The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-25
Special Session of the Great and
General Court viii Cost
$99,5o0 With Several Bills to
Be Paid Later
MANY CHANGES FOR
NEXT YEARS SESSION
About One Half the Members viii
Retire to Private Life or Take
Up New Honors-NeW Pages
and Messengers viii Replace
Many in the Present Force


State House for good, and for six
weeks the sergeant-at-arms force will
have the building to themselves, get
ting ready for the coming of next
years Legislature, on the first We'd
nesday in January, which happens to
be New Years day. 1t is rarely that
when the General Court is prorogued
the governor does so until the last day
of the year, but the Tuesday before
the first Tuesday of January happened
to be Dec 81 this time. 1t is curious
how mystified the average member is
when he finds his branch prorogued to
a date one day before the date of the
assembling of the succeeding Legisla-
ture; but the constitution provides for
another Legislature to assemble on
that day, and SO of course the existing
body can only be prorogued to date
in which it has an existence. At any
time during that date, a special ses-
sion can be called should occasion re-
quire.
1t was fortunate indeed that the
members stood by the governors adj
vice in the matter of admitting new
legislation at the special session. But
one bill was admitted, and this was at
the last moment, when it could not be
used as precedent for adding amend
ments to the statutes, as they had
already been passed in their revised
form. The bill permitted State Treas
urer Bradford to issue some 100000
bonds, or whatever amount shall be
necessary, to pay for the work being
done on the big coal pocket on Beacon
Hill and for the completion of the
State House park. During the eight
days of the session. the lobby men
We're conspicuous. Many wondered at
their presence; but their wonderment
would have ceased, had they known
that they were waiting to see if a
four -fifths vote was taken to permit
the introduction of such amendments
to the revised laws as would have con-
stituted new legislation. Had any sort
of an amendment been admitted, the
precedent would have been followed up
by demands for other amendments to
certain chapters, inoffensive looking,
but which would have meant material
changes in some of our corporation
laws.
The expenses of the special session,
including the printing bills, the def
cheney appropriation bill to cover ex-
penses connected with the work of the
joint special committee on the con-
solidating and arranging of the public
statutes, lin addition to the $4,000 APP
propriated for this work at the close
of the regular session. and the $32 900
for compensation and mileage of the
members of the General Court, were
$99,500. The commissioners for consol-
idating and arranging the statutes
have been paid about $4,000 annually
each for five or six years. The money
to pay for the publication Of the sta
tutes as revised and certain expenses,
indeXing, etc, yet to come, is still to
be appropriated; but the figures given
indicate something of the Importance
of the work which has been done. Sec
rotary Olin and Clerk James w. KIM
ball of the House have been assigned
to supervise the work of preparing the
copy of the revised laws as enacted
and the printing of the laws, which
take effect Jan. 1, and which will not
be issued in their complete indeXed
form before May l. A limited edition.
for the use of the courts and others
which must have them, will be issued
Jan. /.
With the closing of the sessions of
the General Court of 1901, not only one
half of the members will retire to pri-
waite life or assume new honors, but
there will be other changes about the
State House. Rumor has it that but
one page in the Senate and two in the
House will return to duty, while there
may be changes in the messenger
corps. Seven new pages will be on du-
ty, as it looks. In former years, the
boys who were pages have often come
to be messengers or have assumed
other duties. One of them at present
acts as clerk of the House-Mr. Kim
ball. His second assistant Mr.. Ray
mond. was formerly a page. The
House stenographer, whose services as
stenographer to the joint special COM
mittee have been simply invaluable
I refer to Clarence ]. Smith-was page
to Speakers Myer and Bates. During
the closing exercises of the Senate
on Thursday the chair was occupied
by Senator Jones of Melrose and in
returning thanks for the gift of gold
watch from the members, Doorkeeper
Remington in tones of pride referred
to the fact that the presiding officer
was once sweeping out the chamber
and serving as a messenger on the
force. Mr.. Jones was appointed under
interesting conditions, by the way.
He was going through college or the
law school, and was in the office of
Gov. Long, President Bishop of the
Senate needed a secretary, and as the
rules did not provide such an official,
the young man was appointed a mes
| senger, and shared the duties of the
position with those of a clerk to the
president But though many of the pag-
es are at present promising young men,
| Sergeant-at-Arms Davis feels that
! they should go into the World and begin
| their life-work rather than STAY on
| Beacon Hill doing half a years work
! only, even though well paid for it. He
! desires to establish a policy of having
| pages serve only two years, and of
| giving the places preferably to bows
who need help in getting an education,
! or to place them on their feet for fu-
/ ture usefulness. In this he is wise.
| Various cities will hold their annual
elections one week from Tuesday
Others will follow one week later.
/ Doubtless we shall some time have leg
/ islation fixing the annual city elections
4 on the same day, but at present the
city charters are very far apart on the
matter In Boston the lines are dis
tinctly drawn between the Republicans
and Democrats, and if Mayor Hart
overcomes the lead of the Democracy
in the state election, he will perform
/ a great feat Many believe that he will
Remembering that once he won out in
Boston in year when William E. Rus
sell had not only carried the city but
the state al large in the previous state
/ election. The Republicans have had
! the good sense to indorse the ticket
put out by the public school associa-
! ton, though it contains the names of
representative Democrats like the late
/ gubernatorial candidate, Robert Treat
4 Paine, Jr., for places on the school
board. The Democrats have not been
as wise. but have named several new
/ people, indorsing only part of the
public school associations ticket.