The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1923-01-25
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

He taxpayer Is l1nQlnR llIJlc 10
feel encouraged over in the opening
days of the legislative session. True,
the body has hardly gotten into the
harness as yet, but the few decisive
preliminary acts that fill the record
to date do not indicate that the
lower house of the session is par
ticularly liberal minded nor disposed
to get down to whatever serious
business may exist in the work of
legislation.
The assembly defeated the first
economy resolution, offered by IAN
Elko county assemblyman, which was
designated to shorten the session to
forty-day period, thereby saving
the taxpayers of the state the sum
of $4,000.
The second economy measure,
which called for the furnishing of
only SO worth of stationery and
stamps to each member of the ses-
sion was also defeated by the as
sembly.
History. is repeating itself-al-
though we cannot so remark without
recalling the work of the Thirtieth
session, which was conspicuous and
as economical as circumstances per-
mitted. But this year the usual
number of laws are appearing in the
lower house-and the usual fol de
rol is going to be found in the
minutes of the session when it is
completed. Already dozen bills or
proposed bills have been observed
in the offering, and not one of them
thus far is of particularly construc-
tive nature. Bills to abolish the
death penalty, to compel railroad
companies to keep brakemen off the
tops of cars except when switching
in yards, to compel state officials to
give all their time to their jobs, ect,
are exemplary of the highest thought
exhibited in the lower house of the
legislature to date. And this in a
year in which the crying need of
the state is an intelligent treatment
of the tax question and the stimula-
ton and encouragement of business.
As for the senate the state has a
right to feel that it is a body of
careful, economical and well-bal-
anced business men who realize the
seriousness of the business before
them. They have thus far acqui-
esced in every suggestion for econ
omy--and have in fact originated
each move in that direction. A
majority of the senate are ex-
perienced legislators who are not
serving their term in evening dress
or devoting their forensic efforts
to purely social requirements. Evil
dently-judging from the week that
has passed-the hope of the state,
with the exception of the Executive
Department-lies in the senate.
The whole circumstance illus
trates the difficulty which must al
ways attach to wasting the peoples
money in attempting to gather 36
serious minded and able people into
one body for the purpose of making
laws that will govern the state prop
erly for period of two years.
just as long as we retain the anti
Aated and expensive system of leg
islation under which we now operate
"a system that has it's genesis in
politics and owes its existence to the
ease with which its acts are con-
trolled by powerful interests-just
so long will history continue re-
peating itself. And its repetition
will continue to be reflected in the
lack of certain members of the body
who go to Carson to draw $40 per
day, their mileage and invitations
to the social affairs that are the
principal feature of their work at
he capital.-Elko Independent.