The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1905-01-06
ONE WAY TO ECONOMHE
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF USE.
LESS EMPLOYEES.
ALL PARTIES ARE GUILTY
Stretch Out the Pay Rolls to Make
Soft and Easy Picking for the
Hangers on at the State House-A
Genuine Chance for Reform.

ooIt anu easy PICKING TOT tne
Hangers on at the State House-A
Genuine Chance for Reform.
Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 20. - Special
Correspondence: One of the chances
Of the legislature to reduce taxes in
the state is to cut off all the surplus
employees in the present session, and
some of the members who are anX-
ious to really serve their constitu
ents are taking the matter in hand
AS a beginning they have looked up
the records of past sessions.
II seems that in the earlier days IL
was the practice to put on the pay
rolls men and women who had no
duties, and many of whom did not
remain in Lincoln during the session
1t has not been uncommon for mod
est farmer members TO come here
fresh from doing his own work, and
before ten days had gone by the pes
tiferous employment lobby had pre-.
vailed upon him to demand the ap-
.
clerks Committee clerks who never
saw the committees, stenographers
who could not write, custodians who
took care of nothing but their pay
less than an hour a day. All these
were drawing SO per day and demand
| ing overtime pay.
When the fusionists got in they
| followed the same road, and when
the republicans regained control in
1895 the senate was worse than all
preceding ones. That year twenty
odd republican members appointed
| 102 clerks and spent over $21 900 for
! that purpose. The fusion session of
| 1897 actually made a little reduction
in the expense, and the republicans
in 1899 did still better.
I In 1901 came the session which was
| demorali2ed by the long drawn out
| senatorial fight. There was no pre-.
tense of economy, and while postof-
! fees and federal jobs were being
| promised to members, there was a
wholesale traffic in employees of the
! legislature. The house was especial
! ly profigate, placing 103 names on
| the pay roll, or at least 20 more than
the statute authorized. Some of these
were secretly added to the list, and
never announced in the session. This
could only be done through the col
lusion of the speaker and the chief
clerk, and many of the members were
blameless, for they never heard Of 1t.
were sixteen engrossing clerks who
| were put on the rolls at the begin
ming and had nothing to engross for
! twenty days. There were eleven
pages, 10 custodians, six janitors,
three sergeants, four gate keepers.
five watches, two storekeepers and n
custodian of the stores with more than
the usual amount of stores stolen.
| They invented the job of custodian
of specialties" and also special clerk
of the engine room" About a score
of hangers-on from Lancaster county
got on the list either openly or Sc
cretly, and some were accredited to
counties that they could not have
found on the map without careful
search.
In 1903 the senate was the most
economical in the history of the state
since the lengthening Of the sessions,
but the house was controlled by the
same element that helped spend the
money, and was as bad as ever. An
untimely publication of the size of
the pay roll about the last of Febru-
airy stopped the padding process after
102 places had been created, and
| some of those who lacked pull were
even dropped to leave walking room
for those who had peculiar influence
behind them.
1t is hardly necessary to call atten-
tion to the shameful disregard of the
public expense, but one instance may
suffice. The senate has a cloak room
their overcoats. The room is about
eight feet square, and opens out into
the senate chamber.
1t costs from $500 to $1,000 a ses-
sion for "custodians" of this room,
many of whom never enter it.
There is a genuine chance for re-
form and economy in this direction,
and it is believed that the present
| session will cut off the leak and save
the state ten or fifteen thousand dol
lars, on that one item alone.