The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1895-04-19
provo CITY. APRIL 19. 1896
DRAWING TO A CLOSE.

stitutiOnal convention Is upJn u0
lis in plain open sight, indeed.
Yesterday the members by a de
clslye vote adopted the suffrage
clause, This was to have been ex-
pected. 1t is now part OF the new
constitution and it will 60 to help de-
termine the fate of that fateful docu-
ment. Argument is now useless and
we haven't word to say. Ii the con-
stitution is elected and the president
,ssues his proclamation we can live
under this provision as well as anyone
else a d will yield loyal obedience TO
it..this. az well as all others OF its provl6-
ions. albeit, we consider that great
mistake has been committed IN more
respects than one.
One matter strikes US as rather com
ieal with reference to this new constl-
t,,tion It is this: While we have
nrovided for very elaborate and costly
Judiciary system, we have provided
rate of compensation for the other OIL
GERS of our system which is groVeSque
in COMPARISON. From the governor
down the pay is not equal to that OF
fair cook in a second rate restaurant
and not nearly so much as good
iocky receives in any country. Two
thousand dollars year for the COVER
norof one of the sovereign states Oh
this union. will strike the world as econ
omv whitfield down to a very fine point
indeed. The superintendent OF an
asphalt bed or low grade gold mine
would not be warranted il aspiring TO
the goyernorship of Utan. This might
not be 50 bad, but the other offices are
maid in accordance with the same idea
of severe economy. With the COVER
nor the honor must spell for something.
A rich man only can be governor at
tnis rate. Now We do not know a
newsnaper reporter in Kansas who
would work for any such sum. Ii the
state officers will do honest work at
such pay, all right, but While we thus
save at the bung, will we not
waste at the spiggott, by making
trading in official patronage and
favors a sort OF necoeofty,e J~~tihs"- Ife'I'
as il we're? Our theory in this regard Is,
nav honest, capable men, honest and
competent salaries for honest and un-
selfish work. There is such thing as
carving the economy dodge too far.
There is always less jobbing in legis-
lature paid six dollars day than in
one paid but two dollars. After all,
and say what you please about it, but
a competent man, legislator capable
of doing valuable service to the public
will not leave his regular business for
two or three months year or every
two years sfor two dollars day. 1t is
not in the nature Of things, and We
doubt if any lawyer of character or any
farmer of similar mould will contem-
plate going to Salt Lake for two years
upon such a pittance to the utter neg
lect of his business at home. What
then? Why, clearly the officers must
be formed of second or third rate
men in the professions in the city who
could exc out the pittance by deVoting
more or less time to private pursuits.
We remember well when the grange
frs come into power in Texas, the
rage torlow salaries was painful. They
e. ted to reduce the pay of all the Of
including legislators. Well, the
r at vas we had hayseed everywhere
in cur laws, in our public institutions,
in the ;e Offices, and before long
thu ohaaply made and cheaply exc
cutss avs were found to be costing
rather i or than that rich state could
afford. The cheapest is not always the
best, The fact is the article which costs
the most as the start is frequently
found to cost less in the end. So it is
with human labor. 1t only needs now
for the constitutional convention to
provide that half of these salaries be
paid in country produce and the thing
will be complete upon scale compar-
ing with the grange craze in Texas. 1t
would be no bad thing were the con-
vention to pass law to forbid the pub
lication of the salary schedule for fear
that the outside world might hear Of
it and vote Utah too eztraVagant
place to build home in.