Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-06
/ discussion the house adjourned till

| discussion the house adjourned till
i Friday.
In the meantime the truce had been
patched up. The Boston and Maine in
sisted that the public interests were
guarded, but it didn't like the Meyers
amendment. 1t preferred another, that
| all issues of stock for the purchase OF
stock of other roads should be subject to
| the approval of the railroad commission
ers "as to the amount Mr.. Myers was
| agreeable to the compromise. but the
member from Greenfield stood out
against it and declared that the real is
| sue had been abandoned in the accept
ance of the compromise. On the whole
| there is great credit due the three men
whose names have been mentioned, for
| the work they have accomplished. The
bill was vastly better than the measure
| presented last year by the Boston and
Maine, and the few amendments adopt
ed in the house have certainly improved
| it,
Another commission is wanted in the
state. This time 1t is an agricultural
| commission, and the gentleman" farm
| ers of the state are before the legislature
with the scheme that, they claim will
do much to promote the agricultural in
| terests of the commonwealth. The
| scheme is contained in the bill for the
| appointment by the governor of a COM
mission to investigate the agricultural
| organizations and interests, aud to re-
port upon the same, with such recon-
mendations as they deem proper, to the
next legislature. The bill was intro
duced on the petition of several of the
farmers" of the state who follow agri-
| culture as an amusement, rather than as
a means of livelihood
| The petition was late and had to go
| before the committee on rules on the
question of suspending the 18th joint
rule to allow its admission. Several of
the petitioners were before the commit
| tee on rules of the house, and gave
their reasons for the favorable consid-
Grafton of the bill. They were very
| guarded at first, stating that inasmuch
as the state expended a good deal of
money for the interests of agriculture,
| it might be well to see how is was used
and in what manner the agricultural in
| terests of the state were benefited. It
was not until persistent queries by Rep
resentative Parsons of Greenfield that
| the admission came from one of the pc
titioners, that the real intent of the
movement was the abolition of the state
| board of agriculture, and the creation
| in its place of an agricultural commits
sion of three or five persons. 1t was
| further admitted that there was a bill
with this end in view, prepared in time
for introduction under the rule, but that
it was thought better to have the gen.
eral subject investigated by a commits
sion.
This bill is before the legislature as
far as the house is concerned. The COM
mittee on rules voted by d majority OF
one member to suspend the rules, and
the house adopted the recommendation.
But the senate committee on rules must
| be seen, and there is a possibility that
the bill will meet opposition on the
question of the suspension of the rules
in the upper branch.
The work on that portion of the capt.
tol between the Bulfinch front and the
so-called "anneX," is being pushed rap
| idly. There is now under construction
partition in the west corridor on the
third floor, designed to separate the Bull
finch front from the extension. There
is one to match it on the senate side
| of the floor.
The state house, by the way is in
charge now of four unpaid commits
| sions. There is the regular state house
| commission, the state house construc-
tion commission, the Bulfinch front re-
construction commission, and finally,
the Bulfnch front finishing commits
sion.
On Monday the railroad commission
ers will hear the Holyoke Street Rail-
way Company on the question of an in
crease of stock. Tuesday it hears the
Worcester and Marlboro petition for the
right to cross the New York New Ha-
ven and Hartford tracks at grade in
| Northboro. On Wednesday it hears the
consolidation Of the Lowell, Lawrence
and Haverhill road. and the Peoples
Street Railway. Thursday it has the
| Palmer and Monson Street Railway
crossing of the Ware River branch of
the Boston and Albany road. On Fri
day it hears the Worcester Consoli-
dated's petition for extension into Mill
bury and Grafton.
Monday morning at 10 o'clock, the
water from the Nashua river will be
turned into the Wachusett aqueduct
and by Monday afternoon probably the
people Of the metropolitan district will
have an opportunity to get a drink of
the new supply. 1t is predicted by
those who have examined it, that it will
be somewhat lighter in color than the
straw-colored drink which has been
hitherto supplied to the district This
Is the first water from the Nashua river
that has been turned into the metropol-
itan supply. 1t is considered a great
event in the history Of the metropolitan
water board.