Page:Harvard Law Review Volume 12.djvu/338

318 3l8 HARVARD LA IV REVIEW. Fourth. Employees of the State who have become too old or incapacitated for work have been granted yearly pay.^ But in addition to these there has grown up within recent years a process of taking public money for private uses under the guise of charity, which has resulted in what is practically an indirect quasi-pension list. This form of gratuity takes the shape of gifts of salaries of deceased servants of the State or of -a city to their relatives. As all these gifts are probably illegal and unconstitu- tional, the great increase of them becomes a question for serious consideration on the part of citizens and taxpayers. In the year 1879, apparently for the first time, the Legislature began the practice of granting to a widow of a member of the Legislature who died while in office the balance of the salary to which he would have been entitled had he lived to the end of the term.^ From this beginning, the Legislatures have now developed the practice to such extent that such balance of salaryis granted, not only to the widow, but to almost any dependent relative, not only of Legislators, but of any servant of the State, from the Gov- ernor down to a page in the Legislature, or to the lowest clerk in one of the departments. Thus, since 1879, the balance of the salary of a deceased member of the Legislature has been granted to his widow or executor or administrator twenty times.^ The balance of salary has been granted to a daughter, to other children, to the mother, and even to an aunt of a Representative.* To the widow of a member the Legislature has granted, not only the salary he would have earned, but also " certain expenses inci- dent to his sudden death." * It has presented to a member elect to the Legislature who did not qualify " the amount due him had he qualified and served as Representative," ^ and to the child of a member-elect who had never taken his seat, his prospective salary.^ 1 1S86, ch. 4; 1895, ch. 115; 1896, ch. 105; 1897, ch. 38. 2 1879, ch. 2 ($500). « 1880, ch. 58 ($500) ; 1881, ch. 14 ($532.20) ; ch. 2>o ($5^5) ; ch. 31 ($501.60) ; 1883, ch. 57; 1885, ch. 79 ($661); 1884, ch. 73 ($481); 1886, ch. 80 ($756); 1887, ch. 107 ($240) ; 1888, ch. 61 ($757) ; 1890, ch. 7 ($751) ; 1890, ch. 79 ($252) ; 1892, ch. 106; 1893, ch. 28 ($770) J 1893, ch. 29 ($759); 1894, ch. 55 ($860); 1894, ch. 15 (?88o); 1895, ch. 120 ($700) ; 1895, ch. 117 ($790) ; 1897, ch. 14 ($750). 1894, ch. 38 ($750). 6 1894, ch. 82 ($756 and $16). • 1889, ch. 107 ($750). T 1884, ch. 79 ($650).
 * 1895, ch. 115 ($820); 1897, ch. 4 ($750); 1894, ch. 4 ($760); 1898, ch. 41 ($75°) J