The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-26
OWEN. WILL KILL IT
SECRETARY OF STATE TO
PUBLISH SENATE BILL NO. 2o7.
on Observation-Disclosures
the Acts.

Deputy Secretary of State Wright was
asked yesterday when the legislative acts
will be published. Said he:
we are frequently asked when the acts
will be published. 1 delivered to-day to the
public printer the last of the copy duly COM
pared with the enrolled acts; / have thus
tar read the first proof on about one hun
dred and fifty pages and have side-noted
and completed about seventy-five pages.
must be prepared and the whole be printed
ana bound for distribution to the counties.
for reh his she co ,nrt eou quota eier the mas Go peeelpsea
proclamation is issued and the laws not
1 Ms hgvs an ,s emt tss oSyos clause forcs are in force.
law and have performed our duty faithfully,
leaving entirely out OF consideration the
or unnecessary delay.
The fee and salary law covers forty-one
additional work over that of two years ago.
Ihen there has been much complaint about
the indexing and an effort will be made to
improve on previous work. The acts two
years ago received the Governors proclama-
ton May 20, and four years ago June, 10.
The proclamation has been delayed as late
as Aug. Is. We are making commendable
progress and will have the acts distributed
early in June.
In preparing the copy we have followed
strictly the punctuation and wording of the
en- ny acts. In the haste OF the last days
| find that heretofore much license has been
taken where the sense seemed plain. This
seems to be a dangerous precedent, how
ever. and We have preferred to let the
public attention be called to some of the
defects in our legislative methods rather
than follow a dangerous precedent. An in
vestigation of the facts and records will
Legislature was an unusually efficient one.
but when the Governor, himself, vetoes a
bill as vicious which is simply a re-en-
actment of an old and tried law, to correct
a slight ambiguity of title, what can be
expected of a clerical force having to en-
last forty-eight hours Of the session nnas ~ the
The Journals suggestion that there be
+. Sc session of the en-, legislature is an ad-
evils. There should be an addition to the
clerical force also that the phraseology and
by experts before final passage and that
the enrolled bills follow the engrossed
THE custodian bill suggests another weak
ness. suppose a Governor should simply
withhold a bill without signing it or veto
ing it? 1t would become a law by limita-
ton; but If he refused to file it with the
Secretary of State or some one interested
conceal it how can the Secretary of State
include it in his certificate of publication
printed acts with the enrolled copy in his
office. Ant how can the proof of the ex-
istence of the law be made?
THE fish law presents another question.
If the Secretary of State must abide by
his records then a clerk can defeat a bill
by making an error in recording the vote.
If the records can be appealed to, then why
not the members themselves to correct the
lost in the fallibiiity Of memory.
Q the other hand, to declare a law in
force that, according to the records. and
failed to pass is to put in the hands of a
clerk the power to resuscitate any de-
me ito withhold Senate Bill 27 that the
courts may pass upon this particular case
ona the aese sas5ect ths f n fnees by t for legislation nead
Mr.. Owen was asked about his decision
"The opinion of an Attorney-general is
advisory, not mandatory. In the very able
opinion of the Attorney general on Senate
of the Supreme Court, but the phraseology
is such as to suggest that he has a doubt
as to the application of the decisions in a
matter similar to the one in question. The
idea of a bill, however insignificant, becom-
ing a law in spite Of the negative vote of
80 repugnant to the public mind that I
have chosen to seek, if necessary, a de-
Withhold the bai from the published acts
and decline to certify it as one of the laws
enacted by the legislature Of 1895. Should
toned I@would be pleased to have mandate
proceedings brought in any of the courts
judiciallyA Should my position be sustained
I shall have rid the session laws of a bur-
have called public attention to an evil re-
curing legislative enactment at the earliest
possible Pc sn sa,i moment, and for this am willing
says: He sthe Secretary of STATED shall
a = lhC otdtC pilitCI at Tie
day practicable, copies of all acts, joint
resolutions and memorials, as they are
passed by the General Assembly, etc. What
is an act? The Constitution says, Article
4, Section 25: A majority of all the men,
bers elected to each house shall be neces-
sary TO pass every bill or joint resolution;
and all bills and joint resolutions so passed
shall be signed by the presiding officers
of the respective houses The journal of
the House filed in this office shows that
the bill in question was defeated and is
therefore not an act within the provisions
of the Constitution.
This clearly is not an act. If it must be
treated as such the quicker public atten-
ton is called to the defect in our legisla-
tive methods the better and / am willing
at once"