The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-02-18
THREE MORE WEEKS
MATTERS BEFORE THE INDIANA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
Some Measures of Importance to the
People VIII Come Up i'm the
House This Week.
BUSINESS OF THE SENATE
BUSINESS OF THE sENATl
THAT BODY MAY DECIDE TO HOLE
NIGHT SESSIONS.
Measures That Have Been Passed and
Legislative Affairs.

introduced this session than We're presented
last session. Speaker Artman says, if he
remembers correctly, the number Of bills
introduced two years ago in the house was
SO. Over five hundred have already been
introduced in the House this session and
there is nothing to indicate that the men,
bers are through sending up measures.
Some important matters are likely to
come up in the House this week. The COM
mittee on cities and towns will in all prob
ability make a report on Senator Agnew's
ship canal bill early in the week. A MEM
Der of the committee said yesterday that
there would probably be two reports on the
bill. Friday night several members of the
committee on cities and towns with
other members of the Legislature went
up TO Lake county to view the pro-
posed route of the ship canal. The
legislators went as the guests of the East
Chicago Land Company. E. NJ. Erskine.
a representative Of the land company, ac-
companied the gentlemen. The members OF
the committee who went were Messrs.
Louttit. Murphy, Slack, and Erdlitz. Rep
resentatives Glenn and Beckman were also
in the party. On Saturday the legislators
were taken over the route contemplated
them Saturday afternoon and returned to
Indianapolis. 1t was the intention of the
others to go into Chicago. have dinner and
attend the theater Saturday night. Mr. Erd-
litz says the East Chicago Land Company
arranged mass meeting for Saturday aft
ernoon at East Chicago which was attend
ed by about two hundred people. Resoiu-
tons were passed favoring the Agnew bill.
4 Cos n
held a meeting and passed resolutions in
reference to the amendments offered to the
bill by Attorney A. F. Knots, of Ham
mond. The board decided that the resolu-
tons were not satisfactory and the resolu-
sentatives in the Legislature to vote
against the Agnew bill.
WHITING PEOPLE AGAINST 1T.
Representative Erditz. who is a member
of the committee on cities and towns, re-
sides at Whiting, where the people are
against the proposed ship canal. The people
of Hammond and the people of East Chica-
go are also his constituents II am in
devil of n pickle over this matter" said
Mr.. Erdlitz yesterday evening. He ex
planned that he was trying to satisfy all
the people who sent him to the Legislature
The people of Whiting, his home city. are
opposed to the ship canal scheme and are
oil the people OF Hammond are against the
bill and they also want him TO refuse to
support the measure. The people of East
Chicago want the ship canal and they nat
urally desire Erdlitz to support the bill He
said yesterday evening that he had UP to
this time been unable TO make up his mind
what 10 do In the case. He has hopes that
there may be some further amendments
offered that will satisfy the people of Whit
ing, and in that event he will probably
support the bill
Some other important matters are likely
to occupy the attention of the House this
week. One is the Muncie normal bill,
which is in the hands of the House COM
mittee on education. This bill was intro
duced Friday afternoon by Representative
Carmichael and is practically the same
bill that was introduced in the Senate 1t
was presented by Mr.. Carmichael a short
time after Lieutenant Governor Gilbert
ruled that the Senate bill had been i'm
properly before the Senate and that that
body's action on the bill was for naught
1t Is said that Representative Reser, chair
man of the committee on education is hos
tile to the normal bill, and ii is known that
there is to be determined fight on the
bill If there is favorable report on il from
the committee. 1t is announced that
the normal bill and it has been said that
the speaker is likely TO take the floor and
speak against this and two other bills
| that Will come up for consideration. One
| is the bill providing for an epileptic VIII
| lage and the other is the bill making an
appropriation to settle the Vincennes Uni
versity. claim. The speaker declines TO
say whether he will or will not speak
| against these measures, but he says with
| out hesitancy that he believes the lieuten-
| ant governor was right in his ruling in the
| Muncie normal bill. Mr.. Artman is op-
posed to the epileptic village bill because he
| does not believe such an institution is need
| ed. He is also opposed to the Legislature
| fixing location for the village in the event
| it is decided to establish an institution of
| this kind. He thinks this matter should be
| left to commission.
OPPOSED TO THE CLAIM
| On the question of the Vincennes Univer-
sity claim the speaker says he is opposed
TO allowing this claim because the State
| Indebtedness to the university has been set
| tied three different times. He recalls that
many years ago the university was granted
permission by the Legislature to sue on its
claim and suit was brought and judgment
rendered and paid. Two other Legislatures
| made appropriations for this claim and the
| State received on each occasion a receipt
for payment in full.
There are several other important mat
| tiers yet in the hands of House committees
| One is the James bill abolishing the present
| board of managers of the Girls Industrial
Il
| for new board of managers, with mar
| on the board. This bill is in the hands OF
the committee on reformatory institutions
| A member of this committee said last night
| that a report was likely to be made on the
| bill this week. 1t is stated that there viii
be two reports on the bill Another impor
| tant measures still with the committee i:
| the Pritchard bill. giving the Governor au
| thority to appoint the chief oil inspector
This bill is with the judiciary committee
| and IL is said that a favorable report viii
be made on the measure.
WORK OF THE SENATE.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Senat
has been conscientiously busy during tn
| rast week and, for that matter. during tn
whole session, there has been but a com
| raratively small number of bills that hav
been passed by that body and sent TO III
lower house. The big safe in charge of tn
file clerk is crammed full OF bills that hav
been read either first or second time an
| as there are only twenty more days som
| OF the senators have already begun TO tall
be absolutely necessary in order TO ge
through with the work.
| During the past week the Senate IA
| passed the Nincennes University bill an
| the bill creating a State Normal School a
| Muncie. Each bill was bitterly opposed b.
the anti-grab members OF the Senate, bu
| were passed after hard tight by the vote
| OF the Democrats and few OF the Re
publlcans. The sensational ruling OF Lieu
| terant Governor Gilbert on Saturday, how
ever, in which he declared that the latte
bill had never been properly before IN
Senate. virtually killed II. as IL will no,
he. 70