The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-11-03
THE JUNKET BUSINESS,
How 1t Has Grown to Its Present Aw-
ful l'roportions--Dcmoc and
Republican, Rmlc COmpnred.

tcDuDlican Rule Compared.
In connection with state politics in
Pennsylvania there are few things more
interesting or instructive and absolute
ly nothing more fully demonstrable
OF the curse of the machine rule than a
study and comparison of the various
general appropriation acts of the state
legislature. Mr.. Wanamaker has fit
ungly supplemented the work of the
Democratic party, its conventions, COM
mittees and press, in explaining to the
people that these acts cover many mon
Htrous extravagances and vilainous
steals. There are not many of the
features of them more prolific and as
founding in this range of development
than those that touch the sums voted
Tor legislative junkets, extra services"
of legislative committees, and the
multtudinous commissions that are
constituted for the sole purpose of put
ting unearned money into the pockets
of the henchmen and retainers of the
dominant party throughout the state.
carefully compiled table. made up
from an item-by-item search of the
general appropriations acts for the past 10
years shows that in 1883, the first year
OF Governor Pattisons first administrd-
tion. there was total of $73iS. 81 awarded
for these purposes. These included the
expenses of investigating the State col
lege, the clerical force of the several
state departments, the western Penn
sylvania insane asylum and peniten-
tiary, and the accounts of that eXpen-
sive appendage to our state govern
ment, Mr.. John c. Delaney, then occu-
pying the position of librarian of the
senate, which had no library.
They covered also the cost OF the Bos-
ler-Wagner contested election case
Isl, 1850 and of a commission selected
to report a comprehensive system of
bookkeeping for the several depart
ments.
In the year 1855 there were still fewer
appropriations of this kind, the total
being but S3,91S, out of which an item
of $1,000, for the expenses of the COM
mittee to investigate the Standard Oil
trust, Governor Pattison vetoed. leav-
ing balance of but 2,71843 taken from
the treasury by the general appropria-
ton act, as finally made a law, for
these purposes.
In 1887, however, General Beaver hav-
ing in the meanwhile become governor,
these appropriations swelled to $16.965.
an increase of several hundred per
cent. AS illustrating the careless and
fraudulent methods that had already
begun to prevail. $4,000 of this total was
voted in a lump sum for four investi-
cations. an excursion to Gettysburg
and a members funeral.
1t was not until 1889, however, that
there was anything like a really riot
Gus revel along these lines. Beaver was
still governor and the aggregated items
in the general appropriation bill for
these unnecessary and unlawful uses
reached the enormous sum of $123, $685.
so. These included s17S60 for a house
contest and s3s.759.72 for a senatorial
contest, entirely unprecedented figures
$4,000 for a committee to examine and
report upon the charitable and correc-
tional systems of the commonwealth.
Sc, 900 for a commission to codify the
road laws. another $4,000 for a COM
mittee on industrial education and
$1,000 laid out in taking the
legislators to participation in the
centennial Inauguration of George
Washington as president. And Beaver
never interposed a single veto. A
unique item in this list is 800 for a
committee on amended orthoSraphy.
There was certainly a bad spell of ap-
preparation legislation about that time.
1t was so bad, in fact, that it's cost to
the taxpayers was greater even than
the accomplished and proposed similar
steals of the 1897 legislature, including
both those in the general appropriation
and those in the special appropriation
bills, and the citizen who believes in
honesty and economy in state eXpendi-
lures may be pardoned for asking
where were Wanamalier and Swallow
then?
In 1891 the Democrats again had the
governor and that year the appropria-
tions for junkets. &c, in the general
act were but $73, 3,S5933. and of these
Mr.. Pattison vetoed items aggregating
s34,116, leaving the actual outlay but
s39, 9,743.23, or less than a third of Beav
er's last term figures.
In 1898, warned doubtless by these We
toes, the legislature made the general
appropriation act cover only s3,466.12 of
such expenditures.
But the Republicans came in again
in 1895, and that year the total was
115.4S6.9 80, or about SIS, 900 more in the
general bill than there were in 1893 in
both the general and the special bills
together. Here again was a sharp
summons to Republican reformers. but
they failed to put in an appearance.
Hastings had not yet fallen out with
the machine. His vetoes, in 1885, Of
this class of items amounted, all told,
to S40715. leaving balance awarded
of 747T1.92, or nearly 22 times as much
as the total for Pattison's last term.
The 1897 legislature voted for pur-
poses within the category under discus
sion St1 .401.43 in the general bill and
sSO.123O2 in special bills OF the aggre-
gate. S1O1, ,524.45, Governor Hastings We
toed. all told, but $50, ,S23.90, leaving the
actual waste or fraud at $TO,63155.
There was absolutely no excuse for
more than probably tenth of this
outlay. 1t comprehended, as fully eX-
planned in another article, very many
audacious swindles in addition to the
handful exposed and overridden by the
governor. And yet the cost to the state
of the whole business was much less
than that of 1895 or that of 1885, though,
in those years the Democratic protests
went utterly unheeded by the so-called
nzz,,I>Iioap an6 Prohibit refnrm-