Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-18
POLITICAL AFFAIRs IN MICHIGAN.
The Legislature to Adjourn on the Goth
Constitutional Amendments

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
GRAND RAPIDS. Mich. May II. 1893
The announcement is made that the state
legislature will positively adjourn on May 80,
and to accomplish this the law makers are put
ting pending bills through with such rush
that the supreme court will be kept busy for
many weeks after adjournment clearing the
records of underdone laws Some effort has
been made to sort out the bills now pending for
the purpose of giving precedence to those
which are absolutely necessary but these orts
have not been unqualifiedly successful because
of the different points of view entertained as to
what Is necessary. The republican majority
look upon certain partisan enactments as mat
tiers of the most vital Importance, while the
democratic brethren want all bills of a political
nature sidetracked. 1t has thus far been i'm
possible to agree upon what bills shall be ia
vcred and which allowed to sumber, but in a
general way bills of republican percentage or
sayorlng OF partisan advantage will be given
the precedence. 1t is proposed to saw off the
session on the Goth, whether the business is
transacted or not. and thus make a record for
brevity If for nothing else.
new plan for reapportioning the state in TO
congressional districts has been presented and
il meets with very little more approval than
did the five other plans that have been brought
out since the session opened. The new plan
gives the IN TWO Qlslr1ctS
according TO the returns IN the last election
and the other ten districts are republican, with
plurallties ranging from 900 to 1914 Mr.Bur-
rows of the third and Mr.. Thomas of the
fourth. both republicans. thrown together
under the new plan in a district that returned
plurality of 4, 172 last fall. Under this ar
rangement Mr.. Thomas hopes for a second
term would go glimmerng. as Mr.. Burrows
could easily knock him out in caucus. The
new sixth district Is made up of Ottawa. Kent
and Montcalm. and this would mean the retire.
ment of Mr.. Avery of the present eleventh dis
trlct, who lives in GreenvIlle and would stand
no show in convention against ambitious Grand
Rapids statesmen. Mr.. Weadock of the tenth
anu MIR. Linton OF the eighth. democrat and
republican. are put together in a district which
gave democratic plurality of 15o last year.
Although the republicans used the democratic
redlstrIcring OF the state as a campaign issue,
claiming il was terrible gerrvmauder 1T Is very
doubtful Il any change will be made this year.
livery -edistr!cting plan tina: has thus far been
offered has met with earnest objections all
along the line.and it is hardly probable that any
agreement can be arrived az In the short time
remaining Of the session. A state census will
be taken next summer anyway and the next
legislature will have to do the work all over
again, and many of the more conservative men,
bers of both houses believe the wisest way
would be to leave things As they are.
II the legislature adjourns at the time agreed
upon 1T IS possible an extra session will have to
be held to do business that will be overlooked
In the hurry to get through. An extra session,
no matter how necessary, is a hazardous lux
ury for the party in power to indulge in, be-
cause 1t gives the opposition such chance to
cry out against extravaganza and incompe-
tency. As vet nothing has been done to pro-
vide for the taking of the state census next
summer. and if the bill covering the matter
proposed by democrat and still hidden in a
pigeon hole is lost in the shuttle an extra SEES
sion will be inevitable.
The plan of relief for the supreme court
which Is overrun with business. has not vet
been agreed upon The bar association sug-
gests increase of the number of justices,
who shall work in two sections. but this plan
has the Objectionable feature that it would be
more difficult than now to obtain unanimous
decisions. and the further objection that there
would practically be two supreme courts in
| stead of one. as the state constitution provides
for. The justices themselves have suggested
plan. which Is now under consideration. II is
to increase the salaries of the justices from
$4,000 to $1,000, and require them to live in
Lansing. They argue that under this arrange
ment the court could always be in session. and
business would be transacted rapidly as it
developed; that fully third more business
could be taken care of than now with the jus-
tees scattered about the state.
A proposed amendment to the state consti-
tuition has been approved in both houses and
will be submitted to the people at the next
general election. 1t provides that the inmates
of the soldiers home shall be allowed to vote
in the precinct in which the home is located
The veterans have been voting ever since the
home established, seven years ago, and
upon several occasions their votes. mostly re-
publican, have been decisive in deciding local
and congressional elections. In the spring
election the inspectors refused to allow the
veterans TO deposit their ballots, and the Kent
circuit court has just sustained the inspectors
in their action. holding that under the state