DELEGATE SCANLAN: I think that
may be correct.
DELEGATE DELLA: How you came up
with the figure of $7,000, I do not know.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: You are cor-
rect, the last budget of the General As-
sembly shows an over-all communications
budget, 1 assume that includes postage and
telegraph as well as telephone, roughly
$51,000. I think 1 indicated in my remarks
that we did not go as high as the General
Assembly, in estimating the telephone bill;
we estimated $7,000 a month times four,
which gives $28,000 for a telephone bill.
But the telephone bill, if 1 read the secre-
tary's memorandum correctly, as of Oc-
tober 23 stands at $7,753.89, which indi-
cates it is running less than the $7,000
estimated, which, I think, perhaps shows
that lowering the estimates of telephone is
probably right. The delegates just do not
call home that much.
DELEGATE DELLA: Not as responsive
to the people maybe. (Laughter.) Do you
mean to say the delegates, once they are in
Annapolis, do not want to communicate
with the people back home?
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I did not say
that, but perhaps they have concentrated
more on affairs here rather than their
offices back home. In any event, the tele-
phone is running a little lower than an-
ticipated.
THE SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT: Any
further questioning of the Chairman? The
Chair recognizes Delegates Malkus.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
I rise upon a point of inquiry. I ask if the
Chairman will yield.
THE SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT: Will
the Chairman yield?
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Certainly.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Ladies and gen-
tlemen, before the question comes, I refer
to this flowery report on page 2, line 27
and give to you a brief moment to read
that which we are now being asked to
adopt.
As I understand this report, during the
first 90 days we are going to have actually
75 working days which will take us up to
December 12 or thereabouts.
The next 15-day period, as I understand
this report, we are going to be working,
which carries us through Saturdays, Sun-
days, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. Is |
this the intention of the administration of
this Convention, Mr. Chairman?
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I certainly
can not speak for the administration of
this Convention, but I can, I think, speak
as to what I think was in mind in casting
a 105-day session. I believe that the 105-
day session anticipates perhaps that we
reach December 12 without completing our
work, but perhaps the Committee of the
Whole almost completing its work, which
would mean, again this is surmise and as-
sumption, that all the committee reports
had cleared the Committee of the Whole
and gone to the Committee on Style to be
put into one harmonious document. We
would then recess and return to this cham-
ber to go into a session of the Convention
needed for the second and final reading.
This is surmise but I am sure that that
is what the 105-day session is based on.
This is likely to be the way it works out,
not that we go 105 days right through
Christmas Eve, as you put it. 1 stress, how-
ever, that I have no responsibility for those
decisions other than the one vote I have
as a delegate, if they are presented to me.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Will the Chair-
man yield for another question?
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Yes, but less
enthusiastically than I did the first time.
(Laughter.)
DELEGATE MALKUS: I know you
have studied this budget very carefully.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: 1 gave it the
care that I thought it warranted, Senator.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. Chairman,
it is hard to get ahead of a Boston Irish-
man in an argument.
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I am from
New Jersey and only half Irish, but you
are about as accurate as usual. Go ahead.
(Laughter.)
DELEGATE MALKUS: Now, Mr.
Chairman, again we become serious. Have
you studied the 15 days beginning with
the end of the 90 days, at the per diem
allowed per delegate in this Convention
which carries us through the Christmas,
past the Christmas holidays?
DELEGATE SCANLAN: Yes, I believe
so.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Is it then not
true, Mr. Chairman, that this budget calls
for that we will get per diem for 15 days
after the end of the 90-day session without |
