The Lamar register., 1901-02-06
DENVER LETTER.

|
grist is all in, wheat and straw and
chaff and all: and now there remains
for the law-making body the task or
thrnshing out the total and trying to
make something useful out of it 1t
will be hard task. The number OF
bills introduced is over 500. Or course
many of these are practically dupls
| Gates, so that there are really not thnt
number Of separate measures demand
ing attention; but there are n great
many more than can be properly con-
sidered In the fifty days or SO that re-
main of the session.
i The very few Republican members
who have been left in the Legislature
seem to be trying to secure legislation
as good as possible, and to help their
Democratic colleagues, rather than to
hinder them. We are Republicans,
seems to be their doctrine, but first
all we are citizens of Colorado, and we
should do the best we can to give the
people good laws, and to prevent the
enactment of bad ones, even though it
might be advantageous in party sense
| to have the majority make as big fools
| of themselves as possible. This Is a
| good, patriotic doctrine, and the c)urse
| will no doubt be commended by the
constituents of the Republican MEM
bers. The Democrats may be safely
trusted to enact enough legislation that
| is bad, and prevent enough that is good
to make very impeachable record; but
the state ougltanot to suffer more than
is really necessary on account of the
tion.
There is an unusually fine collection
of freak bills this session, many of
which were introduced for fun, in the
hilarity of the last night of introduce
tion, but some In good earnest. Speaker
MOntgomery's bill to regulate marriage
licenses may seem to some people to
come under this head. He would have
every person desiring to marry, man or
woman, taken before medical board
Of three examiners, and put through
severe test as to his or her physical,
mental and moral fitness to undertake
the burdens of the married state. No
body can get license who has any
thing the matter with him of n serious
nature, either physical, mental or NOR
al; and the speaker seems to have re-
solved to make the future population
of Colorado as fine n body Of carefully
selected persons us legislation can pro-
vide. If properly followed up by a law
providing quarantine Mt the state line
and forbidding the Importation into
the state of any persons physically dis
eased or mentally feeble or morally un-
| fit. then in twenty years this bill will
! give to Colorado perhaps the most
carefully selected population on earth.
There is the usual number of bills
for Denver home rule, and it seems
likely that they will meet with the or
dinary fate. The members from Arap-
ahoe county have never yet been able
to agree on any single measure for the
amendment of the present charter of
the city of Denver and it does not look
as If they would be any better able
than usual to agree at this session.
Neither does it look us If they would
agree on any temperance measure for
the city, the precinct option bill or any
other.
There nre some good bills, as well as
some freaks. A serious attempt Is to be
made, apparently, to put through a
| constitutional amendment enabling the
state to fund at four per cent. its
floating Indebtedness and take the stig-
ma from the credit of Colorado which
| is now SO great an injury; there is q
probability Of the passage of a bill to
restore capital punishment; and doubt
less some of the members would like
F., to improve the finances of the state.
As for the governor, he has kept
pretty quiet thus far. He is up against
a rather hard proposition just ut this
writing, having been called upon by
the representatives Of the United Mine
Workers to send the militia to Huer-
fano county and declare martial law
there, on account Of the manner in
which the sheriff of that county has
| performed. his duties in connection
with the coal strike. 1t reminds me of
the days of Waite, when the state mi
litia was called out and sent to Cripple
Creek to prevent the deputy sheriffs
from injuring the striking miners. If
Waite were governor nov there would
b9, no doubt Of his attitude; he would
take 1t for granted that the strikers
were right and call out the militia at
once to help them in whatever they