White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1923-02-02
S0L0NS WORK
SIX DAY WEEK
Tacoma and Seattle Legislators
Forced to Give Up Old
Tradition.
TALK AT $3.50 A MINUTE
Lobbyists Supply Liquid Refresh
ments, as Price Is Too High for
Legislators to Buy.


A senator In the upper house of the
Washington state legislature arose to
his feet and began to talk And hav-
ing commenced to talk he found diff
ficulty in stopping. At the end Of 10
minutes he was still going. A brother
solon pulled out watch and glanced
at the dial.
THAT talk has cost the people Of
the state $15," he said to a newspa-
perman.
The newspaperman was curious and
the solon explained.
1T is costing the taxpayers Of
Washington $4,000 a. day to watch the
legislature work." the solon declared.
Figures were prepared to substan-
tiate the statement.
The legislature has appropriated
$105,00O for the salaries and expenses
of its members and attaches an addi-
tional $4,000 for printing, making a
total Of $4,000 for 6O-day session,
or $4,000 for each day. This $4,000 is
spent at the rate of $50 for each hour
the legislature works.
Who're Talk is Not Cheap.
Much of the talk INDUCED by house
and senate members centers about tax
reductions and the saving of money,
but few of the speakers appreciate
the waste that results when speaker
talks indefinitely on subject which
could be disposed OF briefly. And as
the session advances and the members
of the legislature become better &C
quainted and more familiar with their
surroundings more and more oratory
will be spilled, to the delight Of the
galleries and the amusement of news
writer's.
The public Is taking more interest
this year than usual in the activities
OF the legislature because Of desire
to see taxes reduced. The legislature
senses this interest and is making g
fine show Of being serious minded
about the public's bup;r|~-1 Some Of
this serious mindedYiess is the os.
growth of a desire o1 the part Of Ger
tain house and senate members to si1
in the governors CHI Air in the suite Of
rooms occupied by that dignitary in
the white building oA the hill. Others
are serious minded because they pay
heavy taxes when at home and they
want relief. 1t wouaR be difficult to
say at this season h many potential
candidates for governog, the United
States senate, congress ana other state
and federal offices are laboring dill
gently beneath the dome of the cap
itol, but the total number can not ex
coed 81 in the house and AZ in the
eenate, unless one is to count door
keepers and other attaches.
Must Stay on tho Job.
Outbursts of righteous indignation
over the expenditures Of the taxpay
ers' money are becoming more and
more common in legislative circles
One of the loudest outbursts occurred
when Seattle and Tacoma members OF
the house insisted on observing ira
dition by spending Saturday in the
bosom Of their families. Both houses
are given over to tradition; 1t is a
hard thing to break away from. But
bunch OF new members, unaccus
toned as they were to legislative ira
ditions and customs, could see nc
sense in wasting whole day out OF
the legislative and stirred up fuss
about the matter. AS q result the
legislature is now working full leg.
islative week at $50 an hour. AT
first the members Of the Pierce and
King county delegations were inclined
to be provoked beyond speech because
Of the violation Of old traditions, but
finally dismissed the subject with a
shrug of their shoulders and the ex.
PLANTATION that the men In the legis.
lature from the farms and the small
towns were unaccustomed to a week
end holiday, which means loafing on
Saturday and resting on Sunday.
Tinkering around the legislative
halls is delightful experience to men
who are down to Olympia this year
for the first time It is educational,
too, because they are behind the
scenes where they can see the ma.
chinery Of government oiled, and the
supply of oil is almost inexhaustable.
my head aches" a member of the
house said. II seem confused. wish
were back down on the farm. There
are too many wheels within the wheels
of this legislative machinery and
never seem to get inside, but hang
around the fringe"
The Wheels Within Wheels.
The wheels of which he spoke are
the small ORGANIZATIONS that work