The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-06-14
The Passing Of the Law Makers,

Both in what it did and in what it
left undone the Legislature which
adjourned yesterday, aftc. one OF The
longest sessions ever held IN Harris
burg, has left record ol winch TIE
public has the highest reason to be
ashamed, and one which Should make
every self respecting nembet Of either
house wish from the centre Of his
heart might be speedily forgotten. 1t
is record of public duty neglected,
OF reckless squandering Of the peoples
money for personal and partisan pur-
poses and of niggardly economy
where the highest public interests
weie at stake.
Worst of all it is a record Of the
subordination Of the public good to
private greed in every instance where
the two came in conflict. The repeal
of the pipe line bill IN the interest of
the Standard oil monopoly, the pass
age Of the two bills handing the
electric lighting business in the entire
commonwealth over to the existing
corporations without possible com
petition from any source, the bills
permitting the consolidation Of the
street railway systems, the greater
Pittsburg bill, in short, nearly every
important bill passed by the Legisla-
ture was private gift to somebody at
the public expense.
Its record for the creation of useless
Offices and for adding to the public
burdens by unnecessary public ex-
penditures was equally bad. More
than 100000 was added to the
annual pay roll Of the State by the
creation Of new Offices and the
increase of salaries to officials already
provided by law. Appropriations for
improvements vital to the welfare of
the State, such as the deepening of
the Delaware channel, were refused,
while hundreds of thousands of dollars
were voted by log rolling agreements
to institutions of doubtful public utility
and which, if necessary at all, should
be maintained as private charities.
The constitutional requirement that
the State shall be newly apportoned
into Congressional, Senatorial, Repre-
sentative and Judicial districts after
each decennial census was ignored
except as regards a Judicial apportion-
ment, which was marred by the crea
ton of lot of unnecessary new
| Judges. The failure to pass apportion.
ment bills was without even a partisan
excuse, as the State government i:
Republican in every branch The
Legislature could have passed bills
partisan to the last degree and they
would have received executive ap
proval.
! 1t would be impossible even to
enumerate in single article of moder
ate length the sins of omission and
commission justly chargeable to the
expiring Legislature, and dsorderly
as its closing scenes were its mos,
welcome act was that of final adjourn.
ment. 1t has left the dominant party
divided into two bitterly hostile
factions, while the entire party must
rest under the stigma of its extrava
gance and its utter disregard both OF
its sworn duty and the public welfare
If worse and more worthless Legis,
lature ever disgraced the State the
memory of its misdoings has taded
from the public memory. The mos,
unfortunate part Of it all is that few
capable and public-spirited members
of both houses must share the
malodorous reputation of the body o.
which they were hopeless minority
Times.