The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-04

u,
this Judgment, is impartial, independ-
ent and uninfluenced by the fact that,
as the result OF plans made months
ago, this work is now made at
tainable BY the public through
the instrumentality of this paper.
Prom1scuous and undiscriminating
reading is the vice of the day.
Familiarity with the worlds best liter
allure is one OF the highest forms of
education. 1t is within the reach Of
every man. whose house will be
temple OF literary merit if it contains
this library of libraries.
THE DECLINE OF LEGISLATURES.
Legislatures and legislators have
been so long classed with The tenement
district ga. and III, conventional
mother-in-law as material for the fun
ny man that it is a relief to find some
one willing to take the American law
maker and his weaknesses seriously.
E. l.. Godkin, editor of the New York
Evening Post, writing for the Atlantic
Monthly on the Decline of Legisla-
lures, shows the much caricatured
member" no mercy; but, unlike most
of those who, discuss the subject, he
does not dismiss it with a jeer. He
points out a probable cause of degen-
Grafton and suggests a possible REM
edy, which is manifestly step in the
right direction.
The difficulty with our legislative sys-
tenn, as Mr.. Godkin sees 1t, is the undue
development of the power of the com
mittee. So much of the work is done
in chambers, SO to speak, and so little
of it on the floor, that legislative life
offers no inducement to men capable
Of honoring it. In congress, and much
more so in the legislative bodies of the
various states, opportunity to win
reputation is reduced to a minimum.
Legislators are confined to work in the
committee room, labor that is unat-
tractive and burdensome, and of which
the general public hears little and
knows less. Men of talent and ability
do not seek elections to any extent;
and the result is, the opportunity IF
the boss, who fills out the membership
with men ready to do his bidding. Even
where there is no actual corruption the
effort of the legislator is not to do the
most for the general welfare, but to
secure the passage Of some measure
that will benefit his own neighborhood.
So much for the cause. The remedy
'suggested is not the one most obvious;
for Mr.. Godkin, though he states that
the trouble might have been prevented,
if the cabinet system now in vogue in
England and on the continent had been
adopted in America, does not advocate
a change to that method Of legislation.
1t has serious faults of it's own, though
they are not the weaknesses of the ays-
tenn that obtains in this country, and
the change might be only out of the
frying pan into the fire. In leading up
to his remedy Mr.. Godkin cites the
only example in Which the legislative
function in America has lost none of
the dignity and respect'to which IL is
convention still attracts men of the
highest type, and it's results embody the
highest craftsmanship. The permanent
character of the results of such con-
ventions is suggested as the incentive to
capable men, and their uncommonness
as the reason for willingness to serve.
Here is direct application of the prin-
ciple of referendum already in succ ass
full operation in this country, and IL is
is Mr.. Godkn's remedy for evils that
are at once a joke and a serious mem
ace. Legislative sessions at intervals
of five years or even more, and a re f.
erendum, modified as experience may
dictate, is the programme offered. 1t
is held out not as a quack cure-all, but
as a remedy, certain to modify the all
ment and likely to effect a permanent
cure. 49,,