The herald., 1897-08-16

eTS began 10 KNOW SOIletuiu6 VI Inc
marvellous net work of state govern
ment with its legions of offices, bureaus.
commissions, and institutions all run
so wickedly extravagant and wasteful
1 resolved to let people know what
could about the true condition of
things. Then the press was the best
medium to diffuse that knowledge.
NOT DISHONESTY
The system of our county and state
government is wrong. 1t is built up to
provide jobs for the faithful. One party
is as much to blame for the condition as
the other, and we cannot expect better
things from any new party. 1t will rest
with the press to expose the rottenness
of the system and point out a better
way. AS newspaper men we should
have party principles and have the
confidence of party leaders, but at the
same time we should have enough in
dependence to expose party blacklegs
at any cost. When Republican like
Chief Clerk Duckworth, backed up by
mighty lobby, loots the public treas
ury, when a Republican like Sergeant
alarms Banks and his gang systemat-
ically hang like leeches onto the assem-
bly, and suck out the life blood of good
legislation, when a Democratic govern
or cripples the state by his demagogic
action and forms an unholy alliance
with such corrupt bosses as Sam Rain
ey, who bemuddles the Shiny pool of
San Francisco politics and who hung
around the assembly corridors all last
winter and was generally pointed to by
lobbyists as controlling eight votes if
| lOhhUiSt IN a i'm
then 1 believe that it becomes a news
papers bounden duty to rise above party
and expose the backleg whatever party
he may be in. He will be doing party
service by such exposure.
AS A RULE LEGISLATORS ARE
HONEST
AS to the legislators generally I be-
lieve the great majority of them are
honest men. OF those who were in the
much maligned legislature of last winter
I believe that they were generally hon
est. 1 am satisfied that they will aver
age as high in character as those who
sent them there. Many a good honest
man has been accused of selling his vote
when 1 knew positively the reasons of
his action and that he was honest in his
intention.
TOO MUCH GENERAL ABUSE
The newspapers of the state and the
people are too free to sling insinuations
and accusations at their legislators in
a general way A man is accused of
being stupid fool for not taking advan-
tage of his opportunity and making a
stake in the legislature or else he is
accused of being a corruptionist. That
blr \ 1. TIL 4..~
I do not deny. and the newspapers do
grand work in exposing them. 1 fear the
| legislature would be much worse and
more corrupt if the watchful eye of the
reporters and journals were not con-
stantly upon them. At the same time,
l do not think any good can come from
general taunts and filings at every legs-
| lature and every lawmaker before he has
had a trial. There is no wonder better
men DO not want to go to the legislature.
With the sentiment as it is, any one
going to the legislature or even running
for it must go thorugh the odium Of hav
ing some base designs. Instead of being
presumed to be innocent he IS presumed
to be guilty, and must prove himself to
be honest and patriotic.
WRONG SYSTEM CAUSES TROUBLE
The great trouble with our legislation
is that the system is wrong both for
the state and county. You pick a fell
| low out of his office, off the farm or from
| the sagebrush and in sixty days you ex-
pect him to study 1000 bills touching ev-
| cry possible interest in the state from
Oregon to Mexico, and expect him not
only to vote right himself, but to enlight-
| en- and manipulate the other seventy
nine members so that the majority of
| them shall vote right 1t is a physical
impossibility So long as our system of
| Legislation remains as it is 1 will expect
| imbecile legislation and corrupt legiSla
| ton.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Finally, from brief experience as an
editor in the legislature, 1 close with
| these. conclusions and recommendations:
| l. There should be more newspaper
men in the legislature.
g There should not be so much gen.
eral loose insinuations and reflections
against lawmakers except where there
are definite points Of attack.
| g. For counties there should be town
ship form Of government like many
states in the east have.
4. The people should demand of their
lawmakers honesty, right and justice
before appropriations or certain legisla
| ton.
s. There should be either a division of
| the state or else change of the consti-
tuition to permit of special legislation,
as the state is too large and the interests
| too varied to have one law for all.
g. There should either be longer ses-
sions with more pay to the legislators,
or divided ones, with one part for the in
| PRODUCTION of bills and later one few
months after for the passage of them.
LAST BUT GREATEST NEED
T. And last, but not least, higher
| Christian citizenship amongst the peo-
| pie who elect their lawmakers. If the
| best elements do not go to the primaries,
conventions or polls, and if the election
| of officials is left to the worst classes,
those who do not take part have no bust
ness to complain. Those elected may be
expected to be one Of the kind that elect
them. A stream does not rise higher
than it's source. Only an aroused higher
Christian citizenship, awakened by an
enlightened press, can rescue the body
polite from the slough of despond and
place it on a higher plane to be seen of
other states as Mount Lowe is seen by
the people in the valley below.