The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-07-01

collect any additional money from the
state to cover expenses which were
never incurred"
Other members Of the legislature on
Investigating committees. are prepai ed
TO charge mileage, and yet not ore Of
them ever paid q cent for car fare
They charge up telegraph and tele-
phone messages as personal" expenses
when nearly every member Of the leg
islature carries a telegraph and tele.
phone pass. The charges for extra
carriage hire are. as Represtntativ,
Nesbit. Of Northampton. said, 'icti'
tious Items OF expense" In other words
It simply means that these men will
collect money to which they are not
rightfully entitled.
The bill Of expense OF the Lexow com
mittee pales into insignihcance wher
its items aggregating $4,000 are con-
pared with some Of the expense bills
which committees have contracted
within the past three months. 1t Is tbs
most shameless exhibition Of cupidity
and a desire to get at the contents OF
the state treasury that has been
shown for years. It Is nothing more
than a notorious raid on the treasury
A member OF the "Seventy-six," In
speaking Of these notorious bills. said:
A Terrible Reckoning.
'If the people OF Pennsylvania are
willingly to quietly submit to this sort
OF thing. then they will stand more
than any other people in the United
States. They have been buncoed by
Senator Quay in the matter of reform
which for two years he has promised
them. His Lexow committee Is asking
s66, 900, and now these other commit
tees, all of them, with one exception,
demanded by his lieutenants and fol-
lowers, are making the most unparal-
lelled raid upon the treasury for al
legged expenses that has ever been
known. Senator Quay cannot avoid the
responsibility OF this legislature. He
controls it, and 1t was at his behest
that the notorious treasury investlga-
ton was instituted. II I am not mis-
taken, there will be a terrible reckon
ing for Senator Quay when he goes be-
fore the people for reelection two
years from now"
The legislature this week Is going to
pass q sort OF beer tax bill. Senator
Quay has been driven TO this measure
by the force OF public opinion. But II
10 like all Of his other bills. It Is to be
made as ineffective as possible. 1t takes
the shape OF a graded license on brew
cries and distilleries. and when COM
pared with the proposed tax Of one
half cent per gallon. as suggested by
IL IL hat
telle OF expense for the corporate
brewing interests Of the state. They are
glad to escape so lightly. But there Is
behind II all an object. Not only has
Senator Quay kept his word by pro-
tecting the beer trust but ne has also
paved the way towards fresh sources
from which to draw campaign funds in
the future.
what 1t Means.
For many years the dstiling interests
OF the state have sought to secure the
them TO form corporations. Six years
ago Representative Wertheimer en-
deavored to secure the passage Of sucl,
a bill. He declared that there were
millions Of dollars behind IT," mean
ing. OF course, that the whisky interests
represented millions Of dollars. and was
asking for this legislation. The result
was that the members took 1t to mean
that millions Of dollars were to be spent
In securing the passage of the bill II
necessary. and as a result the bill, did
not pass because thessupposed millions
did not materialize. Ever since then
the whisky distillers have endeavOred
at each session of the Legislature to
get some such bill through. but have
always failed.
Now the state Is In need Of revenue,
and Senator Quay takes advantage OF
this necessity to put through bill tina:
will give the distillers just what they
want. 1t is not reasonable to sup
pose that the distillers will do. for Sem
ator Quay and the machine, Just what
the brewers have done. In other words,
while the state treasury has been cut
down as a source of revenue for po-
litical purposes, a new way has been
opened whereby a large round sum
should be realized every campaign for
the benefit of the machine.
The legislature will close its sessions
this week-on Thursday. and possibly
not until Saturday The bills intro
duced for the purpose Of raising revc-
nue. will he passed, and while all of the
charities will be cut down none Of them
Is likely to be left without anything.
The people of the state will be heartily
glad to see the last Of the legislature
Of 1897.