The San Francisco call., 1907-01-22
Legislators Admit
Fraud on State
Army Fattening at the
Public Crib a
Disgrace
By George A. Van Smith
CALL HEADQUARTERS.
1907 EIGHTH STREET.

1907 EIGHTH STREET.
SACRAMENTO. Jan. 21-The as
founding and ecord-establishing pro-
portions OF the army OF attaches fatten-
Ing at the public crib by grace OF the
will OF the majority Of the members
OF the Thirty-seventh Legislature is
symmetrical in at least one particular
SITS ineficiency is in exact ratio with
Is unwieldy size. A majority OF that
7 portion OF the $50 attaches who have
come to Sacramento have learned how
10 draw their pay That is as far
as many OF them have familiarized
themselves with their duties
Olo legislators who either willingly
? or unwillinEly are tarred with the
caucus stick frankly admit that never
iln their experience have the legisla-
/ tive employees been SO wholly and
grossly incompetent as are the mem-
bers OF the present loot regiment. The
officers Of both Senate and Assembly
ere competent men. doing the best they
can 10 carry on the work OF the Legis-
llature in an orderly, decent and efficient
manner. Sergeants at Arms Martin Of
the Senate and Stafford OF the Assem-
bly,, Secretary OF the Senate Hilborn
and Chief Clerk Lloyd OF the Assem-
2 bly, are experienced and painstaking
oficisls They and the men WHO come
under their immediate supervision are
doing good work.
2 But the task OF Marshaling and ap-
plying the efforts OF the two battaliOns
! OF retainers is beyond the strength OF
Martin and Stafford Most of the at
taches remain entirely unassigned save
for the theoretical assignment which
! accompanies their names on the pay
rolls, and the State would be money
? in pocket II q considerable number ac-
; tually assigned We're permitted TO draw
their salaries by mail and give way 10
q few common laborers employed by
extra appropriation TO perform the
work these stall-feeders are supposed
to do.
WHY ROW Is AVOIDED
That there is not an open row about
A the gross ineficiency of the employees
- solely because the disgruntled Re-
publicans feel they would be accused
OF party disloyalty If they complained.
and to the further fact tnat strict
party lines would be drawn TO squelch
any plaint that might be sent up from
the numerically insignificant Demo-
cratic minority
majority OF the Republicans can
NOT complain publicly and they viii
not permit the Democrats to squeal for
political capital.
Alleged janitors stand about and
grin at the attempts Of old. seasoned
employees 10 get them TO WELD broom
or mop. Pseudo pOrters frankly admit
they are too good to perform the duties
assigned TO them and stenOgraphers to
whom the keyboard OF a typewriter is
an unexplored land Of mystery loudly
deplore the publicity given their soft
thing by the press. Up in the Senate
fleroom men are falling over them
selves and the piles Of bills and docu-
r1ents thrown hit or miss on the floor /
q.
mate piles OF prospective laws heaped
around them The experience of a Sen j
ate leader today with the file clerks I
is fairly characteristic OF the slipshod
methods not only OF that department
but of all branches OF the work that 4
do not come under the immediate
supervision OF the sergeant at arms
and the secretary and clerk. To add
wormwood TO the gall the shortcom-
ings OF the file clerks has visited in
directly on Senator Wolfe. who was
one OF the organization men who 4
stood out against the S25-a-day grab, /
he. as president pro TEN. OF the Senate /
and a rock-ribbed party man, can do
70 more than promise, We viii see
, bout this"
CHAOS IN FILE ROOM
Armed with an order signed by Ser
geant at Arms Martin a Call repre-
sentative presented himself at the Sen
ate file room and asked Tor copies of 4
all printed Senate bills. Had the bills 4
returned from the printer last week /
been sorted as they came, which would 1
have been the work OF less than an 4
hour. the order could have been filled /
in not TO exceed five minutes. The at I
raches rubbed their heads and noses 4
looked blank and finally two Of them /
p alternating as spOkesmen suggested the 4
order could probably be filed in a few 4
days There were seven or eight or
ders ahead OF it, and the work OF that /
department must be done in an orderly 4
and proper manner. Then another /
clerk stumbled over a pile OF bills and /
questioned the right OF the department 4
10 give out bills on the order of the
sergeant AT arms.
There had been, this student OF |
legislation said, a resolution adopted /
forbidding the issuance OF any public 1
documents save on the order OF a Sen
atOr That gave Martin a chance TO
assert his authority. but 81 did not /
bring forth any bills. Scouting Mar
tins pull with the file clerks. some OF
whom seemed 10 recognize him as a
person or some authority. The Call tried
another tack. Senator WOlfe's sigma
ture was secured 10 a reouisition for a
copy Of constitutional amendment de-
livered At the file room and receipted
for on Friday The page dispatched
hy the San Francisco Senator returned
promptly with the Information that the
desired amendment had not been re-
turned from the printing Office. The
president pro tenn shrugged his shoul-