The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-02-15
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Posr few jottings Of Legislative happen
ings. Although the ssasicn IS nearly
three-fourtha spent, J. not more perhaps,
than ous-hslf of the statutes that will
find their way into the Erat acts OF as AS
sembly" have SO fas become laws; bat
nearly nil Of them have been introduced
and arc on their way, either on the cal
endars OF the two houses, or are being
discussed, and, in many cases, ylvlsect-
cd by the various committees. 80 That II
is merely possibly, now, to read the
record of this Assembly. In the opinion
of those best informed OH this subject,
this will compare very. favorably with the
record of mast assemblies. IL the first
nlace. and if a member may lie pardoned
for referring to it, it is said to DE tn" best
bodv, in point of ability and experience
that has been elected IN Virginia, certain
" since the war. lave heard several
rentlsmen from other States say that in
appearance they have never seen State
legislature that excclled it, If all this
he true, it may, perhaps, be accounted tor
bv the fact that the people OF the State
recognized the importance OF the work TO
come before the body and put forth their
best effort to secure good men. III Is GER
tainly constant source Of pleasure TO
the member from Wise TO have his first
legislative experience with such associ-
ates as he finds here. In both houses are
many men Of splendid. talents, earnest,
hard working and patriotic; few OF
them of the old school, more Ill middle
life. but most of them young, vigorous
and ambitious, hoping to rise profession
allv and politically by doing their whole
duty, BY their constituents and their
State. It is in one sense lawyers
bodv. OF the one hundred members OF
the lower house ifty-four, and Of the
forty members Of the senate, twenty-three
are LAWYERS. The remainder Is pretty
evenly divided among the farmers, the
merchants and the doctors, there being
about dozen Of the last named proios-
sion. In this connection, venture TO
sa, for the benefit Of my farmer friends,
that they have never had body that leg
iBlates for the farmers interests more
than this lawyer-body. The records,
when complete, will prove this.
In point of experience, also, this is
very unusual body Nearly onc-half OF
tha house, and more than three fourths
of the senate were either members OF the
last Assembly, or had served at various
fines prior to that. Many Of them have
been here almost constantly sincc the
war. 1t was said on the floor OF the
house that Col Catlett Gibson, the witty
and rrepressible member from Culpepper
had been here since 'the memory of man
runneth not to the contrary and he
shows no signs of quitting. When he
does quit it will be loss to the State and
the body, in more ways than one. 1t IL
needless to comment upon the great al
vantage that member of legislative
body WHO has had previous experience,
las over new member. The valley and
Piedmont sections seem particularly to
realize the Importance Of this fact, and
most of their members have been return
ed time and again. The consequence is
that nearly all the important State offices
70 to those sections, and here in the Leg
islaturc, out of the twenty-six standing
COMMITTEES Of the house, the chairman
ships ofsixtecn, embracing nearly all the
important Zones, go to these sections,
while the remaining ten are divided be-
tween Tidc-water and South side, the
Southwest, embracing all that great sec
ton south and west Of Roanoke, repre-
scnting at least one-tifth of the area,
wealth and population of the State, has
not single Craftsmanship. This is easily
explained when one calls the roll and sees
that there is not member in this house
from that section who sat in The last
house, and the chairmanahips naturally
90 to old and experienced members. In
the senate it is nearly as bad, as only two
unimportant charmanships have been
given to the Southwest
In the next place, this is an exceedingly
conservative body. ! regard THIS rs
most fortunate for the State. The worst
evil Of the times, to my mind, is too
much legislation. Tho people scarcely
get to know what particular law is, and
how it is TO be construed, before some
ambitious neddler, posing as reformer
and anxious for notoriety at any cost
breaks into the Legislature and upsets it
ALL He is here this time, but be has
been hedgcd about and check-mated UNI
till he is rendered rather harmless. When
sec this so-ca!lcd performer" bob up on
all occasions, feel tempted, with EN-
nett Logan, that matchless paragrapher
of thc Louisville Times, "to shoot him on
the spot, and spot him on the snoot.' One
ofthc Rchuond 6ailies branded this as a
chow mot do-it Legislature" The
remark was made in connection with the
late lamented senatorial struggle, and
was not meant as compliment, but its
subsequent worl; in killing bad bills and
checking unneeded legislation, entities it,
think, to adopt The expression with
some pride. 2ir Brco, in his american
Commonwealth" says, believe, that
nearly four-fHhs OF the bills introduced
into American Assemblies fail TO be-
come laws. I believe this is not too
high all estimate for this Assembly, il
only the general laws are takon into ac-
count, for the great bulk of legislation is
of private and local nature, and has nc
opposition, it being matter between tho
members introducing il and his coRssltu-
ents.
The con servatism of this body is shown
stron gest, probably in it's handling OF the
States finances. | should say that scare
Is one in fen Of the general and private
appropriation bills, pass the watcbful eyes
Of the two finance committees intact.
have had some experience trying to meet
this gauntlet fer constituents and / have
concluded that it is easier for camel to
90 through the eye of a needle than for a
man to get an appropriation through this
Legislature While this initiates some OF
the expectant patriots, it is very fortu-