The San Francisco call., 1907-01-13
Unreasonable Legislators
Complain Because Patron
age Pets Refuse to Work
NO PORTERS SHOW
TO CLEAN ROOMS
Stenographers Not in Sight
and One Writes to Have
Salary Collected for Her
CALL HEADQUARTERs.
1907 EIGHTH STREET.


SACRAMENTO, Jam IA howl
went up from Senator's and Assem-
blymen today when it was found that
no stenographers were on hand to take
dictation, and that the porters hired
with other attaches to help get rid
of the $4,000 to be expended in pa
tronage at the present session were
too patrician to engage in that kind
of meuial labor Legislators anxious
to get busy on correspondence and
other work requiring the assistance Of
stenographers had to send out and
hire amanuenses not in the employ OF
the State, and porters who did not
disdain real work had to be secured
TO do odd jobs about Red Mems Hall.
AS the patronage grab continues to
be investigated 1t reveals a condition
of affairs that constantly becomes
more amazing. Half of the stem
ographers employed IN the Assembly
at s5 a day know as much about the
principles Of shorthand as street 1ar
borers do OF Byzantine art. and the
signatures on the payroll of some OF
the bill and committee clerks show
that pen comes fairly close to being
a dreaded implement of torure in their
| hands.
The stenographers failed TO show up
in either house today because they
understood that there was to be no
regular session OF the Legislature.
They draw salary for every day in
the week and are supposed to be on
hand and at least simulate work, but
they took it for granted that the legis-
Iators had no right to be around to-
day and went on vacation at the ex-
pense of the State without asking
any ones permission. Their indiffer- =
ence to the rules of their offlce is
characteristic of the discipline among
all the attaches on the payroll
Il viii not have time 10 be up for
my salary, wrote a woman 70 an As
semblyman Of Alameda County, who
had her appointed bill clerk. Please
collect and remit it to me weekly"
There are many parallel instances In
both the senate and Assembly The
appointments are generally regarded
end is the collection of money from
the State treasury. and services rem
dered are considered by the majority
of the attaches as extraneous details
of no material significance.
The failure Of the stenographers to
show up today irrftated both Senators
and Assemblymen. Senator Leroy
Wright of San Diego said something
would happen If the thing occurred
again. and Assemblyman P. A. Stan
ton of Los Angeles voiced a very
pointed protest about the condition OF
afairs in the lower house The por-
ters who would not work particularly
surprised Stanton and he declared that
their early reformation would be
made his personal endeavor.
The famine in help is especially in
credible when the price paid for 1t is
considered If the session runs
seventy days the Assembly viii spend
s72,S00 and the Senate $63. .500--a total
in the two houses OF S1ss,s00. Add
ing to this the salaries Of the MEM
bers of the Legislature will bring the
total salary expense of seventy day
session up to s1ss.s0o. That the State
would lack for assistance in making
it's laws during the seventy days will
probably not be considered reasonable
by any but the majority of the men
who will make them.
Additional News of Legislature on
Page 81