The Red Cloud chief., 1899-01-27
NEBRASKA HOUSE
PROCEEDINGS OF LOWER LEG
lSlATNE BRANCH
4 Condensed Resume OF the wosk Ac-
oompiished During the Fast Week
Action on Bills Etc.
Thursday, january 10,

""'Suay' vhuuHry Nv
Tuesdays journal was only read in
part, fuather reading being dispensed
with.
The committee on printing reported
that Jacob North q Sons were prepar-
ing all bills as quickly as possible, ex.
planning that delay was caused by the
inability of the proof readers to read
proof in time.
A resolution by GroSvenor that 500
copies be printed OF House roll 137. "a
bill 70 amend the revenue laws of the
state, vas amended u provide that
1000 be printed. 1t was then adopted.
Several new bills were read the first
time.
The most important was House roll
s7s, by Rouse. which provides that any
newspaper published in any county in
The state. In German Swedish, Bohc.
milan or English, having u daily, tri.
weekly or weekly circulation of 1900
must publish the proceedings OF the
county board therein.
On motion OF Burns The sergeant ut
arms was directed 4 procure flags and
Grape them back of the speakers chair.
When the house convened in the
afternoon, It had the Skipton cou.
tempt case before it. rs well as the
Benjamin-Israel contest.
Judge Skipton was brought before
the bar Of the house and the warrant
read. On motion Of Fisher OF Dawes,
Mr.. Skipton was given an opportunity
TO speak. He asked that the chief
clerk to whom he had given them, be
required to read his reasons for not
handing over the ballots in question.
The arguments set forth by Judge
Skipton for his failure to comply with
the request of the house were from the
legal standpoint that the county court
Of Fillmore county, being a part of the
coordinate branch of the state gov.
eminent, was not amcnable to the
house, and further, that as the ballots
were a part Of the evidence in the case
pending before his court he had neither
= moral nor legal right to let them out
Of his jurisdiction. lie said that the
statutes provided methods by which
che legislature and the county judg,
, may obtain ballots in contested cleo
zion cases. BY virtue of the provision
that both could not have the ballots
at the same time, he was in possession
and the legislature was not. In hi.
concluding paragraph he says:
"What relief for this ~predicamen'
there NAV be / shall not venture &c
suggest to your honorable body, 9th
o. than to recall the fact that hereto
fore the remedy seems to have beer
found In q special act of the legisla
ture. What means your honorabl,
body may be able to devise L know
not, but will repeat that whenever
) have proper authority tor the delivery
TO your honorable body of any evi
dence in my possession that such evi
deuce will be ~cheerfully furnished a
the appointed time, and that it will
rot be necessary to employ any coer
sion or to give VIC 1T to any vituperativ,
or malicious epithets in order to com
pei q surrender Of such evidence"
He Was asked by Fisher: Evil
you produce the ballots now?' "No
SIR" said the Judge. He was ques
toned by others. The outcome of
long debate was hat he was held II
contempt of the house INT lined So
end SIS costs. On motion Of Prince o
Hall the fine assessed was RENTED OF
condition that Judge Skipton pro
duce the ballots within twenty-fou
hours.
In the matter of the con test between
benjamin and Israel, the committee Oh
privileges and elections reported tina
1t had counted the ballots cast an,
found that Israel had received La
and Benjamin 1882. Leaving out pre-
cincts objected to Israel had l,005 an,
BENJAMIN 9E The committee recon
mended the seat be given to Israel
THE minority report emphasized tn
question of eligibility. The hous
took up the reports and was in tn
midst Of their consideration when nd
tOurnment vas had.