The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-02-17
Senate Attempts to Cut Payroll
S Of Employees.
new COMMITTEE BILL IN
One-Third of Employees Whit
tied From the Books.
More Than $4,000 q Session Be-
e low 1915 Cost.

"Just jitney-ing" is the charge of
Democratic senators against Senator
Arthur r. Kinkel of Council Grove
and his bill to cut down the number
of legislative employees.
The Kinkle bill cut down the num-
Der of employees, but it raised the pay
of most of those that he left in such
n manner that the grand total OF ex-
pense would be perhaps $4,000 greater
than it is now. But the kinkel bill
won't get before the senate. 1t has
been replaced in committee by bill
that does whittle about one-third off
the legislative help payroll, reducing
it, in fact about $4,000 from where it
is now and about $4,000 below the
KiDkel figures.
The KinkeI bill and its substitute
differ from the present law in the re-
spect that they fix the gross amount
OF the pay OF employees for the fifty
days Of the legislative session. while
the current law fixes per diem. IN
der either of the proposed bills the
legislature would be equipped with
employees only as long as the fifty
days of the session lasted. If the leg
islature continued over for several
days with the members serving with
out pay. it would have to call on the
patriotism of its employees to stay
and work or else it would have to pass
an emergency measure and hire them
over again.
Some Fancy Salaries.
Senator Kinkel proposed to make
some jobs that would have paid a lot
better than those which the senators
and representatives themselves hold
For example he proposed to pay the
sergeant at arms in each house the
fancy sum of $500 for his fifty days
Of work, or ten dollars a day, where
now he gets SO, just like the other
employees and the members them
selves. The assistant secretaries Of
the two houses. the chief doorkeeper,
reading clerks and several of the 9TH
er employees on the revised list
would receive $3OO for the session or
IS a day where the present Jobs now
pay the regulation SO. Two super
visors of bills in the senate and three
in the house would also come under
the $500 class
Everybody else would get a raise
Pages that now work fifty days for
$125 would get $3.50 for the same time
while the messengers who. are. in the
same class now would get 5000. Where
the average days payroll under the
present law is about $500 for the help
in the two houses. the Kinkel bill
would have put it up to $780,.
= The committee on federal and state
affairs. of which James Hflone IF
Thomas is chairman and of which
Kinkel is not a member, turned out a
bill that really reduces things. 1t
makes the average uayS payroll, eX-
elusive of the salaries of the clerk of
the house and secretary of the senate,
each of whom gets $1,000 for the ses-
sion either under the present or the
proposed law. only about $500 a day.
Pay Every Ten Days.
Now the employees of the legisla-
ture get paid every ten days. Presum-
ably the salaries under the proposed
bill by Senator Kinke1 and that by
the committee would be paid the same
way. The law fixes the session of the
legislature at so days. AS a matter
of experience the session generally
takes from five to ten days longer
than that and the employees have tC
work on the days curing which the
legislature is in recess. When those
fifty days were over the employees
would be entitled to quit. The session
might go on, but the employees coull
hardly be expected to do likewise un.
less their pay, also. continued. Ii
would be up to the legislature to 81
on paying, according to the Kinke
bill. about $3.50 day TO keep it's stem
Ographers. sergeants-at-arms and 9th
err employees on the job. AS matter.
work now the employees usually draw
pay for about sixty days. which at al
average of $500 day means a tota
for the session of $4,000. Adding a
the Kinkel ration for ten days Of ex
ira session, the expense of the tota
would be around $35, 900.
That's why the Democrats say tn,