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Show SECRET SESSIONS. j Every man and woman of ordinary intelligence knows that when legislation of any character is contemplated, whether by a town council or by the national congress, the question receives much consideration con-sideration in secret committee sessions, and tlia', while there may be a free public discussion of the proposed measure, the final. action is decided in the private meetings of committees. What intluonetv may be brought to bear upon the guardians n republic re-public welfare, of course, the people may only gucs.s at; that they suspect the motives which prompt the secret meetings are not honest even those, in the meetings know; that their suspicions may be well founded is evidenced by the disclosures of briber.- j wliich almost daily furnish newspapers with, nc-oo'in's nc-oo'in's of grand jury indictments. A representative of one of the big life insiir.vnef con. panics, in defending the legislation expenditures, expendi-tures, pointed out that trained legislators, with keen knowledge of insurance ami legislation i.Tt. t- ing it, dc not ecu in! reduce their destructi v..- bills into th-' legislatures of their states, but bring them to ihc company representatives to secure a price for not introducing their measures and pressing them io parage. While ihi- hard'v seems reasonable, i' is a fuel that the life nsuraiicc companies ;;ad oilier oili-er corporations whose incomes aggregate ; buve total, arc looked i.pon :c. the natural prey t .r iikmi to support the state. The average legislator r:i-sons r:i-sons lhaf ihc state needs the money; the cup-ligations have it. Verb. sap. Then the legislator talks about the graspiiig corporations, cor-porations, and the people shout grasping e rp "rations; "ra-tions; but the next session the state nc -ds just a little more money, ami the operation is repeated. We would not ho understood as defending corporations cor-porations in the bribery of legislators; far from it. But it is apparent that the taxing function has become be-come a weapon used to extort money from corporations corpora-tions which is. to say the least, not contemplated by the intent of the law. fiood government never was and never will result from secret committee meetings or clandestine meetings of single mem bo "s of governing bodies with representatives of big interests. in-terests. Publicity of campaign finances is a good prelim-inar- to publicity in doimr public business. It ought to be a crime for public servants to hold secret se-cret meetings. What cannot 'be done in the open and above board ought not be done at all. i |