Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-02-03
Special TO the Register.

OS5SlOu VIII Do the RESULT.
Special to the Register.
CHARLESTON, W. Va, February .
Mr.. Whitaker thrust his Senatorial lance
into the tan bark bill to-day, and it died
on its second reading.
When the bill came up he moved to
strike out the enactlng clause, and made Il
strong speech against the proposition to
permit the United States Leather Trust to
get a corner on the land in the State. lie
was opposed to any legislation that would
enable large corporations to squeeze out
the smaller manufacturing concerns.
Messrs. Farr and Patton also spoke
against the bill.
Messrs. Young and Fast favored its
passage Mr.. Fast said that when gentle
men turned upon rich monopolies they
often looked through the wrong end of the
telescope. They were not dangerous to
the welfare of the people. They brought
prosperity. Mr.. Young said the purpose Of
the bill was to develop the lands now lay
ing idle.
The Senate was almost evenly divided
and the motion TO strike out was barely
adopted.
Speaker Hanen arrived here from his
home last night and presided to-day.
The event in the House was the debate
of the valued policy bill, which lasted
about two hours and was engaged in by
many of the members.
Mr.. Behrens said that If the bill became
a law it would drive out all good insur-
ance companies from doing business in the
State and would open the door for Wild
cat insurance
Under the law as proposed in the bill
it would be impossible for citizens Of the
country districts to get any good insur-
ance, he said.
The bill passed by a vote of 45 to 10. with
the amendment excepting insurance on
personal property from the provision of
the bill.
As passed. it compels insurance compa-
nies to pay the full face value of the pol
icy in case of total loss on the building
without reference to the amourt of the
actual loss sustained by the owner of the
building.
1t was expected that the Constitution
al Commission would be named early
this week, but it has not yet been done,
nor is it positively known who will COM
pose it except the President of the Sen
ate and Speaker of the House, who have
been appointed by resolution. There
is evidently no special hurry on the
part of the Republican Steering Com
mittee to have the commission to ac-
complish its work AS has already
been stated in these dispatches, it is
their desire to have this commission re-
port not until the latter part of the
session, when it shall be too late to act
on the report at this session, and it has
been suggested that It would be better
to defer the report of the Commission
till Governor Atkinson shall have been
inaugurated, when he is expected to
convene the Legislature in special ses-
sion. There Is an unusual anxiety
and solicitude about these proposed
constitutional amendments. and yet
there is a strange reticence on the part
of the leaders of the dominant party
as to the real cause of this anxiety.
When they are asked what amendments
TO the constitution are devised. they
talk vaguely about provisions TO abOl-
ish the invested school fund. taking
the limit from the number OF days the
Legislature may sit. a provision for an
other Judge on the Supreme bench. etc.
but they are careful to avoid the real
purpose Of the overhauling of the con-
stitution. II has leaked out that the
real purpose OF the constitutional
amendment commission is to abolish the
constitutional provision which makes
railroads public highways. II appears
that the Republican party placed itself
under obligation TO the railroad cor
pOrations in the last campaign 10 get
rid Of this constitutional provision IN
the event the party got possession Of
the executive and legislative branches
of the government or was otherwise
sufficiently strong TO accomplish II.
On this promise made 20 the railroad
comanies by the leaders. the Republi-
can partv secured the support Of the
railroads in the last campaign and they
now feel that they must redeem this
promise or forfeit the support Of the
railroad influence on the future. Hence
the anxiety about the revision of the
constitution.
Under the present constitution all
railroads are declared to be public
highways and as such are subject to
control by the Legislature in freight
and passenger charges and in all mat
ters of the dealings with the public.
With the provision stricken out Of the
constitution the Legislature would have
no control of railroads and they would
be enabled to adopt such rates and to
make such regulations as they might
desire. This is evidently the purpose
of the revision of the constitution and
all the talk about minor amendments
is simply wind.
There seems to be a contest at this
session Of the legislature as there was
at the session of 1895. between the
friends respectively of the bill to estab-
lish a girls reform school. and the
hill to establish a home for incurables.
II has always been the understanding
that If provision were made for the
establishment of the girls reform
school. or girls industrial home. as 1t
ie called in the bill. it would be located
in Wheeling. while if the bill for the
home for incurables were PASSED 1t
would be located in Charleston. In
This way a contest between Wheeling
and Charleston has been brought