The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-29
NOT YET SETTLED
AS TO WHAT WILL BE DONE WITH
STATES CONVICTS.
HOUSE PASSED NO MEASURE
FOUR OF ITS MEMBERS PERSIST
EMILY DECLINED TO VOTE.


when the Vote Was Taken on the
Main Question by Substitute, the
Measure Was LOst-RemOnstranc
with Members Who Would Not
Vote Awaited Nothing - Matters
Passed Upon by House and Senate.
Atlanta, July 2S.-The House of Rep
resentatives settled the convict ques-
ton to-day by putting it in as unset
tied a state as it was before the pres
ent session began. In other words, the
| House proceeded, after adopting the
Gambler compromise for the Steed bill,
to kill the whole thing, failing by two
votes to give it the constitutional ma
jority of SS.
The Gambler compromise, which pro-
posed to give any counties desiring it
the option of working convicts of ten
year terms and under was adopted by
vote of SO to II.
This gave that measure one more
vote than a constitutional majority,
and its friends were jubilant.
1t was when the vote was taken on
the main bill by substitute, that the
measure was lost, and it was lost be-
cause four members of the House who
voted to adopt it, failed to vote to pass
| it. These four members who failed to
vote for the measure were Messrs.
Bowen of Wilcox, johnson of Baker,
| Jones of Dougherty and Pritton of
! Habersham. This reduced the number
of votes in favor of the Gambler COM
| promise on passage to So, but Mr.. Mills
| of Cherokee, who was not present when
| the first Vate was taken, voted in favor
of it, making the vote So to 10.
Every effort was made by those ia
vorable to the bill to get the four men
named to vote as they had in the first
! instance. But one or two of them had
| disappeared, and others who were on
! the floor of the House refused to vote,
| in spite of the fact that attention was
| called by Mr. Fielder of Bibb to the
rule of the House which required that
| every member present, when a vote is
! taken on a question, shall vote one
| way or another.
When the result was announced it
was time for the advocates of the
| Steed bill, who opposed the non-com-
promise, to give vent to little ex-
uberance, and they did not fail to ex-
press their feeling in applause.
Kills the Whole Measure.
The action of the House in failing to
! pass the Steed bill or substitute kills
| the whole measure, and all of the
! amendments and substitutes offered to
! it. There is no doubt, however, that a
| motion to reconsider this action will
be made tomorrow and carried. The
advocates of the Gambler compromise
showed clearly that they have enough
votes to reconsider without difficulty
/ IN
| prevent the passage of the Steed bill
| itself.
| A reconsideration of the action of
| the House will reopen the whole ques
| ton under the Steed bill. just as II
! stood yesterday, but 1t win put that
measure at the foot of the calendar.
! That, however, will not materially eff
| feet it, because the convict question
I must be settled in some way or other
| at the present session. Should the day
| of adjournment be reached without
settlement of this question, it might
possibly be necessary to call an extra
session, because the present lease con-
| tracts expire April 1 next, and some
law must be enacted providing for the
/ disposition of the convicts.
With the killing of the Steed bill and
| substitutes, there is but one measure
| relating to this subject left before the
!
! Clements of the Fifteenth, which pass
ed the Senate last year, and which
| simply provides for a renewal of the
| present lease system. When the Glenn
| ents bill is taken up there is no doubt
that practically the same substitutes
will be offered for it. as in the case of
the Steed bill. This will have the eff
| feet of reopening the whole question
Just as IL stood before the House when
/ Of hea o.
gun.
AS a matter of fact the Gambler COM
promise failed by only one vote, be-
| cause Speaker Morris informed the
friends of the measure that he would
| have voted for it had the occasion
! arisen One more vote would have
given this measure 81 votes. and the
| Speakers vote would have made the
required 50.
The debate this morning brought out
no new points Mr.. Gambler of De-
Kalb, in a clear and strong speech of
an hour showed what the Gambler
compromise proposed. Messrs. Steed
of Taylor and Moses of Coweta made
speeches against the compromise and
for the Steed bill. which had been
amended so as to fix the minimum price
per convict at $175. to allow sub-let-
I
Commission and to provide that all the
net proceeds should go to the public
school fund. The Gambler compromise
had the same provisions about sub
letting, but fixed the minimum price at
$3.50.
For "a Georgia Exhibit.
The House held its first afternoon
| session this afternoon, and spent the
time in consideration of the resolution
by Mr. Dunbar of Richmond to appro-
pirate $50 900 for the purpose Of making
am exhibit of Georgia's agricultural
and kindred resources at the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition at ST. Louis next
year. Mr. Dunbar made a strong
| speech in favor of the resolution. He
held that such an exhibit would be
carrying out the policy of the state in
creating the Agricultural Department.
and would not, therefore, be unconsti-
tutional.
Mr. Hall of Bib made the principal
argument against the resolution on
constitutional grounds. At the conclu-
sion of the argument the Committee of
the Whole reported the resolution ia
vorably by a vote of 10 to A. From
this vote il was apparent II would take
eighteen more votes TO pass the APP
preparation.
Mr. Grice Of Pulaski then spoke In
favor Of the measure until the hour Of
a Il fourrnppf Tins carving In over I'M