The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-10-27
THE RECORD STEAL.

Row the Publication of the Legisla-
tive Proceedings is Made to Do Duty
for Machine Proteges--The Fright
ful Padding, Enormous Indices and
the Costly, Confusing and Exaspera-
ting Results--when the Contract
Price Falls the Cost to the Taxpayers
Increases - What An Honest and
More Intelligent and Useful Per-
formance of the Work Would Save.
The printing and distribution of the
Legislative Record involves a shame
fnlly reckless waste of the public
money, and, If 1t does not include a
straight steal, the facts which the fig
ures divulge show a mighty close ap-
proach to it. Its distribution, by issues,
during the sessions, which was intended
TO keep the people apprised of what
their servants at Harrisburg are doing
with their time and opportunities, was
for years a scandal. owing to the dila-
toriness on the part of the publishers.
hut even more specifically of the pas
ters' and folders departments of the
senate and house. The men appointed
to service in these departments are the
working politicians in the districts of
those senators and members who have
the strongest pull during the sessions.
They receive close to $1,000 per session
as salary, but large proportion of
them never do any of the work. They
are content to pocket the pay and per-
Quisites and to appear upon the rec
ords as pastors and folders, but either
because they regard 1t as demeaning,
or because they have something else
Do employ their time, or because they
are adverse to toll of any kind, they
refuse to perform the incident labor
and employ substitutes to perform 1t,
at from one-fourth to one-half what
they receive from the state. These
substitutes are generally very cheap
and Incompetent men, often boys, and
g a result 1t is happening constantly
that even when the printing has been
reasonably prompt, the distribution Is
unconscionably delayed, the pasting
and folding rooms being gorged with
stacks of the stuff which should long
before have been in the mails. How
ever, as has been stated, there has re-
cently been some little improvement
IN this regard, because of the persist
snt and long continued protests of citi-
xans against being served with printed
copies of proceedings month or two
old and long after, as news, they had
lost all interest and value.
The total cost of the printing and
distributing of the Legislative Record,
aH set forth in the various auditor gen.
erals reports, was, in the years sever
ally named, as follows:
LOCO ..... ..... ....................$2 $22, $50
IsoA ..... ........ ................ 2S,675
isso .......... ....... ............ 81, ,091
IsSo neutrality-suspicious.. 36, 161
The figure for 1897 is made up by ad-
ding the $500 paid on account in 1897
and the state treasurers estimate of
the sum required to complete the pay
ment liz 1898.
"A e++@@-1 celebrating e6nhent in this steal
u the index. The reporting of the pro-
seedlings and the printing of the Rec
ara is paid for. under contract, at SO
rifbch Der page. Bids ere received ana
the award mde to the lowest bidder. A
maximum price OF $40 is fixed and
the competitors bid 30 much percentage
senate and speaker of the house make
the award and get, by the way, 500
eaeh for the few hours spent in doing
It. while their clerk gets $50.
The contract price for 1895 and 1897
was 1895 per page. This, be 1t under
STOOD, Is for both reporting and print
ing, $500 additional being always al
owed for the compilation of the index.
NOW, the ponderous tones that con-
tain the proceedings of the legisla-
i've session Of 1897 cover a total of
o,H2 pages. distributed as follows:
fhoceeoings ........ ..... ...3,732 pages
aeport aliens committee -. 565 pages
Report penitentiary investi-
gazing committee ...... 231 pages
snueH ........ ....... .....2,237 pages
niank pages ............... pages
Iotal ............ .........6.772 pages
Here are almost two-thirds as many
pages Of index as there are in the re-
port proper. Add to these the 500
pages of reports and blank pages, and
we have a total of 3,040 pages, or not
far from half of the whole number
which the state paid for as having
been stenographically reported, as well
rs printed, whereas not a line in any
II them was reported. Whatever is
the difference between the cost of re-
1orting and printing and that of the
printing alone is, as to these 3,O40 pages.
e sheer robbery. The volumes are pad
led by reports, index, etc., to the ex-
tent of over so per cent Of the total
'ayment, and this is exclusive of the
constant repetitions and not only use
'ess. but confusing superfiuities in the
proceedings themselves. and which. II
is safe to say, constitute fully two
thirds of the total bulk. What this
,adding costs al. 1895 per page, inde-
sendently Of that in the proceedings
propeH is as follows:
hhehb Feport '.... ....... 2,237. 40
Penitentfary report ...... 914.76
Siahk pages ,.... ............. 27.72
Total $500. ............... $12 03S 40
An infinitely, more intelligent and sat-
tsfactory record of the sessions pro-
eeedings could have been compressed
into about 1000 to 1900 pages without
sacrifcing word of the "eloquence" of
.he senators and members which, It Is