The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-25
USE OF THE CONVICTS
WAS A LIVE TOPIC IN THE HOUSE
FOR AN HOUR.
SoLoNS ONLY TALKED OF 1T.
WAS AGREED, THOUGH, To BRING
QUESTION Up FRIDAY.

House Determines to Make Needed
Repairs on the Capitol Building.
$4,000 Appropriated for This
PurpOse-voted Against $3.50 For
Masonry at Indian spring-ResOIu-
ton Relative TO Employment of
COnvicts AdOpted-A stop TO Prac-
tices of Some Magistrates.
Atlanta, Nov. 24.-The convict ques-
ton was sprung on the House in
rather unexpected way this morning.
Mr.. Mitchell of Thomas moved that
Mr.. Felder's bill, which provides that
all the convicts of the state shall be
worked on the roads. be taken up by
the Committee of the Whole for con-
sideration and report. A warm debate
followed. lasting an hour, in which the
opponents of the motion made a point
of order that the bill was not before
the House. and therefore the motion
was out of order. Speaker Morris held
the motion in order. as he said the
House could vote at any time to re-
solve itself into a committee of the
whole.
After further debate compromise
was reached. by which the question is
to come up on Friday morning.
The House passed, by a vote of 101
to 0, the resolution by Mr.. Stead of
Taylor providing an appropriation of
$4,000 for repairs to the Capitol build
ing. OF this amount $500 will be
spent putting on a new roof; $500 on
the elevator, which is now dangerous
for more than four passengers; $4,000
on the marble thing, and the balance
on the drainage and cellar. The Sem
ate Will pass the resolution promptly,
and 1t is probable the work will begin
shortly after the Legislature adjourns.
The House voted so strongly against
the resolution to appropriate $3.50 for
building masonry for the protection of
Indian Spring. the money to come out
of the rental paid by the state for the
reservation that the author, Mr..
Beauchamp of Butts, had 1t tabled
MilI-Hnven Company Convicts.
A resolution by Mr.. Stovall. OF Chat
ham, setting forth thatwhereas it is
against policy of the state to let labor
convicts come into competition with
free labor, the Prison Commission be
called on to inform the House whether
any convicts were working in or near
any cities in the state whereby such
4 fplAlpr klllDIl- IL pFuukUl ABOUT, WAS pass
| Ell without q dissenting vote
II Ii understood this resolution was
| introduced on account of the fact that
certain state convicts are now being
worked by the Mill-Haven Company
near Savannah. The lease act pre-
scribes that the convicts shall come
least In competition with free labor.
The resolution may result in a fur
Their inquiry.
The bill amending and revising the
military law OF the state, a synopsis
of which was recently given in these
dispatches, referred TO the Committee
on Military. The bill was also intro
duced In the Senate.
Aimed mt the Magistrates.
An interesting bill, introduced in the
House by Mr.. Leigh, of Coweta, will
be closely watched by many of the
justices of the peace of the state. The
object of the bill is to prevent the
dismissal of warrants in criminal cases
without investigation and ITO prohibit
the settlement of warrants containing
criminal charges by any justice of the
peace Of notary public acting In that
capacity. The measure requires that
records of all such warrants shall be
kept in detail. and fixes a penalty for
the violation of this law. Mr.. Leigh
is the new member from Coweta, hav-
ing been sworn in last Saturday.