Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-05-07
OUR LEGISLATIVE LETTER.

Staff Correspondence Of Gazette and journal.
DOVER, April 29.-Representative
Smith holds that he was not treated
with proper courtesy in the matter of
the Five Commissioners bill. That bill,
he says, was not submitted To the conf
mittee on revised statutes, of which he
ia member, and he was thereby de-
prived of his right, as a member OF that
committee to pass upon it or TO propose
amendments thereto. Consequently /
when Chairman Hutson called his COM
mittee together to consider other bills
this morning, Mr. Smith refused point |
blank to attend and stated his grievance.
Mr. Hutson asked "Then | am to infer |
that you approve all these bills" which |
he held in his hand.
"You are to infer nothing of the kind"
replied Mr. Smith with warmth that
closed the dialogue.
THEY WANT EXEMPTION.
Whether the Jones bill or the Fooks
substitute for the regulation of short
term wildcat organizations passes or
not probably matters little now that
these swindlers are so rapidly dying
natural death, but somebody has
brought down from Wilmington and
handed to Speaker Donohoe the follow
ing bill which has been brought out by
legislation, Insurance Commissioner
Fooks is asking for:
WHEREAS, Certain speculative so-caled
beneficial associations have claimed mis-
takenly before this present Legislature that
they were working on the same principle
as the A. o. U. W., and other like frater-
nal organizations; and
WHEREAS, Our present commissioner OF
insurance has made the same mistake and,
in his efforts to do the community at large
good service in the separation of these
speculative orders, has made unjllstifable
structures upon such orders as the A, y. Y.
W.; therefore in order to separate and dis
tinguish between the reputable and dis
reputable orders as above mentioned:
BE il enacted, &c.
Section |. That all associations and
societies at present existing and which
shall hereafter be formed i'll the State OF
Delaware for the payment of sick benefits
to members or the payment of u stipulated
sum after death to the family OF decedent
members by assessment upon the snrviv-
ing members, whether Incorporated or un-
incorporated, shall he known as fraternal
organizations and shall not be classed as
insurance companies nor made subject to
any regulations governing the same.
Sec. .. That within thirty days after the
passage of this act all fraternal societies
existing in this State of Delaware shall file
with the insurance commissioner a copy of
their constitution and general laws, and, ii
said constitution and general laws show
that their objects are in accordance with
the requirements prescribed in the first
section of this act he shall register them
in his office as fraternal societies, without
cost, and when so registered they shall be
exempt from all taxation for State pur-
poses and shall not be subject to the super
vision of the insurance commissioner.
Insurance Commissioner Fooks is
very clearly of the opinion that organi-
cations which promise to pay stipu-
lated sum after death--and which
attract members because of this feature
are in essence life insurance compa-
MES and taxable as such. But, if they
are not, he asks, why should the in
surance commissioner be required to
wade through their constitutions and
general laws" and register them with
out cos" when he is to have no super
vision over them, and thereby increase
the cost of printing the report over
which this General Assembly has been
kicking for the past two or three months2
BOARD OF EDUCATION BILL.
The Senate passed the Wilmington
Board Of Education bill the first thing
this afternoon and the bill was
promptly sent over to the House, given
two readings and referred to committee.
1t will be passed tomorrow. The bill
has already been enrolled and will be
ready for the signatures of the speakers
as soon as the House has taken final
action on it, This will be rather close
shave considering that the election was
10 come off next Saturday and is by this
bill postponed until one week after the
city election; but "a miss is as good as a
mile"
THE AssAwoMAN CANAL.
Captain Dasey, of the Legislature of
1887 and discoverer of the Assawoman
canal, was up here to-day and says that
in about two weeks more the canal will
be completed SO far as to be navigable
for craft drawing four feet of water
from Rehoboth bay to Isle Of Wight
bay and that a little steamboat now
lying in Rehoboth bay will make the
initial through trip down to Chlnco-
league. There is stretch Of about 900
feet yet to dredge through to this depth.
The canal will hereafter be widened and
leepened, but this will complete the
work on the lower end of it for the
present The new appropriation now
AVAILABLE is 70 be expended upon the
.lpper end q the canal, between Reho-
b9th ana inc llelaWafe pay, work on
which has YET e pc begun, and bill
appropriatlng S2'9oo extra fof the pur-
chase OF rights OF way on this upper
portion has passed this General As
sembly.
COMPENSATION OF LEGIsLATons
= .re.
On Inc next Dill, iQr the llrSt time In