Omaha daily bee., 1897-03-09
ON INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM.
House spends IT'S Afternoon Discuss
fuu Direct IeuisIntion.


House Spends It's Afternoon Discuss
ing Direct Legislation.
LINCOLN, March S.-(Special) THE
house devoted an hour this morning to rou-
tine business and the afternoon to a discus
sion OF the initiative and referendum
Burkett completed the speech he had com
menced Saturday. Yeiser. author OF the
measure, house roll No. 6S, had another
inning. Wooster OF Merrlok spoke a few
minutes in opposition to the bill, and Clark
of Lancaster denied that the republicans
had made opposition to the measure party
ISSUE and explained his antagonistic posi-
tion In regard to it, The bill was recon-
mended to be engrossed for third reading
by vota OF So to "a.
1t was after IL o'clock this morning before
a sufficient number Of members appeared In
the house to make a quorum. Sixty-seven
members answered to roll call and the read
ing OF the Journal was dispensed with. Petl-
lions from Johnson and Pawnee counties, In
favor of the initiative and referendum, one
from Weeping Water in favor OF the Soldiers
and Sailors Home at Milford, and NUMBER
against 1t were read by the chief clerk.
On reports from standing committees the
following bills were recommended to pass;
Senate file No; rs. by Ransom, amending
the criminal code and prohibiting the EN-
pioyment of children under ~ years of age.
Senate file No. IA by Ransom defining
cruelty to children ana prescribing PUNISH
Senate file NO. Z. by Beal. to prevent de-
fclency Judgment against mortgagors, .,rr .
Senate file No. 80, by Gondering, relating
70 Rouse t%s IU roll No III BY Yeiser, relating to
h Monse %eF Eo IF So @ Sy Yee
that suits may be brought in precincts
where the Rqints Gto or r reside
orders
House roll No. 1885, by cronk. barring an
House roll No. 5l1, by Rich providing that
county judges in cities of the metropolitan
Justices of the peace.
: House roll No. 400 by Alderman, to pro-
vide as to who shall be eligible to the office
House roll No. 1886, by wlmberley, to au:
thorlze affidavts to be taken In proof OF
uncontested accounts in the justice and
county courts.
The following were recommended to go
on general file:
House roll No. 472, by Yeiser. to order
district Judges to fix the number and COM
pensation Of deputy sherlffs
House roll No. 5O2 by Hull, providing that
no judge, shall have power to revive dor
mant judgments.
House roll No. 479, by Sheldon was or
dered engrossed for third reading. This
is bill for an act increasing the amount
OF incorporation fees in the office OF the
secretary OF state.
DECIDE ON NIGHT SESSIONS.
Uerling OF Adams moved that as the house
had wasted a great deal of time over house
roll No. 6S, Yeisers initiative and referen-
dunn bill, that the house meet Wednesday and
Thursday evenings. Pollard moved an
amendment that the bill be made a special
order for Wednesday evening. This was
lost The question recurred on the original
motion Of Uerling, that the house meet
Wednesday and Thursday evenings and it
prevailed.
The second reading of senate file No. 15
the Omaha charter was had this morning
and 1t was referred to the committe on cities
and towns.
The house then took recess until p. NJ
Following recess a telegram was read by
the clerk addressed to Representative Snyder
of Sherman and announcing the death OF his
daughter On motion of Clark OF Lancaster
Mr.. Snyder was excused until his return.
The house then went into committee of the
whole to consider bills on general file House
roll No. ,6S, by Yeiser the initiative and
referendum measure, was first In order and
Sheldon, in the chair, announced that 1t
would first be considered Then Sheldon in
vlted Clark of Lancaster to the chair, and
took the floor to speak on certain amend
ments.
Burkett of Lancaster resumed his argu-
ment against the bill, taking up the subject
about where he had left it Saturday. In
Switzerland Burkett said, where the prlnci-
Piles of this law originated, but fifteen meas
ures had been proposed under the initiative
and but four had been referred under the
referendum. Two of them had been killed
by the people. Residents of the canton of
Zurich, he said, had made the basic prln-
ciples of the law purely partisan measure
In many parts of Switzerland strong advo-
Gates of the referendum were opposed to
the initiative. Burkett contended that the
statement made by Wooster to the effect that
people were not generally informed as to
what the initiative and referendum was
was correct. He had asked a great many
people, well Informed what they knew about
the question, and had been told nothing at
ALL" The speaker read from an article GER
tain conclusions proving that the people of
Switzerland were as prone to suggest bad as
good laws and that the referendum was
sure and certain step toward the initiative
Burkett made point against the bill, which
he illustrated by house roll No. 5, the bill
authorizing q recount of the votes cast for
tho constitutional amendments and house
roll No. 93, the transmlssissippi bill. Either
of these measures could be practically null
lifted by the referendum. 1t would not be
difficult to secure 15 per cent of the voters
to call special election. This would have
delayed the recount until too late and sadly
crippled the exposition bill. People are not
all the time reading up on the questions of
the day, and when a man does not know how
to vote, he follows the universal rule and
votes no. The referendum was as likely to
kill good measures as bad ones.
YEISER SUPPORTS HIS BILL.
Yelser replied to Burkett as the champion
of his pet measure Yeser said he proposed
to show up Switzerland In diff
ferent light than that in which
1t had been presented by Burkett.