The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-03-03
THEY WON'T PLAY
House Will Decline to Appoint
Any More Committees
10 Confer ON Amendments Made
to Bills
IF SENATE WON'T OBEY
The Joint Rules Regarding
Conference Committees.
House Holds an Indignation
Meeting.
IF SENATE WON'T OBEY

The house has been getting mad reg
ularly three times a day for the past
few days over the differences between
it and the senate, in which the house
has had to back water in nearly every
instance. 1t didn't make much differ
ence the first few times, but when the
house discovered that it was backing
down in every particular and that the
senate was having everything its own
way, it began to kick.
The trouble has usually arisen over
senate bills which have come over from
the senate and been amended by the
house When they went back to the
senate that body refused to concur,
and asked for a, conference committee.
AS a usual thing the house part of the
conference committee would report the
recommendation to the mouse tnat re
cede from it's amendments, and this
was usually done at first. Then trouble
arose over the appropriation bills. The
imbecile asylum, the soldiers orphans
home and the miscellaneous appropria-
lions were all hung up. The house re-
fused to ''recede,'' as it had been doing,
and the senate proposed to have the
give uD, either. The first conference
committee reported back that it could
not come to any agreement and asked
that new committee be APPOINTED.
This was done with the same result.
The refusal of the senate to give in
on a single proposition made the house
get Its BACK up worse imam ever 1nen
some one made the discovery that the
senate was not appointing a new COM
mittee each time that new one was
called for, but was appointing the same
old committee. This was too much for
the house to stand and it held an in
dignation meeting yesterday afternoon.
Speaker Osborn declared that the SEN
ate wasn't playing fair and the house
ought not to appoint any more confer
ence committees the second time I'M
less the senate would appoint a new
one, too.
"They may be more dignified than we
are" he declared, but 1 am not in
favor of backing down on every prop
osition. If they won't act fair in this
matter, 1 am in favor of not comforting
with them any more.
This sentiment seemed to meet with
approval from the majority of the Re-
publicans, and six or eight members be-
gan to prepare resolutions denOuncing
the senate for not conforming to the
rules and intimating that the house
wouldn't play any more till the senate
got ready to play fair.
After some time had been wasted in
trying to prepare a satisfactory reSolu-
ton, Mr.. Henley, chairman of the ways
and means committee, suggested that
the house try to cOnciliate the senate
instead of widening the breach. He said
that nothing at all would be accomplish
ed if the house declined to confer with
the senate, and the result would be that
all of the bills, on which there were diff
ferences, would die, including the appro-
priation bills.
This put another phase on the ques-
ton and all of the hostile resolutions
were referred to the committee on rules
for conference committees, with in
structiOns to convey the feeling of the
house to the senate in the matter of
having new committees appointed. The
committee conferred but reported that
the chairman of the ways and means
committee of the senate had been ap
pointing the conference committees, and
that the senate itself could do nothing.
Meanwhile other important measures
were being tied up. The oil inspection
bill, which was amended in the house to
conform with the Wheatly bill, was re-
ferred to a conference committee and
agreement was reached. Last night
house with the report that the senate
had amended it. The house debated
whether or not it should concur with
the senate amendments, and Mr.. Burk-
holder said that as the senate had
amended the bill it would be necessary
for some of the members to push their
special salary bills in order to satisfy
the salary grabbers who filled the Of
fees in their home counties. Mr.. Burk-
holder said constituents instead of
salary grabbers,'' but he meant the
latter.
A roll call was taken on the question
of cOncurring in the senate amendments
with the result that the amendments
were voted down. A conference COM
mittee was then appointed with Mr..
Bur1hOlder at it's head, and this means
that the fee and salary bill will prob
bly, be added to the list of held up
The enemies of the bill are hoping that
no agreement will be reached, in which
case the bill will die.
Meanwhile the house is ready to stop
all conferences if the senate does not
conform to all the rules.
ANDERSON VOTED Mo