The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-09-03
Yeas and Nays.

From the New York Postl
There is about to be put mp in the As
sembly Chamber at Albany, under the su-
peryision Of Mr.. Beardsley, one OF the in
%yentors, u machine called the Vote Record
er, which is intended to save a great waste
Of time in calling the ayes and nays. One
third of the whole time occupied by the
session Of the Assembly Of this state Is,
under the present system, taken up in call
ing the ayes and nays. This includes usu-
ally not merely the calling of one hundred
and twenty-eight names by the clerk, but
the repetition OF the names oil the absent
ees, and the further repetition, to avoid
mistake, of the names OF member who Inn
agine their vote was wrongly recorded.
During the session of 1867 the ayes and
nays were called sixteen hundred times,
aud wasted five minutes each time. Dur
ing the calling OF the various names the
members are idle, or noisily conversiug
with other members, and the whole bust
ness of the house Is thrown into confusion.
The latter part of the session is almost en-
tirely taken up with the continued repeti-
ton, over every Insignificant bill, Of 1913
names
It is required by the Constitution that
the yeas and nays shall be taken ON every
bill which is TO become u law, and under
AluA NAhAANN AlNF Ahht VI NOuAhHt bG Niktu
either by the voice or by some method of
more rapidly recording them It often
happens when fifty or a hundred bills are
rushed through in one day, and the Clerk
Is engaged in monotonously calling the
roll over and over again, that not a dozen
members know what bills they are voting
on, and not half the members who Rro re-
corded in the affirmative are in the room at
- time, or have ever read the bill which
is passed. The bill usually relates to som
local or formal matter, and goes through
? really by consent, though the form is pre-.
/ served OF calling every mans name upon its
passage,
= by means ofthe machine which is tC
r be put up in the Assembly Chamber tn,
members viii vote simultaneously. There
| is q dial like q large face Of q clock TO in
+ dictate the yeas, and another to indicate the
nays. These dials contdin the number 0
I all the members, and each pulls a knob
e communicating with the dial by n wire; hi
! number nies out as he pulls, and he see
that his vote is recorded, II he desires t
e change his vote he does so by a request t
I Bytmping u little crank the hand on tn
4 dial is made, 70 point ont the number {
votes that have been cast both Tor an
a~sninst the bill5 and by another simpl
d process the names Of those voting both i
s the affirmative and negative are printed fC
the use of the clerk on a slip Of. pape
The whole process of taking the vote, II
cording it, and printing the names, doe
not require more than half minute, |
that way over hundred bills can be passe
A in au hour,
e The last session of the Legislature WI
y heightened for several weeks beyond Ii
huldred days, solely for the purpose
a passing bills The haste with which it va
necessary to pass them prevented the usut
n precautions OF referring them 10 commit
y teesand passing them thfdugh the Con
mittee ofths' Whole and their proper lii
%enssion aud consideration was out Of ii
d question. Three long sessions, morning
afternoon and evening, were held TO civ
II time merely TO call over the list Of member
d The inventors OF the Vote Recorder hay
Ie computed that il will save the state MOI
1t than its cost in shortening the session eve
d at the present rate Of pay, at three dolla
10 la day, and that il has d stu more econom
rs cal aspect in allowing the careful discussic
: ofbifs and preventing hasty legislatioa-