The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-02
IT is NEARLY Over
Review Of Work of the Present
Legislature.
About Only Scandal Is That Of
Employees.
LOCAL BILLS.
They Have Apparently Had the
Right of Way.
Those Who Have Led in the Law
Making.


ture which is nearing its close will com
pare favorably with any legislature OF
previous years, except in the number OF
useless employees. In soma respects Il Is
superior to former legislatures. For in
stance. there have been few indications
OF hagrant and shameless boodling-at
least on the surface. Neither have there
been any rumors Of gross immortality.
such as frequently break out during leg
islative sessions. For these things the
legislature OF 1903 should have due
credit OF course there has been the
usual scramble to give the railroads
anything they want, but this IS not un-
usual
It is true that no great amount Of
general legislation has been passed by
this legislature, but outside of a new tax
law there has been no demand for gen
eral legislation. Whether this legisla-
ture is big enough to frame sausfac-
tory tax bill remains to be proven.
Unless it does the main object VIII have
been lost
This has been primarily a special bill
legislature. Out of upwards OF q thou
sand bills introduced in the house and
about S25 In the senate. the great ma
! jOrity have been local bills. The sum
of these two numbers does not repre-
sent the total number Of bills intro
duced in this legislature. because most
Of those introduced in one house ara
duplicated in the other. It Is probable
that only about a thousand different
measures have been proposed in this
/ legislature. The bills are duplicated SO
that the committees in each house can
pass on them without waiting for them
to come over from the other house. For
1 instance. a house member has a local
measure he wishes passed. He intro
duces it in the house and at the sanaa
/ time he has the senator from his district
introduce 1t in the senate Tt goes to the
proper committee IN each house and
\ step by step advances on the calendar.
Finally it is passed by one house and
messaged to the other In the regular
course of business it would go to a
/ committee and after being acted on by
! the committee would take its place at
! the foot Of the calendar But in the
meantime its duplicate has probably
gone through the routine and IS on the
calendar for final passage. The MEM
/ Der who is looking after it moves that
the bin from the other house be substi-
tuted for the one on the calendar and it
Is perhaps passed goes to the governor.
receives his signature and becomes
law in less time than It would take a
/ committee to act on it.
The total number Of bills passed viii
not be one-half the number introduced.
although the majority of *he local bills
usually go through. A great number Of
the local bills were for the purpose OF
vacating town sites and additions. All
of these were saved up by the local ju-
dietary committee in the house and
punched in a single bill. so that so OF -
measures of this nature were passed I'M
der a single head and at a single roll
call
The holdup bills have been very few
at this session. or they have not appear
ed on the surface at any rate. AS a us
ual thing there are generally two or
three members perhaps more. whose
sole mission in the legislature is to
make what they can out of it in a mon
etary way They are usually at the
bottom of the holdup measures. although
they sometimes cover up their tracka
very carefully But they generally be
come known to the wise ones early in
the session
There have been few indications Of
anything of this kind during this ses-
sion. at least in the house And as us
ual thing boodlers are more frequent in
the house than in the senate. perhaps
because there are more of EN-" But
the present house has been remarkably
free from anything of this sort
One reason for this may have been
that the State Journal. early in the ses-
sion. exposed the usual holdup graft. a.
CRATER cannot work his graft in the
light Of publicity This may have had
a discouraging effect on holdups law
which is now on the statute hooks owes
its passage to the fact that II was given
/, publicity as a holdup- In the session Of
1899 this was introduced among other
! hOldup bill. 1t was denounced as r.
2 holdup. and its author had 30 force It's
passage in order to preserve some senb-
An old-timer in legislative affairs
: says that there is venaIity in this Iegfs-
lature the same as there have been in
e former ones, but it has been better COW
t cred up. He says the boodling has
I been in charge of q trust. probably out
! side of the house members to a great
{ extent. He alleges that close corpora
Z tion looks after all the hold-up meas
ures before they appear on the floor Of
! the house.
If this is true it does not show on the
surface. There has been scarcely an
! any legislation during this session
p There has doubtless been some going
e on. but it has not been fragrant. and
it has been 50 well covered up that il
has been hard to trace.
The usual stories of fragrant I'M
morality which nave been the usual
thing with some legislatures have been
. ber has occasionally appeared who had
evidently fingered too long a the flow
ing bowl 1t is also undoubtedly true
? that some of the members have given
e the Cubbison anti-gamb bling law q
n violent twist in the nights which they
t have spent sitting behind small stacks
o of reds and whites. but there have been
I no such reports Of gross fractures OF
n the moral code as there have been dur
y ing some legislatures
, While it is true that there have been
! / no great number of real statesmen
in the house this winter. there are some
mem bers who might develop into states
men Some of them are serving only
their first terms, some are on their sec
= ond terms. This does not refer to Bale
T. Waggener. who is easily the biggest
e man on the floor Of the house Waggen-
W er while serving his first term on the
70 states payroll is really an old hand in