The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1898-02-24
IT IS KILLING TIME NOW
The Legislative Session Prob
ably Half Done.
VERY LITTLE ACCOMPLISHED
After the lawyers "Graft" In the Pure
Food Department-Mark Hanna
Strangely silent 49, sena-
torial Courtesy.

Today the seventh week of the legisla-
tive session ends, and 1t Is not unwar-
ranted to suppose that one half of the
whole session is past. 1t is rare that
a session, whether annual or biennial,
lasts longer than 16 weeks-four
months. Much has been done, but lit
tie finished legislation has resulted so
far. The secretary of state, to whom
bills are sent as soon as they become
laws, to be correctly printed, says that
but 10 laws have as yet been placed in
his hands. Possibly one or two others
are on the way. Suppose a dozen laws
have issued from the general assem-
bly, to date. That is less than two per
week on the average. Those who COM
plain that we have too much legisla-
tion should find little to complain of
In these facts.
The fact is, however, that much work
has been done by the legislature that
does not appear in the estimate Of its
finished products-so to speak.
Each branch has passed a number OF
! bills that the other has not concurred
g
that it has killed a number of meas
ures, and it takes as much time and eff
fort to defeat a measure as it does to
pass one-sometimes more. Once a
member of President LincOln's cabinet
privately reproved him for giving
testy answers to officials sometimes.
But" said Mr.. Lincoln, you ought
to know how many sharp answers
have in mind that l don't utter" One
must know how many and what meas
ures a legislature defeats, as well as
how many and what measures 1t en-
acts into laws to form a fair estimate
Of its work. One can not resist the
temptation, however, to figure out how
much per law this work of legislation
costs the state. The operation of the
general assembly as it is now consti-
tuted costs the state about 81 900 per
day. 1t has cost to date, therefore,
about S35, 600. That makes the aver
per law.
The committee work on great
many measures has also been COM
pleted, and the bills placed on the cal.
endar for intelligent discussion. The
last half of the session will see results
reached with much more rapidity than
they have during the first half, The
Brorein joint resolution, providing for
sine die adjournment on the 18th of
April, is still in the committees hands
and will not be brought out until the
finance committee can give the senate
an idea as to when the appropriation
bills can be got out Of the way.
e Too Expensive.
The senate, as well as the house, Is
after the law department of the state
dairy and food commissioners office
with a sharp stick, and holding eX-
Speaker d. l.. Sleeper particularly in
view. Sleeper has ensConCed himself
as attorney general for the food com
missioner's department. and is making
more out of it than the whole salary
of the attorney general of the state
, For the other state departments At
torney General Monnett is good enough
lawyer to represent them in a lega
5 way, and extravagant as DR.. McNeal
former dairy and food commissioner
{ was, he employed no private attorne!
general. There was some protest wheI
Sleeper was announced as chief o
counsel for the commissioner, bu
t David is not thin-skinned. He had NJ
thought Of letting go, and probably ha
not now. In nine months he ha
drawn fees from the state for acting
5 in this capacity to the amount o
$4,000. At this clip he will, of course
t make it not less than $4,000 for tn
year. This he has been able to max
;, and attend to his regular law prac
!, tice beside. In addition he has mad
extensive trips south and west, as
!, promoter of enterprises there.
1t appears that the whole cost O
It prosecutors-that is, the attorneys
fees-in the food department for las
/, year was about $4,000, and the tota
Of the fines collected as the result G
the prosecutions only $4,000. No won
der there is a protest against this
The people are willing and anxious t
n support of a pure food department, bu
they will not tolerate a nest of law
|. yers in the department drawing enoI
nous salaries that they do not earl
If Under DR.. McNeal, Amos Dye, in Cir
cinnati, and William T. Clarke, |
Cleveland, fastened themselves upo
- the department as its attorneys an
" drew enormous fees until public out
cry against it resulted in Clarke's cas-
~ and a scandal in the case of Judg
Dye. 1t was not strange that the ar
~ preparation out of which these fees al
paid was cut down in the prelmnar
bill; it will probably be cut furthe
"A in general appropriation,
The Gold Democrats.
1t can not be claimed by the friend
3, of Henry Apthurpe and eX-Congresi
man ]. H. Cultivate that snap judl
ment was taken on them by the Den
S, ocrats in order to humiliate them b
defeating their combinations. I'll
Democrats Of the senate served motto
i. upon Governor Bushnell a month ae
3, that they proposed to reject thes
nominations when they came to III
IS senate. This ! have upon the authoI
Is ity Of Colonel j, l.. Rodgers, the go'
ernors private secretary. The COVE
nor probably communicated the sitl
p, alton to the gentlemen most intereste
He should have done so at any rat