The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-02-12
ANOTHER DAY OF
MUCH SPEAKING
Consider Corporation Report BY
Sections.
THIS WILL BE BEGUN TO-DAY
TIE Convention Put in Six Hours Of Hard
Work Yesterday-stron Speeches
Both For and Against
Corporations.


ing and two in the afternoon. A resoiu-
ton was adopted fixing the time for tax
ing up the report by sections at l O CLOCK
to-day. Nobody, however, expects this to
be done, for Messrs. Meredith and Thorn
will speak, and Messrs. BraXton and Hun
ton are expected to close the debate Ntr.
Thorn will scarcely have begun to-day at
l o'clock
Tho events OF the sessions yesterday
were the speeches of Messrs. Harrison
and Hamilton in opposition to. and MIR.
Wysor in support of the report on corpo-
rations. Mr. Hamilton dId not conclude
until o'clock.
DAYS PROCEEDINGS.
Sevcnty-eiyht members of the conven-
ton answered the roll call yesterday,
prayer being offered by Rev. w. T.
DerieuX, OF Venable-Street Baptist
Church.
Mr.. Barbour offered a resolution fixing
to-day at O'Clock as the hour Tor
taking up consideration of the report or
the Committee on Corpora tons by sec
lions. The resolution was adopted after
considerable discussion.
The resolution differed from the one
rejected Monday, in that the limit of
speeches to twenty minutes was omitted
The convention then went into Commit
tee OF the Whole, Mr.. EgGleston presid-
ing.
Judge Harrison made a very earnest
speech in opposition to the report Of the
Committee on Corporations. He contend-
ed that the Incorporation of such pro-
visions in the fundamental law was not
only direct indictment of the Legislature
but was an assault upon the legislative
branch Of representative government he
urged she convention to cease trenchmg
- 1~,e-1<,f 11,.c
pointed out tho evil and danger or putting
a law of such far-reaching and radical
powers in the convention where it could
not be amen0ed, changed or repealed no
matter how impractical or disastrous Its
administration should prove by actual
experience.
MIR. WYsOE FOLLOWS.
Mr. Wysor followed Judge Harrison
and made a strong speech in support of
the report. He ridiculed the argument
made against the propriety OF the con-
lention taking up legislative subjects.
He called attention to the absence OF a
finger from one Of the hands of Henry
Clay, and raised storm of laughter by
saying the Legislature have allowed him
to stand in the Capitol Square in the
snow and sleet and rain without proper
covering and with no hope of having
restored to him that finger which had
been the means of moving millions to
stirring action and patriotic impulses.
He said Mr.. Thorn had himself present
&c a suffrage clause that was full OF leg
islative details, and was about as long
as the report of the Committee on Cor
porations. The fixing of salaries Of the
Judges was purely a legislative matter,
and yet Judge Robertson and Mr.. Thom
and Mr. Hunton had appealed for It's
adoption in the Constitution, and had
succeeded in doing SO. Some of these
same gentlemen had eloquentiy plead
for placing a $4,000 appropriation to the
University in the Constitution, and every
body knew that was purely legislative
in its character. He called attention to
having put in the Constitution the guar
antee for the pursuit of happiness. He
said that was useless, for he was going
to pursue happiness whether it was in
the Constitution or not. He doubted the
power of the Legislature to constitute
an independent court to hear and deter
mine causes and to have the jurisdic-
ton which had been given by the report
of the committee.
A HUNDRED TIMES.
He declared that every point that had
been made by opponents Of the railroad
commission by speakers in the conven-
ton was made by Judge Baxter, a great
railroad lawyer, before the committee and
he was sure Judge Baxter had made the
same argument a hundred times before
legislative committees in opposition to
any legislation that the railroads didn't
project
Mr.. Wysor convulsed the convention
with laughter and applause when he re-
lated d dream he had. He said he
thought he came into the convention hall
at midnight and there saw Judge Bax-
ter training Messrs. Hunton, Brooke,
Robertson and Thorn how to speak. He
gave a ludicrous description Of the scene
and said he had never before believed in
dreams. He didn't think anything of it
until he had heard the speeches made
t.y three of the gentlemen on the floor.
and if Mr. Thorn made the same kind OF
speech the others had he would forever
in future like Joseph, believe in dreams.
Judge Robertson: Il wish to state that
T never had conferred with any one as to
what should say
Mr. Wysor: Il am certain of that You
would have made a better speech if you
had" Great laughter).
The speaker raised another uproar OF
laughter by saying that he did hot mean
to impugn the integrity and ability OF
either Of the gentlemen; that Shadrock,
Meshach and Abednigo could stand fire,
and he believed Messrs. Hunton, Thorn,
Brooke and Robertson We're as gooG as
them any day.
AN ABLE ADDRESS.
Independent of his fun-malling proclivi-
ties, Mr.. Wysor made d very able and
impressive argument in favor of an Elf
Gent railroad commission. He said he
was attorney for a railI DAD and he wanted
Il commission that was worth something
for their own good as We'll as for the
good of the public He cited many IN
stances of oppression on the part OF some
OF these gigantic corporations, and de-
clared the time had come for them to
take their horrid beaks of corporate greed
from the hearts of suffering humanity
and its black form from of our door
sills.''
He referred to opponents OF 4 fair reg
ulation by the. state of conduct of pubic
service corporations rs having been OBJ
structionists from the beginning of the
convention and opponents CT any mater
ial change in the present Constitution
lie s7eclared that if they succeeded in
passing the Hunton and Brooke minor
ity report they would have succeeded in
getting as near nothing as the Ensllsh
language could devise.
At the conclusion Of his speech Mr.;
Wysor received round after round OF en-
thusiastic applause.
MIR. HAMILTON SPEAKS.
Mr.. Hamilton spoke in opposition to the
majority report, and promised his argu-
N, ant IN. saving that although he was