The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-08-31

plank was inserted In the platform of
that year reahlrminE the declaration
contained I'm the platform of the pre-
vious year on the subject Of reform,
with a request that the legislature
should give the proposed legislation ia
vorable consideration and support. As
chairman of the state committee, I
deemed IT my duty TO see that these
bills were brought TO the attention Of
the legislature. with this end in view,
/ asked Senator Goblin to introduce the
bills early in the session and take
charge of them in the senate. He did so
and the four bills were passed by that
body without material amendment
They were sent to the house Of repre-
sentatlves and referred to the proper
committee. Here they encountered seri-
Gus opposition. Feeling that the party
was pledged to these measures, az
chairman of the state committee, por-
s0naly solicited the aid of the members
in their support Several conferences
were called for the purpose of uniting
the friends of the bills in an effort to
have them passed by the house. /
waited upon members of the Legislature
and urged upon them the Importance of
was earnest and aggressive.
This was especially true in reference
to the civil service bill. Since the civil
service plank had been written into the
platform of 1895 there had been change
of administration at Washington. Presi-
dent Cleveland had extended the civil
service rules so as to include and pro-
tect a horde of Democratic officeholders
D. &c ~ feff fso ff,r,
who had not been subjected to, and
many of whom could not have passed,
a civil service examination This
| blanket extension Of the civil service, at
a time when a new president was about
| to be inaugurated, had the effect of
| stirring up violent opposition to the
! civil service idea throughout the whole
| country. The wrath of indignant par
| tisans concentrated on the civil service
bill awaiting the action Of the Penn
| sylvania Legislature. Because of the
| pledges in the platforms of 1895 and
1896 the chairman Of the state commit
! tee preached the doctrine of civil ser
| vice and the redemption Of party
| pledges to unwilling legislative ears
! during a period of five months The re-
suit of these efforts eliminated in the
!
compliance with the pledges of the
party. One Of the bills passed prohibits
the payment of poll taxes by political
organizations without the proper au-
thority from the individual voter given
at least 30 days prior to the date of the
election. The other bill prevents the
arbitrary assessment of the employees
of our state county and municipal gov
ernments by any political party The
two remaining bills We're defeated. The
bill which made it a misdemeanor for
corporations and municipal officers to
interfere with their employees in all
matters pertaining to the right of suf-
frage failed of passage after a spirited
contest. The friends of the measure, all
Republicans, had SO affirmative votes
for the bill, IA short of the constitu-
tional requirement. The Democratic
members of the house, together with a
sufficient number of Republicans voted
against the bill to accomplish it's de-
feat. The civil service bill was a bone
of contention from the beginning to the
end of the session. 1t was modified to
meet some of the objections urged
against it in the hope of securing
enough votes to pass it, but even in it's
modified form 1t was defeated in a
storm of opposition. The members of
the Legislature answered all arguments
made to them on the subject by saying
that their constituents had changed
their minds on the subject of civil SER
vice and they did not feel warranted in
voting for the measure. 1t was argued
that civil service builds up an office
holding class, which is repugnant to
Republican institutions. The opposition
was too pronounced to be overcome.
Against all these arguments the Re
publican organization labored in vain
to have the proposed legislation en-
acted into law. The Republican organi-
zation supported these measures and
urged their passage by the legislature
in order to redeem the pledges of the
party. have thought it proper to state
these facts at the beginning of your de-
liberations so that the convention may
be fully advised on this subject and
take such action in the premises as is
deemed prudent and wise.
This convention will today nominate
candidates for two of the most impor-
tant offices connected with the adminis-
tration Of the affairs of our state gov
ernment. The accounting officers have
responsible duties to perform. They col
lect our revenues and disburse the
same under warrant of law. There may
be those who affect to believe that the
best interests of the people would be
conserved by the election Of a Prohi-
bition or Democratic candidate This
thought is the result of misguided judg-
ment or blinded prejudice. The Repub-
lican party points with pride to the
records Of its officers in administering
the affairs of our state. It is now a
matter of official record that during the
period from 1910 to 1896, inclusive, the
state had received from all sources in
round numbers the sum of $410, 900. 0O0
1t paid out during the same time more
than $4O7 900 ,OOO and during these sc
years not dollar was lost to the state
by reason of the default or dishonesty
of a state treasurer. During all that
time the loss from any source has been
exceedingly small. The total loss, as
shown by the report made to the recent
session of the legislature, was $9,432. 81
This loss was not occasioned by the de
fault or mismanagement of the fisca
officers of the state. The legislature haC
designated a bank as a depository Of
certain funds The bank failed and tn
sum i have just mentioned was lost
The entire loss, expressed in a fraction
is twenty-three ten thousandths Of onu
, per centum Of the amount OF none!
= paid into the state treasury. The mos
conservative and best managed finan
H..H - I Nr..