Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-03-03
KANSAS LEGISLATURE

Feb 26-The morning session of the
1 house was devoted to routine business ana
| the afternoon to railroad bills. By vote
| OTIS to 80 the Harris senate bill was sub
| stituted for the house maximum bill of
| Brown of Pratt When section Is was
reached bitter fight arose which lasted
for two hours and was still on when the
| session closed. 1t viii be renewed Monday
afternoon, when the bill will come up for
consideration again.
| The senate spentthe entire day discussing
the Harris trust deed bill, and the last act
before adjournment was to defeat It, by
vote of 81 to 16
Feb. 25-The Senate, by a vote of IS 10
2, passed the bill assessing and taxing
mineral reserves Bills were also passed
! appropriating the interest received from
the permanent fund Of the state agricul-
tural college and providing for the payment
| committee of the whole the Senate recom-
mended for passage appropriation bills
covering the expenses of the Topeka insane
asylum, the state penitentiary. conveying
prisoners to prison, to purchase a marble
bust of the late Ex-Governor Charles Rob-
inson and for the university geological sur
vey.
The insurance committee of the House
favorabiy reported the joint resolution in
structing the attorney general to begin
action at once gainst the New York insur-
ance companies to recover back taxes The
Brown railroad bill came up in the after
noon on special order Jones of Neosho
moved TO subs titute the entire senate bill
for the one being read. weilep Democrat.
of Cherokee, moved to lay the motion on
the table. but his motion was lost by a vote
of 81 to 81. The Jones motion was carried
by the same vote. Fairchifd, Popuiist Of
kingmau, moved to amend by substituting
the Brown bill, with the maximum schedule
and classihcations stricken out for the Sem
ate bill At the conclusion of the reading of
the bill the House adjourned without tax
ing action,
Feb. 25.-The Senate by unanimous vote
passed the Harris railroad bill after hav-
ing amended by striking out the schedule
OF maxi mum rates. This leaves the power
to fix rates entirely in the hands of the state
BOARD OF railroad commissioners. The bill
was made a special order of business and
Notwithstanding its passage without a dis
senting vote dozen senators fought IL for
five hours. but were finally oyerpowered by
the majority and forced into line. One of
the principal features of the bill is that IL
gives the commission power to enforce its
orders by mandamus proceedings The bill
contains 1000 words. and meets about all
the complaints tn at have beer m ade against
the railroad companies
The House, in committee Of the whole
killed Senator Hanna's anti-oleom argarine
Dill by vote of 61 to 55. The House side
tracked all the normal school bills by
adopting the report of the committee on
educational ins titutions against any more
normal schools. Representative Graves of
Leavcnworth introduced bill in the House
appropriating 5000 to buy a state print
ing plant The House committee on ways
and means reported unfavorably the bill
making an appropriation for the compile
tion of the State house.
Feb. 23.-The Senate by vote of 81 to'12
indefinitely postponed the Hackbusch bill
repeating the metropolitan police law The
report OF the calendar revision committee
was adopted 1t places the APPROXIMATION
bills at the head of the calendar. The fu-
sion members of the Senate held a caucus
and decided to change the railroad bill By
vote of l6 10 10 il was agreed that the
schedule of ma<siauia rats b. stricken out
leaving the power to establish rates with
the state board of railroad commissioners.
The House passed the bill from the COM
mittee on mines and mining requiring the
payment OF employees in cash. The bill Is
aim ed al mine owners who compel miners
to trade OUT their wages at the company
stores The Stoner bill, establishing a de-
partment for the inspection, grading and
weighing of grain was passed by the House
The Barkley fee and salary bill was passed
by the House by vote of S5 to %. Repre-
sentative Hackney's bill to prevent black
listing was passed by the House. Any per-
son blacklisted may recover from the per-
son or persons doing the blacklisting a sum
three times the amount of actual damages
Feb. 20.-Both branches of the I.eeis-
lature adjourned at IL O'Clock, and in the
afternoon Mr.. Bryan addressed the Legis-
latnre i= joint session on the science of gov
ernment The House passed the bills max
ing the home for ex-Federal soldiers at St
James and the home for ex-Confederates at
Higginsville eleemosynary institutions de-
pendent on the state for support The Sem
ate did practically nothing except to pass
Senator Peers bill appropriating II 800 for
the construction or a monument to mark
the spot in Montgomery county where Dam
iel Boone and wife were buried. Senate ad-
journed to Tuesday.