The herald., 1897-02-13
Gives the Republicans Much
Annoyance
LOOKS VERY LIKE A TRAP
Having Walked Into H., They Cant
Get Out
Duixent cancusIng Reveals no Escape Prom
su Unpleasant Predicamsnt-Attmpts
to Secure Q Reconsideration
Special to The Herald.

Special to The Herald.
SACRAMENTO, Feb. 12.-Republic'
ans of the legislature find themselve:
placed in a very annoying position. The
veto of Governor Budd in which he re
fused to sign the printing office defici
ency bill is causing them no end of trou-
BILE, and q number are of the opinion thai
the party has foolishly walked into the
hole dug for them by their political OPP
ponents. with Caminetti as chief digger
When they refused to pass the bill ap-
propriating $4,000 to cover the defici-
ency in the state printing office and in
sisted on $4,000 they made grave mis-
take. The whole matter looks like
political scheme. The bill passed both
houses and should have gone to the gov
ernor on Wednesday, before he left fol-
Los Angeles. 1t was delayed until Fri
day, when the whole state knew he was
away from Sacramento. State Printer
Johnston then announced that II the
governor would not instantly sign the
bill he would close his Office on Monday
February 1st. The governor was in
formed Of Johnston's purpose while he
was at San Diego. He Immediately tele-
graphed his secretary to request John
ston to let him know how much material
had been used and what work had been
done in January at the printing office
If that information had been furnished
1t would have given the governor an op-
portunity to show how much work each
employe was doing and he claims would
have shown that entirely too many en-
ployes were on the rolls. Johnston
strengthened this position of the COVER
nor by discharging a large number OF
employees but declined to furnish the
information the governor demanded, al
though constitutionally required to dc
so. on the plea that he had no time. The
result was the governors veto and the
failure Of the attempt to pass the $4,000
bill over his veto.
The senate Republicans had caucused
and resolved to investigate the printing
Office, but after the veto was sustained
the Republican state central committee.
which has headquarters here during the
session Of the legislature, insisted taat
the Republicans should re-enact the
$4,000 bill and say to the governor, Sign
that or we will pass nothing" Consid-
erable opposition developed to that plan
however. and a joint caucus lasting
three hours was held in the supreme
court room this afternoon on the ad-
journment of both houses The debate
was very animated. Assemblyman Bett-
man favored passing the full appropria
ton asked for. Senator Smith said, Let
us pass the bill for $4,000 as compro-
mise measure. Senators Aram, Gleaves
and others did not favor that plan. The
debate was long drawn out and nearly
every one who spoke had a different plan
to propose. Assemblyman Cross fav-
ored investigation. Other speakers said
either Budf was right or wrong in the
statements made in his message; If
right, the Republican party could not
afford to shoulder the responsibility; If
he was wrong the interests of the party
demanded that the governors errors be
shown up and his sophristy exposed. The
caucus adjourned until Tuesday with
out doing anything.
Johnston has threatened to close the
printing office. He told me tonight
that the deficiency would reach $4,000
by Saturday night, and the employees
have not been paid this month. He dis
charged today twenty-four men and
four women, friends of the Democratic
and Populist assemblymen who voted
to sustain the governors veto yesterday.
He says $35, 900. besides the $4,000 now
due, will be necessary to keep the office
open the rest of the session.
The governor says no reason Tor CLOS
ing the office exists. He will sign de-
ficiency bill for $4,000; the board of ex-
amlners will allow deficiency to the
amount proven to be actually and hon
their contingent funds to do their print
ing. He says he believes Johnston is
perfectly honest, but Is being jobbed and
hoodwinked by his chief deputy and su-
perintendent, the latter a man named
Rogers. The matter is likely to develop
serious trouble before adjusted.
One OF the pages to the senate, George
Berger, fell as he was sliding down a
staircase this afternoon landing on his
head on the hard tile floor, twenty feet
below. He is very badly injured, but
may recover.
The assembly committee on municipal
government reported back favorably to-
night senate bill No. 2, to allow the city
of Pomona to destroy fier unsold mu-
nicipal bonds.
The bill to make the city attorney of
Pomona an appointive instead of an
elective officer is on the third reading
file in the senate.
Postmaster Mathews is here on brief
vacation, recovering from severe ILL
ness. He is also interested in a bill in
troduced by Senator Bulla to take a
special census of Los Angeles so that
salaries Of letter carriers may be raised
to $1,000 and $500 for first and second
class carriers. There is no question that
the bill will pass.
The bill to remove the girls from
Whittier to Santa Clara has been favor
ably reported by all the committees tc
which 1t has been referred in the SEN
ate. and will come up tomorrow on sec.
ond reading.
A bill that was introduced in both
assembly and senate to cut off the
Soldiers home from Santa Monica
school district has been so bitterly on.
posed by veterans at the Soldiers home
and by G. A. r. posts all over the state
that 1t has been killed in committee. II
was declared to be the first step toward
disfranchising the veteran vote entirely
and on that score was beaten beyond
resurrection.
The county government bill will come
up for third reading Tuesday 1t can
not be amended any further in the SEN
ate, and as changes in the existing law
were all agreed to at joint meeting OF
delegations from the different counties
no changes are likely to be made by the
assembly. It should reach the gov
erncr next week. FRASIER.
GETTING TO WORK
SACRAMENTO. Feb. 12.-(Special tc
The Herald 1.-The near approach oI
March 4th has q salutary effect on the