Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-03-08
WHICH WILL FALL?
MISSOURI HOUSE CALENDAR TO BE
sLAsHED.
IT MAY LEAD TO TROUBLE.
POPS WILL KICK IF THEIR BILLS
ARE HEWN DOWN.
Will stephens IndOrse After Dark
XotinG.-Return of the House
LeIow Committee-sir. Spot
ford's Ire Aroused
4 Lyons Story.

jefferson City. Mo-. March 7.-(Special)
The appointment of steering committee IN
the house, with authority TO examine all
the bills stfii pending before that body and
report back those that are deemed worthy
of the consideration OF its members. de-
serves more than Il passing notice When
the people of Missouri come to Il full reali-
2ation of the manner in which the house
and senate budgets have been swelled up
in order TO take up the time of the repre-
sentativeS and senators and prevent them
from enacting legislation urgently demand-
cd. they will pile condemnation mountain
high upon the blatant Depo-Pops who came
here with the avowed intention of reform
ing all of the abuses that have grown up.
or that were supposed to have grown up
during the past fifty years. AttentCn mas
repeatedly been called in The Journal to
the many ..sandbagging" bills introduced
by the members of the anti-corporation
lobby These bills were followed by others
that might he called counter irritantS, put
in by the other gang of lobbyists, whose
avowed mission in jefferson City is to pro-
tect railways, the street railways and other
big corporations of Missouri from the
'.sandbaggers." Between the men repre-
senting these two elements, the house and
senate budgets have been swelled to enor-
nous proportions. Up to the present time
over 40 bills have been introduced in the
house, and the number introduced in the
senate exceeds 45O. Inquiry among sena-
tors and representatives. who have held
aloof from the ''sandbaggers' and the
agents of the corporations has resulted in
the information that not more than . per
cent of these bills should become laws. The
,,f f.I., If hi IN
represents the vagaries of the deluded and
monomaniacal Popuiistic mind; the other
class is made up of bills that intended
either TO put Doodle into the pockets of the
'sandbaggers" and their pals in the house
and senate or to compel these individuals
to hold their hands Off the corporations.
AS only two weeks of the present session
remain the taxpayers of Missouri VINO pay
the bills cannot spend their time to better
advantage than by watching the antics of
the steering committee. The speaker pro
TEN, Representative George T. Lee, of Car
ter county, who wanted to be made
member of the committee, but was ignored
by Speaker Farris, has made the statement
that he was informed by an officer of the
state of Missouri that the speaker was con-
trolled in making up the committee by the
corporations, and naturally Mr.. Lee, who
is one of the strongest anti-corporatiOn
men in the house, feels very sore. IT is
conceded that $50 to 500 of the pending
the steering committee. The feeling of the
members of the steering committee
toward corporations will be plainly indi-
Gated by their treatment of the bills affect
ing those institutions that they will pass
upon. Should they consign to the legisla-
tive dump large number of bills that
the rural Populistic allies of the Demo-
to have passed, the end of the session will
be like unto a menagerie with the eley
plants. tigers and hyenas on rampage.
OF course, some of these bills will be al
lowed to come before the house and will
be passed. But they Will be called up for
passage too late for action by the senate.
There is some talk of u senatorial steering
committee to pare down the budget of
that body, and the proposition may be ia
yorably acted upon in day or two. The
senate budget will stand almost as much
trimming, proportionately, as the house
budget.
Only the veto of the governor stands be-
tween the people of Kansas City and ST.
Louis and Il return to the pernicious and
criminal after-dark voting that was i'll
vogue before the passage of the election
law OF two years ago. 1t is not likely thai
Governor Stephens will provoke the enmity
of the bosses of the Democracy in the two
cities by refusing TO afsix his signature 10
the bill. These bosses know that without
ballot box stuffing and the forging of re-
turns they cannot hope to carry either
Kansas City or st. Louis. The Republicans
in the senate and house made a strong
fight TO prevent the changing of the time OF
closing the polls from to o'clock p. m,
and there were Democratic senators and
representatives who agreed with them that
the change ought not to be made, but the
party lash was used upon them and they
were whipped into line. The readoption of
the after-dark voting system ought to be Il
good thing for the Republican party of Mis-
souri, Notwithstanding the fact that it
will strengthen the gangs in Kansas City
and st. Louis. 1t should prove good cam
paign argument for the Republican candi-
dates and orators at the coming municipal.
state and county elections. In the list of
members who voted for the bill. published
in The Journal the morning following its
passage. he name of Representative
Avery, the Democratic leader of the house,
who imagines he looks like William Jer-
nings Bryan. the boy orator. was omitted.
As Mr.. Avery was the principal champion
upon the floor of the house of the bill he
ought to have due credit therefor. so that
the honest voters of Missouri may mark
him for future reference. The statement
WAS made that Representative Walmsley,
one of the Republican members from Kan
sas City. left the house an hour before the
bill was taken up for passage. He ex-
plains his absence by saying that he was
sick. and that he did not know the bill was
coming before the house at that time.
Lexow committee for the avowed purpose
of taking more testimony will revive the
police scandal. IT is said by members of
the committee that reopening the inquiry
into the alleged corruption in the police de-
partmeut will result in bringing out some
new facts that will prove beneficial to Com
missoners Fyke and Johnson and Chief
Julian. Notwithstanding reported state
ments by members of the senatorial Lexow
committee. which is subcommittee of
the committee corporations other than
railroads. that they would prepare their re-
port, or reports. upon designated days and
submit them soon afterward to the senate.
they have not done so. The latest rumor
that has obtained circulation in regard to
the senatorial committee is that il will not
submit Il report until the last day of the
session As every member of the senate
Will be busy trying to rescue some of his
bills from the slaughter that is certain TO
take place. IL will then be too late either to
confirm or reject Commissioners Fyke and
johnson. Before this report was put in
circulation there was another somewhat
on the same line. IT was that the sena-
torial committee would not make a report.
Coupled with both these rumors was the
statement that Ex-Governor Stones ap-
pointments of Commissioners F'yke and
Johnson would expire with the end of the
session. and that Governor Stephens would
appoint two other men to fill the vacancies
In contradiction of these rumors Senator
Orchard says the subcommittee will SUBJ
init its report to the committee on next
Tuesday morning, and that the report will
be read in the senate chamber some time
during the day. The people of Kansas City
and the public at large can take their
choice as to what they will believe about
this matter. 1t is generally regarded as a
peculiar circumstance that the report has
been SO long delayed.
If the advocates of good roads in this
state are really sincere, they now have an
to urge the passage of a meas
ure that will provide permanent road
fund without adding one dollar of burden
to the tnyDayerS With rnacadamized roads