Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-26
POOR LAW MAKERS
Porto Riean Matters Are all in
 a MuddIe.
SOME VERY FUNNY BILLS.

Fifteen Days and Nothing Accom-
 plished 1et-Bill Presented to Es-
 tablsh Woman Suffrage and Give
 Them Preference Over Men.
 San Juan de Porto Rico, Dec 19.- The legislative assembly of Porto Rico has been in session since December ,. The predicted clashes and split of the republican party have not mate rialized. The house sessions are as harm0nlously conducted as one could wish. The house has been holding daily four-hour sessions, over forty , five bills have been introduced, and DO end of motions and amendments. But one bill has been passed. By law the 7 assembly is allowed sixty days in } which to complete each session. Eff } teen days nave passed and next to } nothing has been accomplished, and , the local papers are suggesting that it is about time something was done. S Ihe house is badly in need of a con- < petent force of translators and clerks. There seems to be no system. Bills i are prepared and introduced covering most common matters and in man. her most unlegislative. The members are entirely ignorant of any kind of , procedure. Few of the bills are in X proper form, many have been filed / written in pencil on q sheet torn from \ a Srratchpad. It is incredible almost that the members should take so little pains ill the preparation of their bills. Most of them are written during the session and are more in the form of 1 suggestions rather than of projected laws. An inspiration may come to q member: lie picks up q pad or draws an envelope or a scrap of paper from his pocket: jOtS down q few sentences, and presents the ''doculnent" as bill, and it is duly filed. There nre about forty such and none is worthy of men tiOn. excepting to illustrate to what trivial matters the members ale deyot- ing their tand the people'S) time.
 Instead of getting down to the cry ing need of Porto Rico-a revision of the laws-bills to enact such laws as these are drawn up and introduced:
 TO establish woman suffrage and to give women preference over men ill public positions for which they are competent: Relating to salaries or school teachers': Relating to con-
 tracts made i'll provincial currency; "Governing the profession of pharma- cy." A resolution was presented to
 ''legalze the sport of cOck-hghting'
 by the same member who is the author of the woman suffrage bill.
 At yesterdays session the commits
 tee on rules reported that bills relat
 ing to the following matters should
 have preference over all other busl-
 ness: Insular police, salaries. police
 courts, loans, telegraphs and railroads.
 On motion mortgages" were added to
 the list and the report was adopted.
 The council passed | bill introducing
 the jury system. but it was defeated
 in the house yesterday by a vote of
 15 to 12. Several members claimed
 that the bill was not properly trans
 lated from the English original The
 bill was ordered to be re-translated
 and will be reconsidered to-day.
 The executive council is daily hold
 ing secret executive sessions behind closed doors. These are for the pur-s
 pose of considering franchises and
 other matters over which the council has exclusive Jurisdiction. The pulp lie is not informed of the nature of these discussions. The only bill passed by the house to date is that
 "declaring the office of delegate in-
 compa tible with other public offices. At present it does not seem that the lower house is q success as law making body. but perhaps it is too early to judge.
 The chamber of commerce of Porto Rico yesterday petitioned the house, asking for an appropriatio for a Por- to Rican exhibit at the coming Pan-+ American exposition at Buffalo. The petition was referred to q special com, mittep for report. A representatives exhibit by the insular government at Buffalo would prove of immense ben- cit to the island. Capital is needed
 here to develop the islands unbound- ed resources, and in no Way could Porto Ricos possibilities be better pre-. scented to the people.
 The trial of AIunOZ Rivers the leads CT of the federal party, and eight other | residents of San Juan. cited to appear on the. charge of ''ReSiStance of public authority" was opened before the in- sular court Monday and, is still under way. The trial is the result of the election | riot night of September Ii, on which | the night of September II, on which | occasion the city was in state of riot 1 for two hours. Fully 300 revolver l shots were fired in the streets, but nos | body was killed. Most of the shoot- 1 ing took place in front of the house oc- | cupied by Munoz.
 | The trial is attracting unusa1 atten- l ton. The court room is crowded dur | ing the proceedings and even the street
 in front of the building is thronged with people. Over eighty witnesses 1 will be examined.