The Indianapolis journal., 1895-03-15
LEGISLATIVE REFORM.

The Indianapolis Journal suggests an
amendment to the Constitution extending
the life of the Legislature from sixty to
ninety days and of holding annual sessions.
be to limit the sessions to thirty days and
making them quadrennial instead of bien-
nial.-Crawfordsville Journal.
Sixty days give the members abundant
opportunity for all the display of stump
oratory, or If it be necessary to shut off
some of this toward the close of the session
in order that important business be trans
acted, the State at large is not very
great loser. We are inclined to the belief
that the sixty-day biennial session affords
ample time for the transaction of neces-
sary business If the members make the use
of their pportunities.-Fort Wayne Ga
zette.
The indianapolis Journal is right in advo-
eating change in the State Constitution,
permitting longer sessions of the Legis-
lature. There is no economy in short
session-in fact, by reason of the haste and
hurry burly it involves, there Is often
great extravaganza in it. And there is
ctsd aso muca na % cruJe amd ycions egsati0n en
by the shortness of the sessions. Indiana has
outgrown the conditions existing in 1852
the Legislature meets every year. We
would not advocate that method of over
coming II the -, dicuty but rather the ex,
or perhaps four months.-Richmond Item.
The Indianapolis Journal is a persistent
advocate OF proposition for iengthening
the biennial sessions of the General AS
sembly, but the Courier is convinced that
it will not have the Endorsement of the
people. There is a weli-grounded impress
sion in the public mind that the present
constitutional provision limiting the ses-
sions to a period OF sixty-one days is al
together acceptable. 1t provides for ample
time IL that time Is properly utilized. The
and the wholesale Introduction of useless
which recently ended so ANONYMOUSLY, more
than thousand measures were loaded upon
thirds M finally found their WA way af to the waste
basket 1t IS possible and practical to pro-
vide rules for the, immediate killing, Of
buncombe bills, and the presiding officer
of each house has the power, IL he is dis
posed to exert it inteIigentiy and courage
ously, to save at least half the time
measures without mertt.-Lafayette Courier.
The Sentinel extenos it's congratulations
to the Journal on it's article OF Monday on
constitutional reform. While not agreeing
in all the views expressed, the Sentinel is
satisfied that the people of Indiana are
rapidly reaching the conviction that the
State has outgrown its present Constitu-
tion, and that there ought to be a candid
discussion of constitutional principles pre-
tional convention The question of
legislative reform which the Journal dis
cusses is one of the greatest Importance.
1t will not be disuuted by any one that
much of our legislative work is unsatis-
factory. 1t is possible to have good Legis-
latures under the present system. That has
been demonstrated. But it has also been
demonstrated that it is possible to have
very bad ones. The question is whether it
is possible to make any changes that will
tend to improve tue character of the legis-
latures and of their work The change
from per diem pay to stated salaries for
legislators, advocated by the Journal, would
probably be beneficial to some extent. The
worst evil of the per dlem system i'm the
past has been the deliberate delaying OF
legislation to force the call of a special
session. This became SO common and SO
obnoxious to the people that public senti-
ment has firmly supported the Governors
for several sessions past in refusing to call
special sessions at the close of the regular
session. At the present time public senti-
ment would probably condemn the calling
of q special session except under very
urgent need. But public sentiment relaxes
the memory of abuses fades away. and
this same abuse is liable to arise again
unless the temptation to ii is removed
Many States have adopted the system oi
paying a stated salary, not materially larger
than the. usual per diem allowance, and
this has been found satisfactory remedy
for the evil.-Indianapolis Sentinel.