Omaha daily bee., 1897-02-27
.CLEVERLY PUSHED THROUGH
Liquor Manufacturing Bill Passes the
House with One Spare Vote,
OPPONENTS MAKE A FATAL ERROR
Move Previous Question on one Sec
tion and Speaker Rules II APP
plies TO whole BiI-Strength
In senate Doubtful.

DIES MONIES, Feb. 26.-(Special Tele-
gram)-The liquor manufacturing bill passed
the house today after an exciting session
forenoon and afternoon. II was late in the
afternoon when the long bill was ready for
its passage, and under the previous question
went to a vote. 1t received ffty-two votes,
hfty-one being necessary to pass 1t; forty
four were cast in the negative. The passage
of the bill was the result of one of the best
pieces of management ever seen in the legis-
lature. The plan was made in all details
with the greatest care before it was even
known that the committee was about to
bring out a bill. The opponents of the meas
ure were confident they would defeat
it, and when the first test vote
mustered only fifty votes for the bill 1t
looked as If it would fail. But the plan
was carefully laid and at the right time the
votes came. The bill was reported from the
committee on suppression of intemperance
early in the forenoon session. Motions to
Indefinitely postpone were defeated and con-
sideration was forced. The committee had
simply consolidated the old mulct law and
the new manufacturing provisions, making
the latter amendments to the former. The
bills consideration being forced, 1t was
taken up section by section, and each Sec
ton in turn adopted under the previous
question, the speaker ruling that when the
previous question was moved as to a par
ticular section 1T would not carry the whole
bill with 1t. Section by section the amend
ments were adopted under this rule, till the
last section was reached at 5 o'clock. When
the motion for the previous question was
made this time 1t was not limited; there
was no provision that it should apply
only to the section under consideration.
1t was moved by Funk 81 Hardin, one Of
the strongest opponents of The bill. and
when it carried The speaker proceeded to
put the bill on its passage, declaring tfa
the previous question rot having Teen Jim
tied, the whole bill must go 10 its passage
without debate. The opponents of the meas
ure had hoped TO talk it 20 death and were
furious that an error should have defeated
them. As it was the chairs ruling held
and the bill was passed. Tic roll call gave
fifty affirmative votes, aud 1t looked like
defeat, but Laid and Lowry changed to the
affirmative and passed the bill anil great
applause. A year ago the house defeated
the bill, ffty-two votes being cast against
1t.
The measure will come up in the senate
in the course of two weeks, and the result
there is uncertain. Last year it received
twenty-five votes, twenty-six being necessary
to pass it. 1t will probably do better this
year. Its passage in the house will
strengthen it much, and the fact that the
republican politicians are demanding it as
necessary to place the party In good condi-
ton for the gubernatorial campaign, will
also add strength. It's success, however, is
problematic.
The house also passed the Carney resolu-
ton, from the senate, for a joint investiga-
ton of state institutions. 1t had been de-
feated once, reconsidered, tabled, taken from
the table and at last passed this morning be-
fore manufacture was taken up. The senate
had first passed this, then when the house
rejected it proceeded with an Independent
| investigation Tho senate pOnnmtttea now
acting will probably be discharged and the
committee be made joint to work under the
new resolution. The senate spent two ses-
sions on routine code work.