The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-04
THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE.
A PEN PICTURE OF THE CLOSING
SCENES OF THE SESSION.

Accomplished Aittie-nluor vat
tiers OF General Interest.
Tallahassee. Fla. June 2-The adjourn
rnent Of the legislature late Friday night
was the signal for a rush for the depot.
and the exodus-whica was TAR from COM
ple.e-Was yesterday morning followed by
smother From the cagerness Of the leg
Islatprs. tlIe lobbyists. the correspondents
and attaches TO shake from their feet the
good clay soil of Tallahassee. one might
have imagined the Iveliest town in all
Florida. the place Of all others TO be avoid
ed in these halcyon days of summer And
yet the quaint old capital city never ap-
peared 10 better advantage than now. and
these who have remained behind-who
have ordered IN a fashion more leisurely
the inevitable -departure-have perhaps
the best end Of the bargain. OF these. how
ever, there are but few. and in a day or
two the last precious drops Of legislative
talent viii have rolled away into oblivion,
and the rising man" Will no longer eager
ly scan the columns Of his favorite newspa-
per for panegyric or puff. \ few attaches
will remain here for ten days, the clerks
Of both houses having been allowed that
much time to complete their several tasks.
Talking OF attaches brings TO mind an
apTopos remark Of State Treasurer COL
Inns who has been standing at his desk.
the bis payrolls spread wide before him,
early and late for the last two days. II
was just after he had paid
committee clerk a couple of hum
dred for an amount of work
that would have been dear al so, that the
keen-visaged, satiracal-looking official
who IS known to fame as Tom Sawyer,
and who is a highly effective humorous
ed ia
with that dry, equvocaI smile OF his,
and said slowly: Yes, as you see. we
have dispensed a good deal of solid hap
piness here in the last few days. BanN-
Iupt the treasury: Hardly. We have
held them down TINS year and the demon
OF eNtraNagance has been pretty well eN-
orclsed.'
Tie state treasurer is probably right.
The bill Tor committee clerks and such
IKE small fry-which in 1883 exceeded
&l5,000-wili probably not reach ome-thiri
OF that sum this year; but these are t.
hes, ana in spite OF the loud professions
OF economy heard on all sides from the
fiTst day 10 the last of the session, this /
legislature is likely TO prove an expensive
luxury. The business of a legislature Is
TO make new laws ana Kill Old ones, bur |
Il Is tar from easy to see what great DO ia |
the representative men of the state have
tins year conferred upon the people. |
True, an election law has been enacted - |
law as complicated as a Iype-settins |
machine, and one quite as likely 10 |
phase the ignorant and unsophisti- |
interesting type of printer known as |
a blacksmith" But the railroad com
mission bill has been killed, and on SAT-
urday night, as an unregenerate member |
put It, the Senate went TO work ana |
where" The bill for the re- |
lief of the supreme court proved |
abortive, and Gaskins' timely measure /
nxlng the representation in state conven- |
uons upon the same basis as mat upon /
which the legislature is organized was /
killed in the Senate Friday. This bill |
would have removed from democratic (
councils in this state an abuse that is like /
ly TO prove in the near future a serious |
bone Of contention. l refer TO the ex- |
Taordinary representation secured by /
son IN the state conventions by means /
which VIII never bear inspection, and /
which has long been source of irrita-
lion 10 the thickly settled counties of the |
state. Taken as a whole, the grand old /
Democratic party of Florida is certainly /
in very bad way, and no one can blame |
such nervy and capable populists as
weeks OF Washington from smiling the |
smile of contentment as they survey the |
1mineolate Iuture. Weeks-who Is, by
the-Way, one of the brightest young men /
IN the state-believes in taking time by /
the forelock, and the people of Jackson
Vile will therefore have the pleasure /
tonight of hearing him discuss the ques- |
tons of this-or any ether day at Met |
ropohtan hall. 1t is said that the third |
party pundits propose making an extern
sive canvass of the Second congressional /
district this summer and in view of the
prevailing dlscontentment and distress. |
together with the course of the legislature /
that has just adjourned, no one need be /
surprised If they sweep up few crumbs
The closing scenes of the legislature |
were not much like those of 81 or SO
They were decidedly dull--as dull as the |
body itself had been. Speaker Jennings
was presented with gold-headed cane and |
some silver. President Myers of the Sen-
ate was the richer by a very handsome
French clock, and Senator Bronze had an
opportunity 10 make one of those seno-
nearer Of ante-bellum times with vistas
OF verbosity. and the paimy days Of pol
itics. Both houses sat up late waiting for |
the general revenue bill, which, for some
lnscrutable resaon never gets into the |
hands OF the engrossing clerk until late
IN the last night of the session. The
clock was probably turned back a little
nobody knows-nobody cares-a small |
army OF clerks went to work on the bill |
and little before y 1t was signed by the
speaker, who then presented the pen with /
which he did the deed to Mr.. Saunders |
the member from Brevard.
But the fun-the noise, the school-boy |
pranks-that have hitherto characterized |
the closing hours of the Florida legsla- |
ture-these were all wanting: and ii was |
a highly sedate and orderly assembly that |
MED out into the quiet streets beneath the |
obserVant stars. The brilliant bar-rooms |
glittered in vain they were deserted, and /
In ffteen minutes the streets were in a |
1t is probable that some of the members !
FOUND something amusing in pushing forl /
Ward local celebrlty-an OVergrOWn |
youth known to fame as Eugene Hawkins
10 the rostrum of the House, where he |
was encouraged TO make q speech, a sorry |
performance, which was brought 10 a close |
by passing around the hat for the orator
In some respects the last hours of the |
legislature were even less edifying than |
this For example-one young gentleman !
whose talents as a lobbyist were unfortun-
ately not what he thought them, found /
himself at the last moment unable to lioui-
date his board bill. But he had friends
and one of them was the chairman of a
certain committee committee that en-
ploys many clerks. In this committee room
late Friday night therefore, comes the
mpecunious lobbyist. bearing a letter from
the chairman aforesaid, stating the fact
that he had served the committee in ques-
ton twenty-seven days which, at IS per
day, amounted to the sum of Sl35 I'nfor-
tunately for the lobbyist, the pay roll had
been filled out and sent up stairs, and
the ingenious youth was Informed that
ne would do well to see certain officials
He saw them-he also saw the chief clerk
of the committee, who declared that he had
never before set foot in his committee
room and that he had never put in a days
work. But, / am glad to say, he never saw
the 1875. which is still in the state treas
ury.
Here is another sample from the same
choice lot. A certain clerk put in ten days
on a certain committed when 10 and he