Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1917 — ECONOMY WITH A CAP. “E” [ARTICLE]

ECONOMY WITH A CAP. “E”

The present legislature is demonstrating how sincerely it is inter- ' ested in .economy—of which Governor Goodrich and other Republican spellbinders had so much to say before the election. Tuesday a bill was introduced by Representative Williams, to increase the pay of representatives from $6 to $lO per day and to establish mileage allowance of 20 cents per mile for members. -The mileage ' allowance for this session was also made Tuesday and the members of . both houses received 10 cents per mile both ways. This does not mean, understand, for just one round trip to the state capital, but means for several more round trips than probably any of the members will make to and from their homes. For example, the distance, from Parr to Indianapolis and return is about 235 miles and the fare for one round trip would thus be $4.70. Yet the allowance made to Representative Wood was .enough to pay the. actual fare for a dozen round

trips. The senate ..also voted Tuesday to buy the old state capitol building and grounds at Corydon, an old hulk that is actually not worth 30 cents, for $60,000. Two years ago the bunch of “patriots” who were urging the purchase of this old shanty wanted $87,000 for it! Of course, the present price is $27,000 less than that wanted two years ago, but the owners had come down to this figure. If the legislature had staved the proposition off for a couple of sessions more it is probable that the owners would have been willing to have traded it for a spavined horse. But what the state wants of this old htTlk except to provide a place or two for a job hunter as custodian and janitor, superintendent of grounds, ■ etc., and provide another outlet for the useless expenditure of state money for repairs and other expenses, is the ken of mortal man. But the crafty politicians interested in such deals as this always appeal to the “patriotism” of the members, and the deal goes through.

There seems to have been some little delay in introducing the bill this session for the semi-annual appropriation of from $5,000 to SIO,OOO to "care” for the civil war battle flags in the state house. This is another “patriotic measure” that has been good for a total of about $50,000 in the recent sessions. No one has the slightest objections to these flags being Cared for. In fact, the public wants them preserved, but a very few thousand dollars would have been sufficient for the purpose. -However, as one senator wrote The Democrat two years ago, “I fully agree with you that this thing is nothing but a graft, but we ara-all afraid of it, and I cannot afford to oppose the appropriation.” The appropriation two years ago was for $7,500. The commission in charge receives traveling expenses and $5 per day for “time necessarily expended in and -about the encasing of said flags,” etc. “