The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-05-06
BENNINGTON. VT MAY c, 1914
WASHING STATE MONEY

state expenses in various departments
for n period OF a dozen years will
a ouse a great deal OF comment and
criticism. especially criticism.
Il will be a good thing FOR the tax
payers and voters OF Vermont 10 take
these figures home with them and
study the lesson they convey. Il
will do no good to vail or lament oy-
or the past except the wisdom COM
ing from study is made an aid in solv
ing the problems OF the future. and
especially in correcting abuses that
have existed TO. years and have fin
ally grown TO proportions which
make them a serious d-ain on the
state treasury.
Some OF us in the newspaper bust
ness and more or less familiar with
state affairs. have for years urged re-
forms but have never been able 10
command enough attention 10 pro-
duce results. Now that the state can
see from Mr.. Graham's figures how
far tho abuses have gone perhaps
the vo.ers will become indignant
enough to stif them out OF the old
rut and accomplish some real adj
vancc.
The complete figures have not
heol given. as we understand il. in
the brief newspaper statements print
ed and some OF the more startling
things like the enormous increase in
supporting the state courts remain
yet TO be revealed but enough has
been told to furnish n text for sever
al sermons.
Chief OF these is the increase in
legislative expenses. Anybody who
knows anything about the business
OF legislation will not contend that
there should not have been an in
crease in this department. New
questions have come up and new
subjects for legislation have been
forced upon the attention OF the Yer
mont legislature. The questions re-
lating to contagious diseases and
sanitation. the construction OF mod
en- roads. the development OF water
powers, and the transmission OF
power. the development OF forestry
and agriculture, the improvement Of
our educational system. questions re-
lating to capital and labor. the tax
alton of corporations and scores OF
othe. things have come to be lmpor-
tant subjects OF legislation only dur
ing the past dozen years in Vermont.
Some OF them appeared earlier bu
not in the complicated form in
which they now exist.
To take care OF all this volume OF
new business OF course. required n
great increase OF expense and time
1t is like a factory turning on.
score or so Of staple articles. Add
another score of widely varied things
and the expense OF maintaining the
business is sure to increase. That
is par.ly what has happened in Yer
mont.
But this accounts only in part for
ou- legislative outlay in this state
Back OF 1t all is the fac. that we
have not brought our system OF do
ing business up to the standard OF
efficiency required TO cope with con
ditions as they now are. We have a
ponderous. homes. inexperienced
and often incompetent, legislature
/, is made up of good. patriotic clti-
zens elected without much refer
ence to their legislative ability and
many times helpless to accomplish
the good which they are earnestly
anxious to bring about.
Vermont has been first in many
things and might well be frs, to do
away with tho double house legisla-
tive system which has been useful
in earlier days, but no, longer meets
modern conditions. Instead OF n
house and senate with joint mem
bcrship of 276, Vermont should have
one house legislature of somewhere
from a dozen to thi.ty-fye members
and ii should meet not once in two
years. but whenever an accumulation
of business warranted it in coming
together.
In North American legislatures the
two body legislative system is petty
generally in force but throughout
the English colonies and in several
states of the eastern hemisphere, a
one body legislature has been tried
out more or less during the past thir
ty years and has been found an inn
provement in almost every instance.
At the. very first stroke in YER
mont it would reduce ou- biennial
legislative expense from $4,000 to
not over $4,000 and at the same
time would remove the necessity of
big addition to the state house into
which Vermont will be compelled to
put somewhere around a half million
dollars during the next few years if
the present system is continued.
This is not a new ideal The
editor of The Banner has suggested
| If in privafo conva -ca tiOp and an tho