Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-01-05
SUPPLEMENTAL RAILWAY BILL
The Kansas Legislature. After an Exctt.
ing Contest, Passes = Measure to
strengthen the New Law.

l tn0u tn0 wow LAW
Topeka, Kan, Jan. -Four details
stand out conspicuously as the result
Of yesterdays session of the legislS
ture. They are these:
Messages from Gov Leedy. conveying bis
approval Of the railroad law creating the court
Of visitation and the insurance lrw taxing
companies two per cent on their gross Kansas
| premiums
An attempt In the house to give the people Q
chance TO vote again on the prohibitory amend
ment 10 the constitution. first, by resubmis-
sion direct, and, second by means OF consti-
tutional convention Both of these attempts
failed through the necessity for two-thirds
| ma jority
The passage Of the most important supple
mental railroad bill, one forbidding compulsory
prepayment Of freight and giving the court Of
visitation power to sit as court Of arbitration.
II required o call Of the house, lasting all the
afternoon, to rally enough votes to the measure
to pass 1t 1t afforded the populist majority Its
first scare since the extra session convened.
The passage by the house Of an act placing
| fraternal beneficiary societies under the con-
troll Of the state department Of insurance and
knocking out wildcat" or bogus fraternal
orders
The house passed the senate bill cre-
ating common pleas court for Craw.
ford and Cherokee counties. 1t went
through over the protest Of Represent
alive LOOMS, of Crawford. lie de-
clared that there was no demand for
such court in his county and that it
was an absolute waste Of the peoples
money.
Upon motion of Weiep, of Cherokee,
the house killed the bill to reduce pas
senger rates to ~ cents per mile
By n vote OF 10 to 80 the house killed
the bill to prohibit the sale of prison
coal on the open market Cassin, the
author, will make an effort to resur.
rect IL.
The senate spent almost its whole
time in committee of the whole 1t
recommended for passage the Titus
bill from the committee on corpora
tions, reducing telegraph tolls in Kan
sas to Is cents for the first ten words
and one cent for each additional word
and making the day rate for newspa-
pers one-third Of II cent per word and
onc-sixth of cent per word at night.
The bill places the telegraph lines I'M
der the control of the new court OF
visitation Failure to deliver mes
saees is punishable by fine Of $50 to
$500 and Imprisonment not less than
so days or more than one year
Senator stones bill, providing that
persons occupying appointve Offices
under the state government shall be
removed only when convicted of mall
feasance by jury in the civil courts,
was killed by the senate In committee
Of the whole, the enacting clause be-
ing stricken out, upon motion Of Mr..
Lewelng.
The senate adopted, by vote OF ~
to0, house concurrent resolution In
dorsing Railroad Secretary James
Longstreet's scheme for the construc.
ton by the government Of Il road from
Kansas City to San Diego by air line.
Senator Anderson alone among the re-
pubicans voted for the resolution.
Senator Young's referendum bill was
killed in committee OF the whole. The
bill sought to vest the right in the
voters in any city, town, village, school
district or other municipal subdivision
OF the state of Kansas to propose or
dnances, contracts, agreements or
measures and enact the same into laws
for the government by direct vote Of
the people who are qualified to vote In
such respective Jurisdictions