The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-02-17
House Ways and Means Com
mittee Uses AK
On State House Salaries and
Contingent Funds.
SUPREME COURT TYPISTS
Would Reduce Them to $7j
per Month.
Cut in Governor Hodges Of
flee, Too.

The house ways and means commit
tee is looking for the angoras of the
state house stenographers and the Of
ficers with a fat contingent fund. If
reports around the legislative halls are
at all reliable, the house ways and
means committee will this week rec
ommend reductions of $4,000 or s6o,-
900 a year in the running expenses of
the state executive and judiciary.
One of the places where the axe
will fall is on the heads of the supreme
court Stenogra pliers. That little bunch
of stenographic jobs has for a long
time been regarded as one of the good
jobs in the state house. Stenogra PHI
ers employed by the supreme court JUS
tees receive 500 a month salary.
That isn't so bad, but it is claimed that
there is really less arduous work for
these stenographers than for some of
the girls who receive $75 a month pay
checks from the state. So the supreme
court girls. it is claimed, are to be re-
duced to $75 a month.
Another place where the ways and
means committee will attempt to full
fill the party promise to reduce state
expenses is in the fat appro opriations
to state offices. Figuring that the ru-
mors in the legislature are at all cor
rect, these contingent funds are to un-
dergo a most painful operation. A
a year saving will come from the re-
ductions of contingent funds to the
governor, the attorney general, the
bank commissioner and other state de-
partmentS.
Hits Governors Office. Too.
In their effort to save money the
ways and means committee will play
no favorites. The mere fact that the
Democrats have control of the COVER
nor's office, will not cause any especial
uquets to be cast in that direction.
In fact the Democrats will try their
economy plan on some of their own
following and Governor Hodges will
probably suffer in proportion to other
state house officials.
It is rumored' that the ways and
means committee will make a saving
of from $4,000 to $4,000 year in
the governors office alone-nearly
one fourth of the aggregate saving in
the state house. In this plan Governor
preparation budgets were made up,
Hodges voluntarily asked a reduction
in the funds for his office He asked
a contingent fund of but $4,000 for
two years as against $4,000 for the
Stubbs administration for the same
period. Governor Hodges believes that,
this saving can be made without i'm
pairing the efficiency of his office;
and it is claimed that he will not op
pose other economy moves to save
money in the management of his
office.
Members of the ways and means
decline to discuss their |
plans. They admit that they expect |
to file their report some time this |
week and that they have had under |
consideration the proposals to reduce
expenses. But as to the recomm enda- |
tions they will make to the legislature, |
they say never a word.
That little plank in the Democratic |
-&a4~ LOT ffrr- iaI,
has too many laws, is being |
applied literally by the house judiciary |
committee. In fact the judiciary COM |
mittee has slaughtered so many bills |
that it has won the title of official leg
islative morgue.
When the report from the judiciary
committee was read today, it showed |
that the committee had acted on Just |
40 bills. OF this number, 81 were kill |
ed outright; while only three were |
for chance at a place |
in the statute books.
Among those 40 bills were nine sug-
geSted by the supreme court justices |
The judiciary committee killed seven |
of the nine supreme court recon-
mendations, rewrote two of the bills
and recommended that they be passed !
as amended. That batch of 40 bills |
was the work of one day by the COM
mittee.
Atchison county will unquestionably |
of the fate of the initiative and refer |
endum now in the hands of a confer |
ence committee. Over in the senate
Senator Bale Waggener was appoint
ed chairman of the senate conference |
committee on the 1. and r. resolution
When Speaker w. L. Brown today |
announced his conferees from the |
house, he named James w. Orr as
chairman of the committee. Thus |
Atchison county landed the chairman
n n Of hn ta nd
ference committees. other members
of the house conference committee on |
the I. and r. are Stone of Shawnee |
and Bailey of Brown.
The house ways and means COM
nittee today recommended an appro-
priation of s1S3.00O for the state |
printing plant for the years 1914-15.
appropriated for the printing plant by /
the 1911 legislature. The money |
would be appropriated s94, 500 for
1914 and ssS.5 for 1915.
A bill recommended today by the /
house judiciary committee makes Joy
riding in borrowed machinets a misde- |
meanor. 1T provides that any person /
who shall take a vehicle or car with |
out the purpose of stealing the same, |
but for the purpose of a joy ride, /
shall be fined not to exceed $500 and |
sent to Jail for term of not more
than one year.
Gibson of Cowley today introduced !;
a bill authorizing the public utilities |
to fix rates which one tel |
ephone company should charge an /
other for service over their lines.
The house today accepted the invi-
tation of the newspa per writers to at
tend the session Of the mock senate"