The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-05

EY \ STAFF CORRESPONDENT.
Springfield. IL. March Word has been
passed down the line that the Assembly
| mus at least maintain the semDiance OF
| activity
| accordingly. with a rush, out came Gov
| ernor Aate5s civiI-seryice bill, and a con-
| vict-!abor bin, from committee late this aft
| emoon.
| The Governors pet measure. sent to the
| legislature at its opening, placed first On
The calendar in both houses. is recommend
| ed without change Of a dot or q a.h. This
was accomplished at a joint meeting Of the
Senate and House Civil Service Committees.
! No opposition 10 this action developed,
| either from the Sherman or Democratic
members of the committee. RepreSaE .atiTe
| Austin. sherman man, the uTgducer Of
! the bill prepared b. the Illinois civil Serv-
/ Ice Association, himself moved The adoption
u the Yates hill. Indy seconded and the
| matter was ciirched in just time Sufficient
| TO put the question.
| Various are the coujectur5s as to what
| underii ; this Unexpected development II
| is generally said, however, that The plan nOW
| Is 10 hand Governor Yates his avO"ei peC
measure AID see how he likes it. Ills
enemies believe that lie was forced into the
! roll. Of civil service champion. and that,
| in fact, he wants no civil service: and nov
| they propoze. rs the mysc effective means
| Of embarrassing him, 20 make the reform
| hero continue ana bear the attendant re-
sponsiu.Ates.
LABOR MEASURE.
The favorable action on the labor bill was
| looked for, hut not soon. On the lines
OF Dairoy. resolution. the Chiperficld. Drew
and Wheeler bills. abOliShiGg in peEiten-
uarleS, contract labor and the manufacture
OF products other than are available for
US 1y state institutions, c2I2aaltLee OH
was drawn II was discussed II JOINT met
ing Of the House committees on penal in
sutItioES and Lho- affairs The ulani-
nous opinion was that il meets the sttua-
ton. and, with this stamp Of approval, Rep
resentative McC.anahan. chairman Of the
Joint Committee wiz report II to the House
tO-m0rrow morning.
The bill provinces that the three commits
the Chester Pgri,entsry. and the five trgs-
tees Of the Pontiac Reiormato-y. shall con-
stitute general board to carry out the pro-
visions OF the act.
This is to lie known as the Board of MN
ayers Of the PTiS = Industries Of Illinois, Il
shall attend 20 lhe distribution Of the pro
ducts Of the skill CT labor Of the coHvIcts,
and Is particularly charged with seeing that
under no circumstances shall a1y Of the
hantiwork Of the prisoners be sold in open
market.
Tile board IS charged 10 inausurate the
elSEt-npur day IL the penal institutions and
required 10 see that no machinery or mo-
tive power ether than may be required 20
carry out the provisions Ok the act. shall be
permitted IN the prisons.
stalled, which VIII offer educational oppor-
tunities to the prisoners and fl them for
profitable positions when discharged.
FELLOW-SERvANT LAW.
The much rnootsd act. known as the .'F-aI-
Icw-SerEant Law was also acted upon in
committee Tonight. The House Committee
on Labor and Industrial Affairs met Tor the
consideration OF the child labor bill R=fn-.
taking Up this it was decided 10 consider
Mr. Drew's bill. defining the lie ability for
damage IN case OF death and abCl- shii1g the
'feliOw-servanT' feature of the existing law
The section repeating the ieliow-servant
provision is as radiant as legal language can
make il. II follows:
Tint any person. persons firm. firms
corporation or company. VINO may employ
agents. servants or employees. SUCH agents
servants or employees being in the e-e-rizs,
OF due care. shall he liable TO respond IL,
damages for injuries or death sustained Nv
any such agent. enplOye or servant result
inS from the coreiesSness omission Of duty
or negligence OF sUcn employer, o. VIII ca
may have resulted from the CarelGsSness
omission OF duty or ueEl genCe of any other
agent, servant or enploye OF said employer
tent a. if the carelessncss, omission Of duty
or negligence. causing the injury or death,
was that OF the employee
The bill was ordered reported out, favor
ably Likewise. the child-iabor bill. with
slight amendments.
The local option bill. allowing townships
cities or counties to vote upon the Gue- ton
Of permitting saloons within their limits.
was riD before the House ana Senate
committees having the proposed law under I
consideration. Minister'S prominent women |
an5 citizens interested in the antisa!oo1
movement were present from all parts OF !
the State. The liquor dealers VIII have a
hearing next week.
The bill finds opposition among many |
members rs II now stands for the reason |
that it dlscrimiualts against the iiGuor men. |
If the vote be taken in county. and IS
carried by those favoring the licensing OF /
saloons. the option would still apply to |
city or township vote. The sam" privilege
is not extended to the lgunr dealers II |
they are beaten in the county at large. they |
have no recourse in any section Of the |
county.
CANAL SCANDAL
Tho Senate was thoroughly organized and |
the House thoroughly GiSorgauizeI TINS |
1iuon very different propositions. /
sion hinged on Senator Raineys resolution |
calling for the abandonment Of the Illi"o'S /
by direct chargts e. Sfdit ana in'Si1tx-
agement savoriuS Of ali that IS unhealthy /
IN the way OF siagnart water and OF cor |
ruption in government
In the lower body II was the BARRIERS
license bill. suggestive merely of shaving |
Inrss and razor-. but sufficient to stir up |
an exciting parliamentary row. For the
tonsorial artists all party lines were cast
to the winds, and an amusing and unique
But upon the canal Issue strictly Re
publican stand was forced Ia Shroul tho
alleged skeleton in the closet" The Canal /
Commissioner Suively. Sacsctt and Miller.
who are here actively cndeavcrinE to save
their iobs-had secured the party prop and |
for the present are saved from political
destruction.
Though the resolution was defeated. IT
was not until Senator Rainey had made a
strong argument. citing facts and figures
from official records to show that the iurhii
waterway. relic II the antcrailroad days.
had engulfeI millions Of the States dollars !
without rendering corresponding return !
and that now Il is nursery for maidriaI
ard typhoid microbes by the billion
Rainev secured a roll call. 1t was clear
a f.-4Ff 1
been ''cut and dried by the ma iorfty partv |
organization" The vote was taken With
nut answer TO Raiuey's damaging charges
and cear-cut arguments against sinking
more State money in an enterprise which is
now a dead loss each year. The matter
however, IS not yet closed. Senator Rainey |
will follow the resolution with n bill! and |
this. it IS said. will not fall under party ban.
BARRIERS BILL UP.
The BARRIERS nil arbitrarily was declared |
The first order of business by Speaker Miller
through a ruling which may be significant
later in the session, unless the Speaker re
verses himself.
The bill came up on second reading yes
.erday. was debated. and several members
were clamorinR for recognition 20 Introduce \
amendments. when motion to adjourn car |
lied. The Speaker announced that the bill
should go over on second reading as IN |
inished business" This woIh make it, by |
he House rules. the fifteenth order or the |
III probability. IT would not be reached |
Turing the session. To adjourn with a |
Measure pending has long been an indirect |
method of defeating legislation, and the op-
,onents Of the bill believed that the meas
ire was dead.