Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-11
lERAL ISSUES PUSH;D TO ONE SIDE
Clear Track for Anything Backed by the
Porocratic Leaders.
BRIEF REVIEW OF THE RECENT SESSION
Main Points of the Priucipal piliS
That Passed Both Houses ana
Intent of Some That
Failed.

| LINCOLN, April 10.-(Special)-
| twenty-fifth session of the Nebraska legisla-
! turo adjourned at twenty minutes OF IL
| o'clock. noon, today, after having been con-
| tinuously in session since January s. 1t was
the close Of probably the longest session in
| the history of the state. From the time IL
met until 1t finally adjourned the legislature
| considered 6S3 house rolls and 3S4 senate
| files. OF the aggregate of 1,067 bills intro
duced, 1873 were enacted into laws and sub
| mitted to the approval or rejection of tho
| governor. Up to this afternoon the chief
! executive had not vetoed any one of the 1873
bills submitted to him. OF the bills sent to
the governor, eghty-two were house rolls
and the remaining ffty-one originated in the
| senate. or the total number of bills passed
| during the entire session, seventy-four passed
| between the hours of ~ o'clock Thursday
| noon and o'clock last evening.
The legislature turned it's first attention
to the consideration of party measures. The
| first efforts of the two houses was directed
| to the enactment of law which aimed to
| ascertain the result of the election last No.
vember as far as the adoption or rejection
of the constitutional amendment relating to
| judges of the supreme court was concerned.
The returns made to the State Canvassing
oval u shpNeu tHdt lHe dIltuulHeul TeIeTTeu
| to had failed to receive a constitutional ma
jority
EAGER FOR A RECOUNT.
There was general pressure from party
newspapers and party leaders for recount
OF the ballots and one of the first steps of the
party majority was to provide for such a
recount The third bill introduced in the
senate and the fifth in the house provided
for legislative commission to recount the
ballots. The house bill was passed, but the
senate returned an entirely new law. The
work of counting the ballots had been
partially completed when Injunction of the
courts made the enactment of a new law
necessary. The recount was completed under
the new law and the result proved con-
clusively that the amendments had failed to
carry
The effort to enact the original recount law
was accompanied by the work of unseating
four representatives and one senator elected
as republicans from Douglas county. Nothing
In the history OF the session created more
party strife or more bitterness Of feeling
than the act by which the republicans from
Douglas county were deprived of their seats.
Neither the house nor the senate listened
to the evidence in the contest. In the house
the whole matter was referred to a COM
mittee. which disagreed in its report and
recommendations. The senate committee
unanimously recommended that the repub-
Iican senator be retained in his seat. Both
recommendations were rejected under the
pressure of party necessity and the fusion
candidates given their seats.
After the recount law and the Douglas
county contest had been disposed of, tho
fusion majority turned its next attention to
the work of making new charters for the
cities of Omaha and Lincoln. Both charters
were passed as party measures, the protests
OF prominent citizens of both cities being
disregarded.- The consttutionality Of the
Lincoln charter Is to be tested in the courts,
whilo the Omaha charter has been accepted.
The first election in the city of Lincoln, under
the new charter, occurred last Tuesday, and
the fusion party, which had hoped to reap
the benefits of the new bill of rights, was
defeated by an overwhelming vote
WASTED IT'S TIME.
The sixty working days allotted to the
legislature by the constitution were fully
occupied in the recount measure the contest
cases and the charter bills. But eleven
bills were enacted during the first sixty days
OF the session. With the distinctively party
measures out of the way the legislature
turned its attention to the enactment Of gem
eral laws, But the days for which the mem-
bers could draw pay had passed and every
man was anxious to return home as soon as
possib 1t was under these circumstances
that the legislature established the prece-
dent OF passing bills without consideration
in the committee of the whole.
In the senate sitting committee OF seven
members was appointed. This committee
took DOsspsSan nj nj
Its first report recommended that twenty
one bills be taken from the files and placed
On their final passage without considera-
ion or debate in the committee OF the whole.
The bills were for the most part short ones
md OF little general Importance. The plan
worked WELL and, encouraged by the success
of It's new departure the sitting committee
recommended similar procedure on other
md more important bills. Bills by the
lozen were placed on third reading and
Iassed with no pretense OF consideration. In
his manner some Of the most important
'ills OF the session were enacted into law.
by the success OF the siftina
individual members, by making
nectlVe combinations advanced their own
avorite bills to third reading In the same
manner and frequently bills were ordered
ngrossed for their final passage before they
lad been read the second time as provided
y the constitution.
REGULATING THE CORPORATIONS.
The presence OF an overwhelming majority
both branches Of the legislature gave the
opulist forces full opportunity to enact the
incorporation laws which had been adyO-
ated from the stump, in party platforms
nd In the columns OF party organs. To
ONE extent these party measures aimed at
ne interests OF incorporated companies were
nacted into law First. the bill regulating
be prices charged for yardage and feeding
the South Omaha stock yards was passed.
fter bitter struggle in the senate. Then
10 senate followed this bill with others
hich imposed tax upon the gross earnings
express, telephone aud electric light COM