Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-01-11
VALUE OF PUBLICITY

Grand Forks Herald: There is one
topic touched on in the governors
message concerning which the Herald
is convinced that the governors
view is mistaken one. Under the
head of legislative economy he dis
cusses the cost OF printing copies of
the bills introduced and of mailing
these and copies of the journals and
official reports to the newspapers of
the state. He points out the unques-
toned fact that considerable sum
Of money is spent on the printing of
bills as they are introduced regard
less of the probability of their pas
sage and he recommends that here
after no bills shall be printed until
they have been reported favOrably by
the committees. He recommends
further that the practice of mailing
copies of bills and journals to news
papers be discontinued in order that
the clerk hire entailed by this prac-
tice may be saved.
/ Bills are printed in the first place
for the information of the members
of the legislature. They are read
| from the clerks desk, OF course, but
they are read rapidly, and it is often
| impossible to hear the reading dis
tinctly. Members may be absent, at
| tending committee meetings or for
other reasons. And it is physical
impossiblity for the average men,
Der, or any member, for that matter,
to acquire and retain all the exact
information about a bill that he needs
in order to be able to act intelligently
upon it if he has no other means OF
information than that of listening to
the public reading of the bill before
it is reported. Possibly it may never
be reported, and perhaps it ought to
| ,e. The committee room is the grave
yard of many bill that ought to be
passed. even under present conditions.
| How much more would this be the
case if the members were practically
in ignorance of the contents of the
| bills which have been introduced and
which are in the hands of committees.
In order that the legislature may be
able to act intelligently on the sub
jects before it copy of every bill in
| troduced should be in the hands OF
every member as soon as possible
after it's introduction. The form in
which the copy is prepared is not es-
pecially important. Typewriter cop
les would do as we'll as any other If
there were uniformity in style for con.
venient filing. But if every member
is to have a copy it would be cheaper
to print than to typewrite them.
With reference to the free distribu-
ton of such documents to the news
papers, something is to be said. The
state legislature is the instrument of
the people, all of them, in all sections
of the state. 1t is not at all necessary
to assume that when the people of a
district sent a man to Bismarck to
represent them he straightway be-
comes a scoundrel to be watched and
spied on for fear that he may do
something wrong. That would be an
! absurd view to take. The members
or the legislature, as rule, are
! straight forward men who are earn
estly seeking to do what is best for
the state. 1t is equally true that the
state will be best governed whose
people keep in closest touch with it's
public affairs. And the people, in or
der that there may be this close and
useful contact, need not know now,
merely what their lawmakers have
done, but what they propose to do.
To that end they should have the
fullest possible information as to the
bills that have been introduced and
the action that has been taken.
1t is not possible to place copy OF
every bill and of the report of every
days proceedings in the hands of
every citizen. If that could be done
without prohibitive cost it would be
a desirable thing, but it cannot be
done. As the next best step in the
line of publicity, the practice has
been adopted of furnishing these doc
uments to the newspapers OF the
state, and we believe it to be highly
useful practice. The newspapers do
not undertake to publish copies of all
the bills. That is task beyond them.
But when the information is distribut-
ed in this manner it becomes avail
able to all persons who are interested
in it. The editor may, if he will,
study the bills as they are introduced,
may publish in whole or in part those
which he believes to be of public in
terest. and may point out what he
believes to be the good or the bad
features of each. The people within
reach of his Office may drop in and
90 through all of the bills which they
believe to be important, and this is
quite generally done The distribution
of hills in this matter brings the legis-