The San Francisco call., 1896-01-24
THE CODE COMMISSION,
Assemblyman Hatfield Says 1t
Has Accomplished but
Little.
Its Members and Those of the Railroad
Commission Are Roundly
Criticized.

SACRAMENTO, CAL, Jan. 23.-There
is a general provision which requires State
officials and commissions to establish their
headquarters at the State Capitol, and
when the original bill creating the Code
| Commission was presented to the late
Legislature Assemblyman Hatfield intro
duced an amendment to the bill which
distinctly provided that the commission
shall hold Its meetings In room in the
Capitol building, to be furnished by the
Secretary of State.
Now, as a matter of fact, the Code Com
mission has not met in this city since the
summer of last year; on the contrary, it
has been soiourning in San Francisco
Assemblyman L. t. Hatfield, an attorney
of Sacramento, proposes to see that this
commission, appointed for the revision
and reform of the law, shall comply with
the law, and if there is any meaning In
the English language then the amendment
to the act creating the Code Commission
means that it should meet in this city.
Despite this amendment the members
persist in holding their meetings in San
Francisco, VIII ere they have been for
months. Hatfield further claims that he
believes that the commission has accom-
plished little if anything in the year in
which it has held office. Hatfield said:
"Judge Daiy has been ass isting in the
Railroad Commission case for several
months. Judge Baldwin of Stockton has
been sick for over a month, and unable to
attend TO his duties in San Francisco.
The commission is surrounded by politi-
cal and other interests which tend to de-
tract from the attention which it should
bestow on the duties of its Office. Each
Commissioner gets $4,000 per year, being
the same salary as that paid to a Superior
Judge, ana it was unquestionably the in
tention of the Legislature that they should
give their entire time to the work for
which the commission was created.
1.-The expense of maintaining.this COM
misSio on is over SIG 600 per year for salaries
alone. When this bill was introduced
in to the Legislature it was pet bill with
all the attorneys throughout the State
and great things were expected of it. but
unless there is a change between now and
the meeting of the next Legislature the
prospects are that the commission will be
abolished owing to the TACT that the work
done has not been commensurate in any
sense with the amount expended.
"The claim of the Commissioners that
they want to be in San Francisco in order
to be in close contact with the attorneys
of the State is the rankest nonsense, for
they certainly must realize that their time
is too valuable to listen to personal argu-
ments from attorneys, and that in order to
expedite their work all suggestions should
be mailed to the commission in brief, and
these could be received fully as well in
Sacramento as in San Francisco
This was one of the last bills that Gov
ernor Budd signed, and he hesitated long
before signing, fearing that it might be the
creating of useless commission at time
when California was more heavily taxed
than any other State in the Union 1t
said by those who are intimate with the
Governor that this commission has been
one of his sorest trials. He fears that
through lack of application it Will NOT ac-
complish what the people expect, and it is
further rumored that he has demanded
that they come to Sacramento and go to
work.
Governor Budd himself states that he is
so interested in the result of this commits
sion's work that he has acce pted the vol
untary offer of his own father, Hon. Judge
Budd of Stockton. who has agreed to de-
vote every spare moment of time to assist
ing the Commissioners In the revision OF
the codes