The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-23
MISTAKES PILEUP.
More Blunders Discovered iT
Legislative Records.
Change of Venue Resolution Is
in Bad Tangle.

Another bad blunder has been dis
covered in the legislative journals rela-
tive TO another constitutional amend
menI resolution This time it is the
one introduced by Senator Smith in the
senate and Representative Campbell, of
Meade in the house, to give the state
the right to take a change of venue in
criminal cases where a jury can not be
secured IN the county in which the
crime is committed.
The constitution provides that only
three amendments can be submitted at
any one general election, and three res
buttons to submit amendments are
known to have passed both houses last
winter. The first was the one by Rep
resentative Francis giving the governor
the power to veto any one item in the
miscellaneous appropriation bill with
out vetoing the entire bill; and this
amendment so far as has yet been as
certained, is properly recorded in the
legislative journals, was signed by the
officers of the two houses, and is
printed in the statute book 1t is the
only amendment which is thus pub
lished
The second was the state printer
amendment. about which there has re-
Gently been so much discussion. and
which the senate journal shows did not
pass the house.
The third was the resolution referred
10 above. to submit an amendment to
amend section 10 of the bill of rights.
d
Of venue as specified above
Inis resolution was introduced in the
senate as senate concurrent resolution
NO. 8, by Senator Fred Dumont Smith,
and in the house as house joint resold-
ton No. 6. by Campbell of Meade 1t
got through the senate first and when it
got TO the house Representative Camp
bell moved that it be substituted for his
resolution. The house journal, however
shows that senate concurrent resolu-
- z \
substituted for house joint resolution
No. 8. Now No. IS was a resolution 10
submit an amendment relative to keep
ing foreigners from voting until they be-
come fully naturaliZed- 1t was intro
duced by Senator White and was after
wards defeated in the house.
However, senate concurrent resolution
NO. took its course through the house
and in due time came up for final pas
sage. 1t was carried by vote of SIS to
l. Then occurred the same bobble as
mixed up the state printer amendment.
1t was messaged back to the senate that
the house had "nonconcurred'' in the
amendment. Hence the senate records
showed that the resolution had been
killed in the house. Consequently an
engrossed copy of it was never made. it
was not signed by the presiding officers
of the two houses, and il did not get
into the statute book
Assistant Secretary Of State Hill P.
Wilson says that it is his opinion that
the resolutions are all right and legal.
Each legislative journal shows that they
passed their respective houses and that,
Mr.. Wilson thinks, is all that is neces-
sary-
The history of these measures, how
ever, shows that there are a great many
blunders in the legislative journals. If
the same errors had occurred in record
ing measures. the result of which wac
not common knowledge, it would prob
ably invafidate them to have such con-
Trajectory statements in the records.