The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-06-30
WILL IT BE CALLED?
QUESTION NATURALLY ARISES AS
TO AN EXTRA SESSION,
Chairman Leland Opposed to an Extra Ses-
sion Of the Legislature--Judges valen-
tine and Horton Speak from the Stand
point Of Constitutional Provision for the
Apportionmept of Representatives, and
Conclude that there Need be no Session
Next Winter--Matter Rests in the Dis
cret;on of the Governor.

Topeka, June 29.-(SpeciaL)-In all
probability there viii be no session of
the legislature next winter, as so many
Of the members believe. Cy Leland is
against it and now the Topeka Mail
has interviewed Judges Valentine and
Horton and they say that Governor
Morrill, is not warranted in calling the
body together again.
Judge A. H. Horton said: 81 do not
think there is any necessity for calling
special session of the legislature for
1896, and do not believe any beneficial
result would be likely to accrue from
doing so. II would be very expensive
with no compensatory results. The
only reason given for an extra session
of the legislature is the duty of the
legislature to make an apportionment
Of the state every five years. At the
time that this provision of the state
constitution was adopted the legisla-
ture was TO convene annually. In 1875
the constitution was changed so as to
provide for biennial sessions, The
legislature therefore does not meet in
1896 and can not convene unless called
together by the proclamation of the
governor. Under the constitution the
number Of senator's is limited to forty
and the number of representatives to
125. Each organized county is, by the
constitution, entitled to one represen-
tative. Therefore, if the legislature
should convene in extra session in 1896
under call from the governor, the ap-
pOrtionment now existing could be
changed only as to a very few sena-
torial and representative districts.
Such changes would be wholly unim-
portant and would not benefit the peo-
pie of the state in any perceptible de-
gree. Considering all the circum-
stances. l do not believe that the
governor would be warranted in con-
VeninS the legislature in extra session
at the great expense necessarily at
tending the same, when so little can be
Accomplished. The legislature of 1897
can apportion the state, and no public
interest will suffer by the failure to
make the apportionment before that
time"
JUDGE VALENTINES VIEW.
Judge Valentine made the following
statement for publication:
Under our constitution, as it now
provides, the legislature meets in re-
gular session only once in every two
years, the odd numbered years. 1t has
already met and adjourned this year
and Will therefore. not meet again in
regular session until January, 1897
But there is some legislative work
which ought to be done before the gen.
eral election in 1896. An act creating
new legislative appointment should
be passed. Section 2, article 10, of the
constitution required that the legisla-
ture should meet annually, 1t of course
contemplated that the appointment
would be made at a regular session and
not at special session. The governor
however, may, on extraordinary &C.
casionS, convene the legislature by pro-
clama ton" in extra session, and at
such extra session the legislature might
make an appointment If the appor-
tionment, however, should not be made
before 1897 it could then be made at
the regular session of the legiSla ture
beginning in January.
Whether the governor should call a
special session of the legislature or not
rests wholly within his sound execu-
tive discretion. That is where the con-
stitution places it. The question then
for him to determine is whether the re-
sulting benefits Of a special session
would be greater or less to the state
and to society than the resulting loss
or injury of no such extra session were
called. In my opinion, if all the good
and evil resulting from special ses-
sion were fairly considered the evil
would largely predominant. About the
only good that could be hoped for
would be the new apportionment and
that might not be better than the old,
now if no new apportionment should be
made prior to the election of 1896, the
legislature would be elected under the
present appointment.
The harm that would necessarily fol-
low from the calling Of a special seS-
sion would be its cost. about $4,000.
and the additional excitement, polti-
cal and otherwise, brought into exist
ence just before a general election,
state and national. with all its conse-
quent decentralization. Every session
of the legislature creates more or less
uneasiness. unrest and fear, and a
special session held at such a time
would be the worst.
balancing all the good and evil that
might. and probably would. result from
an extra session of the legislature. I
would think that the evil would greatly
predominant. and therefore that no ex-
s,-a ch ha Id