State Legislation 95 



members get money. One is when a wealthy cor- 

 poration buys through some measure which will be 

 of great benefit to itself, although, perhaps an in- 

 jury to the public at large; the other is when a 

 member introduces a bill hostile to some moneyed 

 interest, with the expectation of being paid to let 

 the matter drop. The latter, technically called a 

 "strike," is much the most common ; for, in spite of 

 the outcry against them in legislative matters, cor- 

 porations are more often sinned against than sin- 

 ning. It is difficult, for reasons already given, in 

 either case to convict the offending member, though 

 we have very good laws against bribery. The re- 

 form has got to come from, the people at large. 

 It will be hard to make any very great improvement 

 in the character of the legislators until respectable 

 people become more fully awake to their duties, 

 and until the newspapers become more truthful and 

 less reckless in their statements. 



It is not a pleasant task to have to draw one side 

 of legislative life in such dark colors; but as the 

 side exists, and as the dark lines never can be 

 rubbed out until we have manfully acknowledged 

 that they are there and need rubbing out, it seems 

 the falsest of false delicacy to refrain from dwell- 

 ing upon them. But it would be most unjust to ac- 

 cept this partial truth as being the whole truth. We 

 blame the Legislature for many evils, the ultimate 

 cause for whose existence is to be found in our own 

 shortcomings. 



