Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1898-01-21

the Republic as we'll, if you please, is
not SO ignorant or forgetful as you
would have us believe.
1t is only a short twelve-month ago
since Gov. Lee, sometimes more eupho-
neously called "Honest Andy, sent
his first message to the legislature, and
in which he, as the representative of
the populist combination in the state,
recommended, among other and neces.
sary measures
The codifying of the laws, which
would have entailed an expense ofS2O,-
600 to 100000, according to the ,judg-
ment of men of experience in such
matters.
The publishing by the state of school
and text books, in itself IL very ques-
tionable departure, and in any event
entailing an expo nditure estimated
any where from $4,000 to 100000.
\ liberal appropriation for a state
exhibit at the trans Mississippi expo
sition to be held at Omaha next year.
say $4,000 more.
Then refer to the last Legislature in
each house of which the populistic
combine had a majority, 1t was only
by the greatest energy on the part of
the republicans, and the high sense of
decency and honor held by a very few
members elected as populists, that
many schemes proposed, through
which it was sought to reach into the
treasury were defeated.
The constitution alone enabled the
republicans to protect the treasury
from the onslaughts in the name of re-
form, in the special instances wherein
it was sought to pass special appro-
priation bills, the populistic combine
not having the required two-thirds
vote in each house.
But despite their vigilance and the
aid of the constitution, the populists
did succeed in getting some of their
schemes through. They appropriated
$4,000 as a ligitation fund for the
state railway commission which long
ago exhausted the first half of the
fund in feeling pet pop lawyers, while
the attorney general, whose special
duty it is to represent the state'sinter-
est in legal contests, was ignored, and
the commission has resorted to every
known method in an unsuccessful
effort to break into the treasury so as
to set the last half of the appropriation
before it becomes available next July.
At the same time the attorney general
was allowed an extra expense fund of
$1,000 besides $1,000 a year as salary
for a deputy, for the express purpose
of attending to this business-it being
the first time in the history of the
state that it has been called upon to
pay for a deputy for that officer.
During the session of the legislature
about one-third more clerks were EN-.
ployed than previously under republi-
can rule, and the salaries paid were
much higher. The writer was assist
ant clerk in the house in 1895. and
knows whereof he speaks. In 1897 the
young populist incumbent of the same
position was paid 10 cents per day more
than the writer received, and those on
the ground at both sessions say he hid
little more than one-half the work per-
formed by this writer. The populist
speaker of the house was paid double
ten dollars per day4-it being the
first instance of the kind in the histo-
ry of the state. In fact there has been
scarcely a single month in the past
year that some populist official has not
been i'll some controversy with the
state auditor for refusing to issue war
rants upon their claims. and be it noted.
the supreme court has sustained the
auditor in every case that has been
appealed to it.
We might go Oh ad intinitum, but
time is precious. and enough of the
record has been cited to cause painful
memories to haunt an honest populist
for many aday. Wearenot joliingin the
slightest sense when we say that pro-
gress. with relation to the state debt,
is very liable to be made the wrong
way if populist officials are given free
access to the state treasury, for which
they have strenuously commended for a
twelve Notwithstanding journal.
KlOndike.
What does it cost togetthere? When
and how should Il go? What should
one take? Where are the mines? How
much have they produced? Is work