Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1889-03-01

Friday.
SENATE.
TOPEKA. February 1E.-At the forenoon
session It took nearly an hour to get through
/ with the routine business.
The hour Of IL having arrived the senate
/ went into the committee Of the whole on the
usury laws and continued on that subject
until the hour Of adjournment without COM
ing to any definite conclusion.
The Dill as introduced reduces the rates of
interest TO and 10 per cent and provides
! certain penalties where any excess Is
! charged. The fight in the committee is to
! decide just what that penalty shall be and
| the views Of senators vary very much.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The proposed usury laws were again up
for third or fourth time. It ereeps out
that the bankers IN the senate. instead of
being opposed to usury laws as il has been
supposed they would be, are the strongest
OF any or the senators for them. 1t is IN
the main the bankers who advocate not
| only usury laws bat they want not only a
forfeiture of the excess but a forfeiture Of
the principal and some Of them go so far as
to make the taking OF interest in excess OF
that allowed by the blu should make the
person 80 taking 1t punished by imprison-
ment.
bankers are, that the banking business is an
honorable one, and those engaged In it are
perfectly willing to take such a rate as is
allowed by the bill, but they want to reach
!
small sums at a nigh rate of interest and
/ take as security chattel mortgages These
men are called fends, thieves and danger
GUS to the community. Another class of
/ enators argue that usUry laws are a dead
! letter on the statute books, and that money
| is like any other commodity, worth what it
| VIII bring. This bill has called forth more
/ eioqUence than any yet before the senate.
| The whole afternoon was spent on this
| bill without any results. Amendments
were offered fixing the price of making a
/ coat and to charge any more would subject
! the tailor TO nne and Imprisonment. Also
1 another amendment to fix the price of at
! torneys' fees and so on, with amendments
/ OF a similar nature.
EVENING SESSION.
| The senate this evening went through a
/ great grist of local bills and did some other
/ work. No hual vote was reached on the
usury bill, although considerable time was
spent on it. The senate did not adjourn
| till 1920, a. m.
HOUSE.
AS soon as the usual routine business was
| concluded the house went on to the third
reading of bills and spent the whole fore
! noon thereon.
There is nothing whatever to report of IN
| terest to the general public on such coca
s1Ons, except when bill of importance has
been reported by the committee of the whole
! and it is evident that it is doubtful whether
! it Will pass on third reading or not and then
| it should Ds reported. There we're no such
| bills to-day.
The ladies who had been coaching the girls
reform school were jubllant on its final
/ passage went in a body to the senate
| chamber to see that it did not fall by the
way. The most important bill passed was
the one providing that no mortgage shall be
! given on personal property exempt from
| execution without 1t Is signed by the wife
| as we'll as the husband.
/ AS a take of on j. Y. Admirers bill to
change the name of Kansas City, Kan, one
! of the representatives from Wy9ndotts
county brought in a bill to change Admire
name to John Valentine WhItecrOwn.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The house again went on to third reading
and hed enough members present TO give
constitutional majOrities till they reached
the proposed amendment to the constitution
allowing the legislature to hold session for
seventy days and the members to receive
S. per day. This took a tWO-thirds
| vote. There was call of the house which
took up considerable time, but it did not
result in getting votes enough to pass it. So
the vote was recOnsIdered and zt wilt come
up again when the signs are more favorable.
Without getting through with third read
ing of bills the house went into COM
| mlttee Of the whole on the calendar and
| then took action which this reporter con-
siders very vicious. On motion about sew
enty-fVe bills were recommended for pas
| sage without any consideration whatever.
They were put on the calendar for third
reading subject TO amendment ana debate.
| It was stated that they were all
local bills, but no one can tell
without a careful scrutiny whether there
may not be concealed in some of them Iegis-
lation of a general nature, and that may be
very unwise. We have seen such things be-
fore, and never knew of tins when such a
course was taken that evil did not grow out
of it. The only hope that bad Legislation
will not come out of such q course lies with
the senate, and it is doubtful if that body
gets time to give these bills the cOnsIdera-
ton which they ought to have.
After these bills were disposed of the CON-
/ mittee considered some general bills, but
they were not more so than many OF the so
called local bills just acted upon.
Adjourned.
EVENING SESSION.
The house passed about so sO-called local
bills this evening. 1t killed the bill to re-
duce the salaries OF county officers, as tbs
senate had already done. The irrigation
question was discussed a long time. Two
bills IN regard to the subject were recon-
nsnded for passage. The house did not ad-
iourn till after midnight.