The record-union., 1899-01-19


Raw, who is suffering from inflamma-
tion of the eyes, He, however, stayed
to record his vote on the Senatorial
ballots.
COMMITTEE REPORTS.
The Committee on Attaches and EN-
ployes. LundQuist, Chairman. reported
back Cutters S. B. 1919 with the rec
ommendation that it be considered In
committee of the whole house. A
minority report was presented by Me-
serve recommending that the bill do not
pass. AS reasons for the recommenda-
tion the report recites that they be-
| lieve that the Belshaw Act
provides sufficient number Of
attaches. The Legislatures or
1SS1-S7, inclusive, were conducted with
much fewer attaches, while the num-
Der of members was exactly the same.
The minority report goes quite elab-
orately into Sthe details Of the differ
ence in pay-rolls for the several ses-
sions. AS the bill was to come up later
in the day under special orders, noth-
| ing was done with either report.
NEW MEMBERS.
| The Committee on Rules and Regula-
tions recommended favorably O'Brien's
resolution substituting twenty one for
nineteen as the number of members on
the Judiciary Committee, and the in
crease of the Committee on State Prls-
ons from seven to eight. Adopted.
INAUGURAL EXPENSES.
The special Committee on Inaugural
Ceremonies, knights, Chairman, re-
fod
proved bills for the expenses of the in
augural to the amount of 81, ,194.95. Of
this the Assemblys share was $o94.4S,
and the committees resolution that this
be paid out of the contingent fund of
the House was adopted.
BURNETT FOR MEAD.
The special Investigation Committee,
| Cosper, Chairman, reported Mead's re-
fusal to act on the committee, and. on
motion of Sanford, for the minority,
recommended Burnett to succeed Mead.
The report was adopted, Burnett ap-
pointed and he entered upon his duties
a little later.
| Valentine Of the Ways and Means
Committee asked for S15 more for their
stationery fund, as the necessary files
had gone so far into the $50 allowed
| them that little was left. So ordered
SAN FRANCISCO CHARTER.
| This was special order for the day,
and, as it turned out, was much more
quickly and easily disposed Of than had
been anticipated. Under the skillfH
manipulation of Chief Clerk Kyle the
reading of the voluminous tome, which
an expert had estimated would take
! six hours, was accomplished in much
| less than a half-hour, taking by sur
prise numerous accredited newspaper
correspondents who had sauntered
down to hear Milton S. Green refuse
to answer the questions of the Investi-
eating Committee.
At it's conclusion, Cobb, Chairman of
the San Francisco delegation, moved
| it's adoption, and supported his motion
| in a brief speech setting forth San
Francisco's imperative need of a new
governing Act. 1t was now, he said
under the Consolidation Act Of 1906,
measure gone out of date and no more
appropriate to present needs than the
laws of ancient Greece; Philadelphia
lawyer studying it's intricacies would
be lost in the mazes of antiquity
They had tried for charter many
times, and all methods had failed. but
this was the result of the best efforts
of the best class of citizens, who had
built with care and intelligence a
fundamental and sensible law, nom
political and non-religious. Cobb
claimed that since the citizens of San
Francisco had accepted and ratified the
charter by an overwhelming majority.
the only business of the Legislature
was with it's constitutionality; with its
special local provisions they should not
interfere He asked in conclusion:
would the Legislature ratify the
charter and permit the people of San
Francisco to govern themselves"
O'Brien of San Francisco seconded
the motion to adopt. j
johnson of Sacramento said that he
believed ordinarily in permitting the
| people of any locality to decide on ques-
| tions which were of paramount i'm
portance to them; ordinarily he would
vote for the charter if the people of
| San Francisco believed it to be for
their best good He was glad to know
| that the San Francisco delegation sus-
! tained that belief. There would be a
chance for them soon to vote for other
| districts to have home rule also. A
bill to allow certain classes of cities
local option on the question of the sale
| of LIQUOR was coming up. Johnson said
re should vote for it, but he ventured
| tc prophesy that not one of the San
Francisco delegation would.
The mere fact, said Johnson, that
| the people of San Francisco were cry
| ing for a new charter and, like the lit
| tie boy in the Pears soap picture,
wouldn't be happy till they got it. was
rot enough to justify the Legislature
in voting for this measure. He had
been in California thirty-five years and
he had considered the Act under which
San Francisco exists good enough for
any city. 1t only needs he said. good
officers to carry out it's provisions. But
be questioned the constitutionality of
two sections of the charter, and that
was where his serious opposition came
| in. The first was the section providing
that appointed officers should hold their
Office during the pleasure of the ap-
pcinting power and can only be other
wise removed after trial. Tie claimed
that in four cases, part under the old
Constitution and part under the new.
| the Supreme Court had unanimously
| decided this unconstitutional
| The other instance was closely inter
woven with the warp and woof of the
charter. The first election under the
rev charter was to be held in 1899, and
thereafter each two years, thus bringing
| the elections in the odd years. But the
registration laws provided for registra-
tor in the even years only-so no man
could vote in 1899, unless he had regis
tered in 1S9S AS matter of fact
large class of voters. Johnson claimed.