The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-25
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ECONOMY.

In an article answering objections to
the movement to limit the sessions of
the present General Assembly to one
hundred days the Atlanta Constitu-
ton says: But the point is made
that if the legislative business can be
transacted in half the time this year
and next, why cannot it be so always
or why wouldn't a fifty days session
every two years be enough? 1t would.
OF that there can be no doubt. The
Constitution has already laid stress on
the point that recent constitutional en-
actments have taken n vast amount
of work off the Legislature. The Sc
lection of judges and solicitors alone
consumed two weeks of the Legisla-
lures time. while applications for rail-
road, bank and municipal charters rep
resented nearly two weeks more of leg
islative labor-these latter enactments
usually covering about two-thirds Of
the printed acts of the Legislature"
We reproduce the foregoing excerpt
from the Constitutions article be-
cause it supports the position which
the Morning News has occupied for
several years in regard to biennial
sessions of the Legislature. The Con-
stitutiOn may have said on previous
occasions that it favored biennial ses-
sions, but if IL did we do not recall
the fact. We are gratified, however,
that it now frankly says that there is
no need for a session of the Legisla-
ture every year-that session of fifty
days every two years is ample for all
the legislation the state requires.
We hope that other papers of the
state will take a position in favor of
biennial sessions. II the press is unit
ed in favor of the suggested change
it will not be long before there will
be such a clamor for biennial sessions
that the Legislature will have to sub
NIT the matter to the people. When
they fully understand that biennial
sessions mean a saving of 100000
year they will not hesitate as to the
course for them to pursue. Biennial
sessions mean $4,000 more a year for
public schools and it will be admitted
that while we have about laws enough
already-more than are enforced-we
haven't schools enough.
There are only three or four states
which have annual sessions of their
legislatures. All of the others, with
perhaps one or two exceptions, have
biennial sessions. This question of BIZ
ennial sessions should have been sub
mitted to the people at the last cleo
ton. If it had been. and the attention
OF the people had been drawn to it. it
is quite certain they would have voted
for a change.
And there is no sound reason. as
far as we can see, why the movement
in favor of limiting the sessions of
the present Legislature to one hun
dred days should not be approved by
the majority of the members of that
body. OF course reasons can be found
for holding two sessions Of fifty DAYS
each in addition to the session of that
length that has been held already, and
so there could be reasons found for
holding three sessions OF fifty days
each. Any amount OF time can be Civ
en- to the measures now pending and
others that will be introduced, but II
there are only fifty days in which
TO consider them they will be disposed
of in that time, and perhaps as salts
factorily as if a hundred days were
devoted 10 their confederation