Omaha daily bee., 1889-02-18
THE NEBRASKA LEGISLATURE
Thirty-Six Days of the Present Ses-
sion Consumed.
a REVIEW OF THE LAST WEEK.
The Senate Chiefly Distinguished BY
the Numbcr of Measures Il Sue
cccGs In Killing-Bills
Introduced.
REVIEW OF THE LAST WEEK.

LINCOLN, Ncb Fob. lT-lSpccial to The
BEE The legislature has been in session
thirty-sx days. AS it must meet on sixty
separate days, there is little probability OF
winding up the session before March 90, and
the feeling here is that it is more likely to
run until April /. Every week some mem
bers try to get an adjournment OF from three
to five days, and au effort will be made for a
tcn.day vacation about the time of Harrisons
inauguration.
over four hundred bills have been intro
duccd in the house and half as many more IN
the senate, making grand total of about
625 Each house seems bent on threshing It's
own straw and pitching it over into the
other. Once more the finished results of u
weeks labor arc two bills.
The senate passed the house bill amending
the pharmacy law 1t requires the board OF
pharmacy to hold four meetings each year,
instead of three, for the examination of
would.b medicine mixers. 1t Increases the
examination fee from 81 TO So and the annual
fee from 81 to -.
The house passed the senate bill empower
ing cities of 5000 or over to vote bonds Tor
the erection of county court houses.
The senate put in about half the week
strangling several important measures, but
found time to pass about dozen. The most
important was Senator Manning's farmers
insurance bill. II authorizes residents OF the
state to associate and mutually insure their
own property. Among the others were the
following:
Taxing sleeping and dining cars on the
ratio of their mileage in Nebraska, as com
pared with their total mileage.
Giving the Tenth judicial district, consist.
ing of fifteen counties, two judges instead OF
one.
Allowing cities of 1000 to 5000 to levy an
aggregate school tax of % mills, the present
limit being 20 mills.
Allowing cities of the second class to spend
~ on in.nnT u @
services, the present limit being $500, at 50
per day.
Making county liable for damages to
person injured by reason OF Adjective bridge
or highway.
Also three bills concerning only Omaha:
One authorizing the government to condemn
postoffce site, another empowering the po-
lice commission to establish relief fund for
sick or disabled policemen, and a third
authorizing the chief of police and police
Judge to sell unclaimed property taken from
prisoners.
the senate killed than for what it created.
Female suffrage came up in the form of two
bills permitting women to vote at municipal
elections. Both were considered in one
afternoon. They provoked very little dis
cussion but considerable tilibustering. Both
were indefinitely postponed, the vote being
16 for and II against The republican mem
bers feel that in shouldering Submission the
party has all the burden 1t should carry Tor
the present.
Senator Sutherland's railroad resolution
was also knocked out by vote of II for in
definite postponement to IA against 1t had
a long preamble quoting the republican state
platform and the governors message on the
transportation question and concluded with
q resolution requesting the railroad commits
sonerS to make n scale of freight rates that
would prevent unjust determinations in Ne
braska. The opponents of the measure sat
mum and allowed its friends to talk them
selves tired, when the vote was taken.
l h ln iypn hos hoo INnn iC
cussing u constitutional amendment allowing
the state treasurer to buy registered school
district bonds with the states permanent
school fund The constitution mentions
national state an1 county bonds for such Sc
curities, but there seems to be scarcity OF
them ut times and the treasurer frequently
has large balances on hand. AT present 1t is
put $4,000, but at the date of his last report,
November 80 1888, it was nearly 100000.
The state has $1,000, 900 worth of school
lands sold on contracts Payments will be
due in two years and the money will go into
the permanent school fund, that Is, unless
the time for payment is extended. A bill for
that purpose has passed the senate, and if 1t
becomes a law many purchasers will un-
douDtedly take advantage of it, The senate
appears to be of the opinion that school dis.
triCt bonds are not Il safe investment. The.
proposition was defeated IN the senate, after
having been passed once, but similar meas.
ure is before the house.
Considerable time was spent discussing
bills for the creation of Thurston county
from the Omaha and Winnebago reservations
In northeastern Nebraska, but without
reaching vote. One bill fixing penalties for
abstractors who fail to file the SIC, 900 bond re-
uuired by law was killed, and anotherf for the
same purpose was fought over without reach
ing u conclusion. bill regulating the size,
form and manner of handling election
tickets had similar experience. These
measures will probably come up again this
week.
The senate adopted resolution directing
irlpnUllSS
from the city OF Lincoln to the state farm,
and setting aside ten acres of the latter for
Its grounds The present building needs en-
targ,ng, and the adjoining ground Is held at
h high price. The ladies in charge have Il
chance to sell the home and they want more
ROOM
The senate is liable to defeat the house
bill aboshing state oil inspection. The COM
mittec to whom it was referred reported ad-
vcrsely, and in its stead recommended Il bill
retaining inspection, but raising the test to
105 and 125 degrees and adopting the New
York tester, being used in Iowa.
A subcommittee of the senate judiciary
committee is at work on constitutional
amendment increasing the number of the
supreme court judges from three to five.
There is feeling IN both houses that Ne
braska has more business than three judges
can properly handle, and at present no
serious opposition to the amendment is an
ticlpated in either house.
The investigation of the state farm and
the experimental station has continued with
out startling developments. 1t appears that
the farm is being run ut n loss of about s., 500
year. 1t has 320 acres, about ten of which
have been used for experiments. The num-
ber of acres being farmed has not been dis
closed, but SIX or seven hands are drawing
pay for doing the work. There is kept on
hand large number OF cattle, horses and
swine but for what purpose does not appear.
The experimental station is a separate in
stitution FROM the farm, though run in con
nection with it, The station is conducted
under an act of congress granting $l5,0 900 II
year for investigations and experiments in
animal Diseases insects, plants, cropping,
etc. Witnesses have testified that the eN-
penses have been kept within that SUN. The
federal law has a clause providing that if the
whole amount is not used in any one year
the unexpended balance will be deducted
from the allowance of the year following
The conductors OF the Nebraska station, like
those OF other states, arc careful, therefore,
to spend all the pocket money Uncle Sam al
lows them, Prof. Billings, of hog cholera
notoriety, has beer getting rhe biggest slice
OF the $4,000. He has been allowed 81, 800
year for salary and nearly 5000 for the ex-
penses Of his investigations. About e., 800
were spent one year for printing. An entom
ologist is allowed 81, 800 year, and nun
ber of gentlemen connected with the univer-
sty draw additional salaries from the station