The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-04-10
THAT AWFUL LEGISLATURE.
The Attorney General Likely to
be Kept Busy Rendering
Opinions.

!
be Kept Busy Rendering
Opinions.
Nearly Every Measure Passed by the
Body Capable Of Double or Triple In.
terpretation--A Bull Discovered In
the Appropriation Bill With Regard
to Printing for State Institutions
An Extra Session May Have to b.
Called to Provide for tho Military Els.
adjustment and the Commissioner oil
Labor.
CHARLESTON, w. Va, April g.
The numerous errors discovered in
the appropriation bill appear to be
taking up a considerable part of the
time of the State officers. The most
serious error seems to be that in re.
gard to the appropriation for the
National Guard. The opinion pre-
walls among military officials that
Attorney General Rucker will be
able to find some loophole which will
let them out of the difficulty, but the
legal lights express different opin-
ion. While it is readily admitted
that the muddle is clearly the result
of mistake made by those who
drew up the appropriation bill, yet
the mistake is such as will prevent
the drawing of money out of the
treasury for the National Guard.
Attorney General Rucker has gone
home, but promises that his opinion
ON the matter will be forthcoming
within few days.
General Rucker gave an informal
opinion before he left on the matter
of the printing for the various State
institutions. In the sixteenth chap
ter of the Code it is provided that
all of the printing for the various
State institutions must be ordered
by the superintendent of public
printing, executed by the contractor
or contractors for public printing,
and paid for out of the appropriation
made by the Legislature to pay for
public printing. In the general ap
preparation bill passed by the late
Legislature there is a clause under
the heading of appropriation for each
of the State institutions, providing
that all bills for printing for such
institution be paid out of the con
tingent fund of the institution
which is in direct conflict with the
statute. The Attorney General holds
that where two statutes conflict, the
last passed must stand. Under this
rule he holds that as the printing
for each State institution must be
paid out of the contingent fund Of
such institution, the boards of those
institutions will have complete con
troll of the printing,and can have the
printing done wherever and by who
ever they may deem best. In fact,
the public printer is not obliged tC
do it. He is not obliged to print
anything that is not ordered by the
superintendent of public printing
The appropriation bill takes the
matter out of the hands of the sup
erintendent of public printing and
the public printer. As far as the
present public printer is concerned
he does not want the work OF Tho
State institutions, as this is the class
OF work upon which he bids very
low. The public printer may refuse
to do this work, as it does not come
to him through the superintendent
of printing, as required by law. Il
the boards of these institutions
should be compelled to make new
contracts for public printing, they
will not likely be able to make con
tracts on such good terms as the
State has with the public printer
and the cost of printing for these
institutions will likely be very large
ly increasee on account of the new
provisions in the appropriation bill
No decision has been reached as
to what is to be done in regard tc
the salary of the commissioner of la
Dor. Mr. Hood, the keeper of the
rolls, says the failure of the appro
priation for the labor commissioner
is only the result Of clerical error
and can be corrected, but neither
Mr.. Hood nor any one else would
dare to tinker with the bill after il
has been passed by the Legislature
1t is not within the province OF any
one man to say what is or what is
not clerical error in an act OF the
Legislature.
There seems to be more urgent
necessity for an extra session of the
Legislature to correct the mistakes
OF the regular session than for pass
ing on constitutional amendments
but before calling an extra session
the Governor would probably want
to be Unidentified against any new
mistakes that might be made.
-
There appears to be large
amount of misinformation floating
around among the State press in re
gard to the high hat bill passed by
attributed TO nearly everybody ex
ceDJ IL auJnOr. Inc 1acJS are ina