The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-07
The Day Devoted to consideration of
Sections and Proposed
BILL FARES UNUSUALLY WELL
HOUSE DEVOTES ATTENTION TO
STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
Pension for Mrs. Morton Attacked by
the DemOcratS-Fun in
the House.

The bill to reform township government,
introduced by Senator New, was under dis
cussion in the Senate all day yesterday, with
the exception of about an hour in the morn
ing, when committee reports were heard and
a few bills introduced.
The regular order of business, as left off
on adjournment Friday afternoon, was the
calling up of bills on second reading and
Senator News name was among the first to
be called.
He quietly called up Senate bill No. 81, and
the trouble, which will probably last until
this afternoon, began at once.
1t was seen at the start that innumerable
amendments were to be offered and Senator
New suggested, in view of this fact, that
the bill be considered by sections. Under
this arrangement, Senator at
once proposed an amendment to Section 1,
providing that the advisory board shall con-
sist of five freeholders residing in the towns
ship, instead OF five citizens, property tax
payers" as set forth in the bill. This was
afterward amended by Senator Ball so as to
make it read resident freehoIders and quail
fed voters in the township" An amend
ment, reducing the term of office for mem
bers of the advisory board, from four to two
years, was lost. In order to make the bill
conform with the present code of laws,
Senator Gilbert offered an amendment pro-
Viding that the rates of taxation shall be
deemed a lien on the property Ion the first
day of April" instead of the first Monday
in April" as in the bill. This was adopted.
Another successful amendment was one
providing that the board shall each year
elect a secretary from among the members,
instead of allowing the township trustee to
act as secretary TO the board. =.
The question Of the proper way to publish
the schedule of expenditures for the year, as
estimated by the township trustees and APP
proved by the board, consumed considerable
time, both before and after the noon recess.
Senator Purcell suggested in an amendment
that the maximum rate of So for each paper
should not be fixed, as, in his opinion, the
space occupied by the matter would vary
from time to time and the newspapers We're
entitled to the legal rate for the space occu-
pied. His suggestion was not adopted, how
ever. Several Senators also objected to the
stipulation that these notices should be
printed in the two leading papers in each
county seat, one to be Republican and the
other Democratic. 1t was suggested by sew
eral that there were many counties in which
the papers of general circulation were not
lONatCQ VI liz NOlAlAAy STAT dAlb tia III SNCli
counties the publication of notices in county
seat papers would be of no general service
to the people of the county. Senator Gilbert
added an amendment in this connection, pro-
viding that, in addition to the publication in
the two leading county papers, the notices
should be inserted also in one paper in the
township in which the levy was to be made.
The matter was finally compromised by
making the provision that one of the two
papers in which the publication should be
made must be In the township, providing
there was any paper published there.
Senator Keyes asked to nave the following
portion of Section 4 stricken out: IF it shall
appear from such report that any person has
required such aid at frequent intervals in
two or more consecutive years, such person
shall be regarded as of the permanent poor
of the township, to be aided only in the
county asylum and no township levy shall
be made for the aid of such person by the
trustee" The suggestion was adopted.
THE TRUSTEES SCHEDULE.
Senator Drummond's amendment TO re-
quire township trustees to file with the adj
visory board at each annual meeting, an
tented statement of all road machinery,
implements, school supplies, bridges and
bridge repairs, which will be required by the
township for the ensuing year, together
with the price he expects to be compelled to
pay for them, met with strong opposition
from many senator's, who thought it in
tended to harass the work of the trustees
to an unwarrantable extent. Senator Gill
bert, in objecting to the amendment, said
that it tended to create the impression,
around the State, that the people considered
that township trustees, as a class, were dis
honest men, while it was his own expert
ence that they were individually, and in
most nnCaC DC honest &C tho U0npahnTz of
the General Assembly. This reused Senator
Drummond, who said that many of the
so-called friends of the bill, were too thin
skinned and were in reality afraid of the
trustees. He alleged that, so far as he was
concerned, he did not care what the trus-
tees of his own count thought of him or
the efforts he was making to fetter them
witt laws to insure their honesty. He re-
ferrred to the county and state meetings
held by the trustees, in which the trainers
of the bill were denounced and the allega-
tons made that it would not be possible to
deprive the trustees of the prerogatives en-
Joyed under the present laws. He intimated
that the timidity displayed by several of the
senator's was due to a strong lobby by the
trustees.
At this point Senator Wood arose for rec
ognitiOn, but, for some reason. it was not
accorded him. and when he saw that the
Lieutenant Governor ignored his efforts to
be heard. and persisted in putting the ques-
ton on the adoption of the amendment. the
Tfppecanoe senator appealed to the Senate
for luminous consent to be heard and, on
it's being granted he assailed the amend
ment, saying that the trustees had a per-
feet right to hold meetings and pass resOlu-
tons when asSailed as a body and that, so
far as the whole bill was concerned. he
knew of no State in which ii was in opera
ton, where ii had not been the means Of
creating larger frauds in the very depart
ments ii sought to guard.
Senator NuSbaum moved to increase the
compensation of the members Of the adj
visory board from s. to $40 a year. but
when it was shown that the amount was
only stipulated in the bill in order to make
1t constitutional. the motion was lost.
Senator DurummOnd offered an amend
ment to Section s.. requiring that the ad-
fees in suits to recover money paid on
township debts which had been created
without special authority.
NEWS OF THE TREATY.
AT this stage of the deliberations the
president broke in with the announcement
that the Senate had ratified the treaty with
Spain and that the Republican members at
once set up a vigorous hand-clappping, in
which. however, the Democratic brethren
took no part.
Senator Brooks then moved to strike out
the following final sentence Of Section ::
The act entitled: "An act making it The
duty of township trustees to register all
township orders and warrants, and keep an
account of all Indebtedness of the township,
and cause the same 20 he posted and pub
lished and other matters connected there
with, approved March Z, 1891, is hereby
repealed.
This was finally agreed to after a long ar
gument I'm which Senator Brooks claimed
that the purpose of the bill was to compel
expense made by the trustees. but il did
not require a published statement Of what