Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-05-09

APPROPRIATION
bills, practically all of which will take
their place in the statutes of the state.
1t has killed about /, 100 bills, which
it may be suggested has not been the
least important feature of its work.
Practically all these bills have had
some consideration either in commit
tee or on the floor of either house.
Counting the appropriation bills, of
which there are approximately 175,
some 800 bills have been passed. Each
of these had 20 have full consideration
in two (hOuse and senate) committees,
three readings on three separate days
in each house, or a total of about 800
readings. That makes an average of
about three bills a day for all the
days including Sundays, since the be-
ginning of the session. Most of these
bills, of course, were actually read and
passed in the last month.
The appropriations by this general
assembly will amount to about $751;
100000, the largest sum ever appro-
priated. Two years ago the total was
about $13, 100000 The chief items
which have increased the total are:
For the st. Charles school for bows.
$350,000; for repairs on the state
house, including new roof, $3.50, 900;
for putting the convict labor law in
operation at Joliet, 100000; for COM
plotting the Rartonville insane asylum,
100000; for improvements at the Wa
tertown insane asylum, 100000.
Other appropriations are, as a rule,
said to be not above the average. The
effort to appropriate at this time ST.
100000 a year for the distributable
school fund, instead of the usual ST.
100000 at which figure this appropria-
ton has stood for thirty years, failed
in the senate.
Generous to Chicago.
Chicago. in particular, with its man.
fold interests and conditions, different
from those of the remainder of the
state. has been treated with special
generosity. Practically everything the
people of that city have asked for has
been granted. Chicago's needs of a
special charter to meet the conditions
peculiar to such a large city of such
rapid growth has been at last recog-
nized in the resolution for submission
of a constitutional amendment under
which the city can get away from old
fashioned and restrictive methods of
municipal government
Under a constitutional amendment,
if adopted, Chicago can be given a
charter thai will-remOve the constant
clash between her needs and those of
the remainder of the state. Under it,
the last vestige of the town govern
ment anomaly can be wiped out, the
various boards and taxing bodies can
hf Oli i'll cl,n
be abolished and the city's bonded
debt limit can be so increased that it
will have money for the needed per-
manent improvements.
The enabling act for the municipal
ownership of street railways (the
Mueller bill. gives Chicago at last OPP
pOrtunity to grapple with its vexing
street railway problem and settle it on
modern, progressive and effective lines.
This may yet be looked upon as the
most important and far-rea ching piece
of advanced" legislation of the SEES
sion. 1t is the first bill ever passed
in Illinois permitting municipalities to
engage in the ownership and operation
of sO-called public utilities (other
than water works. operation of which
has been considered the prerogative of
private enterprise.
Help for Drainage.
The Chicago drainage boards bill
is another very important piece of
work for Chicago. Without it the
drainage canal as it is now cannot be
made an effective purifier of Chicago's
water supply, because the lake is still
polluted by the sewage from Evan
ston and from the Calumet basin en-
tering the lake through the Calumet
river at South Chicago. This bill per-
mits the annexation of the Evanston
and Calumet districts to the Chicago
sanitary district; authorizes the sani-
tary trustees to develop the water
power of the drainage channel and to
connect the Illinois and Michigan
Hanal with the drainage canal This
bill was prepared at a conference of
the trustees of the sanitary district
and the commissioners of the Illinois
and Michigan canal.
The Torrens law amendment bill
was another important bit of work
for Chicago and Cook county. 1t re-
quires executors and administrators of
estates to register titles in their hands
under the Torrens law unless the pro-
bate court decides that such registra-
ton might work a hardship The bill
has not yet been signed by the gov
ernor, but will be. 1t carries a refer
endum clause. 1t was worked for by
the interests concerned in giving Cook
county an equitable and inexpensive
and final system of land transfers.
State Free Employment Agency.
The state free employment agency,
recently knocked out by the supreme
court because of provision forbid
ding the furnishing of workers to a
factory or other place of employment
where workers might be on strike, has
been re-enacted, with the offending
provision stricken out.
Many important bills have died or
have been smothered. Among them is
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