The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-11
LOOKS RATHER QUEER
REPRESENTATIVES, JOHNSON VOT-
ED. FOR THAT APPROPRIATION
Dishonesty for Doing the Same
Thing Last Year-The BuIIdozing.

Aspirants for honors in the halls of
legislation should be careful that their
acts after they get there are in con-
sonance with the claims they made
before election, for If they neglect
this highly important matter they are
likely to find themselves called some
very hard names and accused Of some
quiet double dealing, which will be
satisfactory neither to their vanity nor
their constituents.
A case in the Legislature that is at
tracing great deal of attention and
the member who is receiving some of
the back handed compliments in con-
sequence is likely to be called to ac-
count by some of those who voted for
him before he is through with it.
1t appears that during the last cam
paign James Devine had occasion to
visit Sanpete county in the interests
of the G. o. p and while in that region
addressed meeting at Ephraim. Be-
fore he had proceeded far with his re-
marks, however, the audience began to
depart and the benches would soon
have become bare, when the Republi-
can candidate forI the Legislature, ia
cob Johnson, saw that something must
be done to keep the meeting from being
vine down and began to speak himself.
The first subject he took up was the
expenditures made by the legisla ture
at he last session. Putting on a look
of most impressive virtue and throw
ing into his voice a tone of horror,
the ambitious candidate began to COM
plain because the Democratic legis-
lature had seen fit to appropriate the
sum of $1,000 fOre the contingent eX-
pense of the assembly. He said, it is
claimed, that this action was unprece-
dented and dishonest, a fraud on the
people who had placed those legisla-
tors in power. He turned to two
former legislators for a confirmation
of his statements and as they did not
deny what he said he grew more bitter.
Then he asked those who were as
founded to hear that the men whom
they had trusted had so betrayed them,
what they thought had been done with
the money. OF course he knew they
did not know, and then proceeded to
tell them that the men who came
from their homes in the dead of winter
for the poor compensation of Sc a day,
did not desire to pay their washing
bills for quiet little nips on the side
out of their own pockets, but thought
they would foist these expenses on to
the territory of Utah.
Thus this apostle of reform, this
wholesale accuser of honorable men,
this earnest advocate of economy went
ripping and tearing up and down the
county and obtained many believers
when he said that the last legislature
had been dishonest in appropriating
that $1,000 for the contingent expenses
of the House.
1t is difficult to imagine, in view of
these facts, what must have been the
feelings of amaZement with which the
few SanpeterS who are in town beheld
this apostle of reform vote for an in
crease of the contingent expense fund
by the addition of $780, Many met
and exchanged significant glances and
asked if Johnson had found since he
came here that his expenses for wash
ing bills, side money for cigars and
quiet nips on the side would amount
to more than he had calculated upon
and was thus moved to consent to the
adoption of what he called "a dishon-
est measure" which is almost twice as
bad as the measure adopted by the
Democrats. Either Mr.. Johnson should
go to his constituents in the Sanpete
valley and explain to them that he
was in error when he stated that the
contingent fund was used for dishon-
est purposes, or should not feel injured
il someone should indulge in some
quiet and uncomplimentary gossip con-
corning his ideas of dishonesty AS
it is he is in a rather queer position.