Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-10-12

the Committees Not "A Holiday Task
---Some of the Bills Introduced---the
Fort Ethan Allen Excursion.
From our Special Correspondent
MONTPELIER, Oct. 10, 1894
No one here remembers previous time
when both senate and house had complet-
ed their committees, adopted their rules,
begun the introduction of bills, and were
on their way to the train for their first Wis
the session. There has been some talk
that on account of the extra labor involved
in revising the laws the legislature would
not be able to complete its work before
Thanksgiving, as was TIE case in 1880
when the laws were last revised but the
rapid manner in which the preliminary
work of the session has been done is taken
as an indication that all hands are willing
to accept the admonition of Speaker Stick
ney's speech of acceptance, and mot leave
till November the work that should be
done in October"
Not IA Holiday Task.
llO oubJNNt VI NOllillllltN dplOlnllltu
is the one most in mind the first week of
the session, as a matter of course. The
announcements always bring more or less
disappointment and complaint. The diff
ficulties that the Speaker encounters in
making up his committees are not often
considered, indeed are very rarely under
stood. Let us assume that he takes large
sheet of cardboard, rules it off into squares,
places the names of the counties of the
state on the left hand side and the name of
each committee to be filled on the top of
the sheet, SO that each county will have its
row of committees and each committee its
row of counties; tina. he then reads the
published sketch of each representative,
giving occupation, previous experience,
manner of education, etc. that he supple
ments this information by careful enquiry
OF men from each county who are supposed
to be familiar with the requirements of
their fellow members; and that he then
places his 240 men in such positions as his
own judgment, aided by information thus
acquired, would dictate.
He would probably like to stop here if
he could, but he finds that as in game of
checkers or chess, the work hasn't begun
yet. 1t is natural, of course, that repre-
sentatives of the different material inter
ests of the state, and of the different state
institutions, knowing how fully the legis-
lation of the present day is shaped in the
| committee room, should have their prefer
ences and express their views as to who
would be good men to consider possible
measures in which they are interested.
Then there are the one hundred or more
old members and senators and other influ-
ential men, who come here primarily to
! help inaugurate the new governor, but who
usually find time to tell the Speaker what
he ought to do for the members from Their
towns. To say nothing of personal solici-
tation by members, or through their next
friends, which happily was not prevalent
this year, it will be seen that so to make
up the list as to give each county its just
proportion, and each member his right
place, and each material interest fair treat
ment, without favor, is a very difficult task
to perform.
The standing committees of the senate
are selected by a nominating committee OF
one senator from each county, appointed
| by the chair. Each senator is naturally in
tent on getting the best he can for his own
county, and it is said that the committee
meetings are not always scenes of complete
harmony.