Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-02-24
IN SPECIAL SESSION.
Members of the Wisconsin
Legislature Assemble.
Republican Caucus Decides to Support an
Appor5ionment Bill.

cations it will not adjourn for four days.
Last nights caucus of the Republican
members would seem to point that way.
As to whether the apportionment bill,
which is the subject matter of the spe-
cial session, will pass, cannot now be
fOretold.
The meeting was called to order by
Chairman w. A. Jones Of the Repub-
lican state central committee, and nearly
every Republican member Of both houses
was in his chair when the roll was called.
Nr. Jones made a brief explanation to
the effect that the caucus was called for
the purpose Of considering the adyisab bill
ity of r0districting the state, and also
of discussing the new bill to be reported
on by the special legislative apportion-
ment committee. Previous to his MAX
ing this address all save the Republican
legislators were excluded from the room,
it having been decided to have the SEES
sion q secret one. Mr.. Jones also sug-
gcsted that q permanent organization be
effected. This was done by the selec-
ton Of Senator L. d. Weeks Of Water
town as permanent chairman and AS
semblyman Hanson Of Door county as
secretary.
Then the. following resolution was
adopted:
Resolved, that it is the sense. of this eau
Gus that bill to reapportion the state into
Senate and Assembly districts, which shall
be fair and equitable and comply With the
constitutional requirements in all respects,
shall be passed by the Legislature as speed
SIy as is consistent with due and careful
consideration Of the same and that then an
adjournment be had
1t was next decided that a legislative
committee Of twenty should be appointed
Immediately upon the assembling of both
Houses TO look after legislation and be a
conference committee, but the majority
of the members will be Republicans.
This is the committee which viii formu
late the first apPortionment. With this
action the committee adjourned.
In separate caucuses the Senate and
Assembly then elected their old officers
for the special session, With the eXcep-
tion that owing to the absence of b. i.
Aiillard of Chippewa Falls, ]. f. John
ston of Montfort, the former assistant
sergeant-at-arms of the Assembly, was
chosen for the place of sergeaHt-at-arms.
The officers are as follows: Senate
Chief clerk, W. E. Hauser Mondovi;
sergeant-at- farms, w. L. Pettibone, Jul
neau. Assembly-George B. Burrows,
Madison, speaker; William Novel;, Mil
waullee chief clerk The House select,
ed Edgar a. Hall of Dunn county as
permanent caucus chairman. It was
also decided to limit the employees of that
body to assistants for both the clerk
and sergeant-at-arms and three mes
SengerS.
Madison, Wis, Feb. ia special
Joint legislative committee, consisting of
seven members of the Senate and thir-
teen members of the Assembly, will re-
ceive and consider amendments 20 rhe ap-
portionment measure, and is expected to
present practically a new bill TO the
Legislature The special committee was
appointed pursuant to joint resolution
adopted yesterday.
Lieut.. Baensch announced the
appointment of the following as the sew
en- Senate members: Senators L. w.
Thayer, j. III. Stout, Charles Baxter
and T. D. Weeks, Republicans; and
Senators William Kennedy, Michael
AruSkza and John e. McMullen, Demo-
Gratis.
Speaker Burrows appointed the follow
lng thirteen Assembly representatives
on the committee: j. G. Lamberson,
chairman, Frank A. Arson, N. B.
Treat, e G; YaMkey, HI. F. Burdick,
Stillman, George w. Taylor and Frank
H. Aurd, Republicans; Herman Schallen-
berg, Herman Rosenkranz and Robert
Piisch, Democrats.
3he committee includes all the mem
oegs Of the old apportionment committee
with the exception of Assemblyman J.
o. Conway. Mr.. Conway was named as
q member of the committee, but said he
would be unable to serve, and Mr. Rosen-
1kranz was appointed in his stead.
I'he special apportionment committee,
which met last night does not take kind
~ to the proposition that its bill shall be
buried without honors and its work ig-
nored. The committee itself has found
anew life in the reappointment of it's eight
members upon the joint committee of
dWenty on apportiOnment, appointed yes
terday and in the election OF it's clerk,
a. J. Turner, as secretary of the COM
znittee. The fate of it's bill does not look
promising, but it has been taken as the
basis for consideration of the plan of
aggsortionment by the new committee to
begin with. The committee met last
night in open session to listen to objec-
tions to the assembly districts as pro-
posed in that bill, and it met with plenty
of opposition. Nearly all districts COM
. posed of more than one county were OBJ
jec6ed to by somebody, and there was
visions of more than one district in a
county. The committee was without
proper maps to work with, and no action
was taken with reference TO any of the
districts last night
Madison, Wis, Feb. 2c.-Order is be-
ing developed out of chaos, and the new
districts for the state of Wisconsin, on
the basis of which senators and assem-
bHymem will be elected the coming fall,
are being arranged. All the work on the
new reapportionment is being done by
the conference committee, which worked
from early in the morning until late last
night ON the bill.
I'm executive session last night it was
decided by the conference committee that
county lines could be broken. Whether
they would be was, however, left unde-
cided, but q subcommittee of five, con-
sisting of Senator Baxter and Assembly,,
men Yawkey, Ray, Rosenkranz and Bur
dick, was appointed to draft new bill,
with county lines broken, which will be
compared with the old bill, when it will
be decided which is the better. Three of
the members of the committee are op,
posed to the breaking of county lines,
and the general opinion now seems to be
that they will not be broken.
Madison, Wis, Feb. 21.-It can be
safely asserted that no bill apportioning
the state of Wisconsin into Senate and
Assembly districts under the census of
1895 will be passed by the Legislature
this week. This was practically de-
a;dnd of Joint caucuS of the Republican