The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-11-10
TRICKS IN lAWMAKikG.
Mr.. Springer's Experience when He Was
Clerk OF the Illinois House.

Mr.. Springer's Experience when He Was
Clerk OF the Illinois House.
When young man Hon. William NJ.
Springer was clerk of the Illinois house
of representatives. There was an APP
preparation bill consisting of mum Der
of items before the legislature. An at
tempt was made to have incorporated
in it an item appropriating the sum of
fifty thousand dollars for certain pur-
pose A ma jority of the house was OPP
posed to this particular appropriation.
The bill as reported did not contain
the Objectionable item. When it came
to its final reading MIR. Springer read
the bill in full The members listened
attentively and noted the fact that the
fifty thousand dollar item was not in
Guided in the bill as read.
Mr.. Springer laid the bill down on
his desk after reading it. and, taking
up the list, called the roll, the Illinois
constitution requiring yea and nay
vote on the final passage of a bill. The
Legislature. being economical, had no
upernumerary officers, so that one
man had to perform the duties usually
The bill was passed, and Mr.. Springer
noted that fact on the back of the
printed copy of the bill and sent it over
to the senate. 1t passed that body and
was signed by the governor. 1t was
soon discovered that the act which re-
ceived the gubernatorial autograph
had incorporated in it the objectiona-
BILE item.
This looked Sc rious. for the house. at
least, had not intended to pass that
item. and as matter of fact had not
passed it. for it was not included in the
bill as read and voted upon in that
body. Mr.. Springer was equal to the
emergency. He caused the journal TO
show that the bill was read in full and
then incorporated it in the journal,
thus showing officially that the obnox-
ious item had not been voted upen or
adopted by the house. A writ was
then sued out enjoining the state treas
urer from paying the money. The SUI
preme court granted it and made it
perpetual. thus going behind the APP
proving signature of the governor and
tIC dbtSSlluS CO VI
ing officers OF the two houses of the leg
islature to the journal of the house. and
accepting it as the best evidence of the
intention and act of the house of rep
resentatives and of the legislature
Whether the entire act was invalid was
not passed upon, and as no injunction
was applied for as to the other items
the appropriations they carried stood
and were paid.
Mr.. Springer thinks someone inter
ested in the lighthouse dollar ap-
propria ton had bogus bill printed in
exact imitation of the genuine. and
when, after reading it, he had laid the
genuine bill down on his desk the
spurious one was substituted quickly
and the genuine carried off and de-
stroyed. There being crowd about
the desk at the time it was easy enough
to do this. Mr.. Springer said. Natur-
ally, he Endorsed what appeared 70 be
the proper bill without reading it
again. His ready wit. however, en-
abled him to defeat the game of the
conspirators. even when il seemed to
be too late to DO anything to repair the
mischief. 1t was never learned. Mr.
Springer said, who played .the sleight-
of-hand trick. Washington Post.