The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1899-05-06
THE MISSOURI LEGISLATURE.
Proceedings OF the Fnrtieth General A.
sembly.

The house made a start last evening to-
ward the work of revising the statues
A resolution. offered by Mr.. Blair. Of
DeKalb. WAS adopted. by its provisions,
10 house bills on the calendar fo- en-
grossment We're indefinitely postponed
There are now pending IN the house ls
bills and resolutions, of which III are
house bills and % senate bills. This does
not take into account the Immense worn
in ~disposing of revision bills. which has
scarcely commenced, outside of the work
Of the committees.
The senate calendar shows but y bills
pending. Of which Il o~riginated IN the
house and 30 in the senate. The upper
house has also pushed the work OF re-
vision along to a considerable extent.
The beer inspection bill reached the gov.
ernor yesterday afternoon.
The separate coach law, a measure In.
troduce in the house by Mr.. Kirby, OF
Howard. was indefinitely postponed by
require railroads to furnish separate
coaches for whites and blacks.
The house spent two hours in commit
tee of the whole considering a bin to up
propriate money for additional buildings
for various state Institutions.
JEFFERSON CITY, April 2S.-The sen.
ate, after three hours of vigorous debate.
passed the department store bill, and II
its amended form passed by 4 vote of 2.
to 10.
In its present form the bill applies only
to cities of 50,0O0 or over. 1t divides busi-
ness into % classes, and groups these
classes under - nestGS. ANY person IT,
string to enlarge in more than one of the
groups of business must pay an annua
license fee of from sos to $500 for eacE
additional group. As expressed by the
promoters of the bill. it was intended &c
make it impractiCable, if not impossible
for department stores to longer exist. II
was the purpose to permit taxing OF each
group as high as s., uOl per dnnum, so as
to discourage the engaging in more than
one lire of business. But this purpose
was defeated by the Haynes amendment.
The trouble and dissatisfaction over the
bill is not ended. and it may be reopcned
ana the whole ground gone over again.
In the house the senate antitrust bill
was taken up, amcded and passed by a
vote of lE2 to 9.
The house passed bills TO appropriate
S22r,gyo of the foreign insurance tax Of 1>9i
and 1855 to the various counties of the
state and the city of st. Louis
Mr.. Walsh. of St. Louis. introduced a
bill to give the heads and employees of the
collector, recorder and license commits
si"ner's offices half holidays on Saturday,
WAS passed.
Mr.. Lee. of Carter. introduced a general
railroad law,UId passed. 1t gives the
r%;,iiroad Commissioner authority to adj
just rates. The same bia has been before
the legislature on n former occasion ana
defeated. Under its terms the commits
sioners would have arbitrary power in
thu matter of fixing freight rates.
JEFFERSON CITY. April 29.-In the
senate u bill to appropriate money FOR the
support o. educational lllSIljlIlDlS passed
without change. IL carries about S2",vGu.
The W0odfoik resolution, relating To
trials by jury, was called W again. and
after being amended 50 as to eliminate
the Objectionable features, was passed.
III the house. Mr.. Hall, of Grundy, in
troGuced Il bill to provide for the insti-
tuition Of an action at law in the federal
court to determine the boundary between
Atchison county. Missouri. and Nemaha
county, Nebraska, and passed.
The house at last agreed to the senate
amendments to Il bill placing town NIL
tuaI fire. tornado and windstorm insur-
anc" companies under the state Insurance
department.
The first sign of adjournment came yes
tcrC:ay through 4 resolution introduced
in the house by Mr.. Johnson. of Cooper,
to fix May y at noon as the date of adj
jcCrnmcnt sine die, but under the rules
the resolution went over.
JEFFERSON CITY. April 29.-The sem
ate held Il session lasting about 10 min
utCs. But u senators We're present, o. six
less than a quorum. Senator Farris, of
Crawford, who had insisted on Il Satur-
course. no business OF Importance could
be transacted, and after two or three re-
vision bills Were ordered cngrOssed, Il mo-
ton to adjourn prevailed.
Enough members of the house remained
over to make a quorum, and as Il result
several bills were passed and considert-
bic routine work disposed of. Mr.. Curry,
OF Ozark, precipitated Il lively discussion
postpone the entire calendar of house bills
for third reading. The motion was lost
by a close vote. 1t is the general oPm-
ion that few house bills for third reading
will be considered after next week.
There was considerable discussion over
a house bill introduced by Mr.. kneisley.
of Carroll. to fix the liability of persons
who sell personal property, but the meas
ure finally passed.
Gov. Stephens sent a communication to
the house concerning the Pan-American
nNr,nSitis,n IN no hold NJ Rnffn1n
In 1891. and inclOSing a letter from john
L. Weber, commissioner general of the
exposition. in which the latter asks MIS-
souri, to provide for a state exhibit. The
governor says that Missouri should have
al exhibit there, and he recommends
that If the legislature deems it mex !
pedient to appropriate money. the au-
th"ri:y should be conferred on him to
commissioners to raise money for
a stae exhibit, and in this way officially
recognize the exposition.
JEFFERSON CITY. May 1.-The two
joint concurrent resolutions drafted in
TIE interest nf the Worlds fair. wiiicl
passed the house and senate. were en-
rolled ana read at length in the senate !
ard signed by its officers. After the res0-
lutiGnS have been read in the house and
signed by the speaker they viii go a. the |
Of stat" and be advertised
before being placed upon the ballot at the
general election in 1904.
y bill revising the street railway laws
was engroSScd by the senate. The most
in rOrtant features of the hill follow: ,
Street railway companies shall have the
POWER TO purchase. lease or acquire by
other lawful contract. which shall in
Ciudc the right to purchase the apita
stock and bonds Of other street railway /,
companies ana to hold and dispose of the :
and to hold. use and operate any
street railroad or roads. with all and sin
EElaI its franchises and properties of
every description belonging to any other
street railway; to sell. lease or dispose
by any other lawful contract to any other /,
street railroad company its railroad
rights, franchises, including the right to
be a corporation. and all and singular lis
other properties of every characterandde de-
when approved by Il vote Of
of the stockholders" These
provisions enables street railway COM
panieS to consolidate.
The senate refused to concur in the
house amendment to the WhaIey anti
bill, and the house refused to rccede
from its position. One of the amendments
was originally drafted for the Hall anti
trust bill. but when the house
on criminal Jurisprudence refused to act
or the Hall bill the section that now
forms the amendment in question was
on to the Whaley bill in the house.
1t ia state that the amendment was at
to the bill to kill it.