1,000 year.
The law was changed to make the Office
elective and the salary was cut to 81 200.
Mr.. Mcneil, therefore, had to make a
state canvass to be elected and will have
larger and more duties to perform and
more money TO spend, and yet he will
have to serve for $1,000, unless this bill
is passed. All other state commissioners
receive 1000, why should he not. If
man is competent to spend $685.
900 or more year and prosecute
work that is important enough to
call Commissionership into existence,
then he certainly is worth more than
$1,000 a year. And yet what are the
farmers going TO do about it? They
nearly all acknowledged that the
supreme judges were underpaid and yet
refused to raise their salaries, and to be
consistent-which, alas, they have so far
failed to be-they should, while ac-
knowledging that this salary ought to be
raised, vote against it,
1t is to be hoped that they will have
to vote upon this bill within a day or
two; the roll call may develop some
more strange things that we new mem
bers are wondering at daily.
An Unusual Occurrence.
1t is not often that the people of the
present generation have a chance to see
those of the former, who We're active in
working for the country in a trying
time-except the soldiers who fought
on the battlefield. A few days ago, we
were treated to sight of the Hon. ].
NJ. Ashley, of Toledo. He is nearly
eighty years of age, and is living a
beautiful old age if any man ever did. 1t
will be remembered that he introduced
the first measure to impeach Andrew
johnson. That measure was voted
down, but in few weeks after, when
johnson attempted to displace Stanton
as secretary of war by Grant, the move
to impeach was again brought up and
Mr.. Ashley was prominent in pressing
the vote to a conclusion.
Mr.. Ashley introduced the original
bill to submit the amendment to allow
the negroes to vote. The battle was a
hard one, and the Ohio congressman was
II the fore front; it became evident that
the bill could not pass, and when the
vote was taken Mr.. Ashley voted mo"
and gave warning that he would press
the motion to reconsider at the December
session. He was as good as his word and
after another hard fought contest, the
measure went through. To Mr.. Ashley
as much as to any other one man is the
success of this great amendment, at that
time, due.
Mr.. Ashley was a member of the
Thirty-seventh, Thirty-eighth, Thirty
ninth and Fortieth congresses; he was
then appointed provisional governor of
one of the southern states, Mississippi
think it was, and when he came to run
for congress again he was defeated by
General Isaac Sherwood. This soured
the old gentleman on politics for some
years, as he thought that his services to
his party and country entitled him to
other treatment.
How Price Got Left.
Representative Price is the leader of
his side Of the house, which is so far in
the minority that the majority the other
way is larger than the minority itself, so
that when Mr.. Price wants to fool the
majority he has to get up early in the
morning, work pretty sly and all day.
The other day he did get up early in the
morning, and he was sly and worked all
day. For some reason he wanted to in
vestigate the right of the Pennsylvania
Railroad company to the use Of certain
streets in Cincinnati. So did Senator
Geyer. They both wanted to get on the
committee as chairman; this was obvi-
ously impossible, and in fact if the mat
Tar Nunnt thrpr1Oh 11nfar a Joint rasO1u-
tion it wasn't altogether sure that either
would even get on the committee. So
each introduced a resolution in their re-
spective houses. The senate resolution
was passed. The hous resolution came
mp, and Mr.. Price made one of his char
acteristic speeches, in which he called
attention to the alleged fact that the
railroad company in question should be
investigated and sort of dared the ma
jority to make the investigation. The
discussion was pretty heated, and most
Of the majority side did not catch on to
the fact that Mr.. Price was only anxious
to be chairman of the committee, which
precedent would dictate if the resolu-
lion went through.
The vote was taken and enough inno-
cent Republicans voted in the affirmative
TO pass the measure.
Senator Geyer and Mr.. Price then re-
tired to the smoking room TO laugh in
each others sleeves. But a wise man of
laughs last gets there just the same; at
any rate when the speaker came to name
the committee Mr.. Price was not made
chairman, indeed, he was next TO the