The Arizona sentinel., 1901-02-06
TWENTY~F!RST LEGISLATURE
An Interesting Resume of Arizona Legislative Proceedings During
 the Past Week.
PHOENIX, Jan. i, 1901.

| TWenty-trSt Legislature has passed al most without incident, and very quiet i ly, though there is ample evidence of various and sundry undercurrents. crcss and counter. The first week was consumed in organization, and there proved to be great deal of Organiza- tiCn to be done, when the eXtraordina
 ry number of clerks is taken into con sideration. Then came the junketing committees and the little trips of busi- ness and pleasure to the various Terri torial institutions. which consumed the time to Wednesday of the second week. When the two houses reconvened on Wednesday everybody appeared to be 1 tired. The codifed statutes have be-
 gun to make their appearance in both i houses and each day during the week has given its very considerable quota of mere statutes. With one or two eX- captions, nothing else of importance has yet made its appearance in either house. Of these exceptions mention will be made later.
 The Governors message to the legis- lature was well received, though the dominating political element in both branches is against him, as readers of 1 the SENTINEL know. However, his recommendations were altogether of d non-political character and generally of salutary nature, touching only the interests of the people at large. To the people of Yuma county in particu | lar his recommendation for the erec- tiCn of a new prison will be of more than passing interest, for it is not i'm probable that, should the legislature take up the recommendation, legisla- tion in that direction might result in the removal of the prison to some other locality, a measure that for many years has been a fruitful source of legislative battle which has invariably had much to do in shaping all other legislation the Territory has secured. Scarcely an important measure has come up in the legislature in the past twelve years 1 that has not been squeezed by prison removal as a lever, for or against the measure. Its running mate was for some years the capital-remOval project. That out of the way, county division and the bullion tax propositions cropped out. All three measures will be up in the Twenty-first: in fact, a bill was in- trodUced in the house last Saturday providing for the appointment of a commission to select a site for new prison and, notice was given that bill would be introduced in the council at an early day providing, in general terms. for county division, but this bill will not be in the interest of any specifi- cally proposed division. A bill will soon make its appearance in the house, how ever, providing for the construction of Clark county out of portion of Yava- pal, which will take in Jerome for the new countyseat and the upper Verde val ley for territory. Your correspondent is informed from quite authentic sOurc- es that the measure will pass the house readily. From other sources, however, your correspondent has learned that the measure will run up against pro- posed bullion tax law in such deter mined position that if the Clark county bill succeeds it will be at the expense of very active bullion tax law affect ing the mining interests of the entire Territory. The question of expediency or desirability Of either of these meas ures does not seem to enter into cOnsid- cratiCn Cf the matter at all. The very general criticism of the situation is that if Clark county is made it will be made with money, and if thu bullion tax law is beaten it will be beaten with money, and the value of that criticism depends entirely on the commercial mobility of the legislators. The coun- cil is considered invulnerable in that respect. and the house-well, the house | is d larger body: there are more men in it. which lessens the chances of a correct guess.
 Next to the Thirteenth, the Twenty first has broken the record in the ap- pOintment of clerks. Possibly the new conditions contingent on removal of the legislature into the capitol build ing. a mile and quarter from the source of various supplies, may necessi- tate more committee clerks: at any rate. in addition to the clerks furnished by the Federal government, the Twen- ty-frst has considered seven more com mittee clerks fer each house not too many. Then there is postmaster and Stationery" clerk and the usual door, keepers, watchmen and janitors. The cnly noticeable official that has not been appointed Is a digger boss"
 The question of a cafe at the capitol has not been heard of during the week. The strenuous opposition of the Gov erncr and of the capitol commission to that measure has had its effect, appar- ently, and it is not probable that it will again be urged. Its necessity is not serious matter.
 Outside of the organization of the legislature, politics as yet has cut no figure, nor is it likely that there will be much that will savor of politics, though it has been predicted that there