Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1903-04-04
(From a staff Correspondent


(From STAFF Correspondent)
LINCOLN, Heb April Especial Tele-
gram. The house and senate made great
progress today in their race against time.
The senate finally recommended for pas
sage the salaries appropriation bill, cut
ting 1t down between $4,000 and $4,000.
The house after a somewhat spirited hight
precipitated by Kennedy Of Douglas, re-
fused to advance two of his bills contem-
plating the enforcement of the maximum
freight rates law. This body departed from
its recent rule and held no night session,
but adopted resolution to prolong Satur-
days session until midnight. There is
some talk of a brief session Sunday. but
the governor and others are bitterly or
posed to this and 1t probably will not p,
out.
The senate, in its course of retrenchment,
may kill the wolf bounty bill, approprieting
$4O,0 900 for old claims This is the talk
now. The idea is to take this money for
the establishment Of the new normal
school, provided for In house resolution No.
1, whose appropriation has been cut from
500, coo to $40, 900. The senate amended
the bill 30 as to locate this school near the
sixth principal meridian as originally pro-
vided.
In the line Of reducing appropriations the
senate today clipped off the $50, 600 for q
library building from the Peru normal
school bill and left only the 900 for the
chapel. When the bill was in the house Il
was generally agreed that II either item
should be cut out Il certainly should be the
| chapel. The friendss and opponents of the
bill agreed that the school could far better
do without the chapel for another two
years than the library building. The pres-
snt structure Is an old frame afInire .shich
is said to be fro trap.
| The senate today also passed the South
Omaha charter bill s~
The general revenue bill was signed by
the speaker of the house and president of
senate and is now In the governors hands.
Turn Down Kennedy BiII.
The effort to the advancement OF bills for
| the enforcement of the maximum freight
rate law was defeated. The circumstances
! furnished almost a repetition of those at
| tending the effort to attach the Caldwell
amendment to the general revenue bill;
! the fusionists were charged with promoting
the scheme primarily for the purpose Of
making political capital.
| Like the Caldwell amendment, Kennedy's
motion today was supported by republicans
as we'll as fusionists, but the same declara-
| tion is made now that was made when the
| Caldwell amendment was under FIRE: Had
| the :usionIsts not promulgated this as
! fusionist scheme, had they entered into the
fight upon the broad principle of state, in
stead OF party aggrandizement, the result
might have been different" II will be re-
membered that It was popularity conceded
! that had the minority in the house not
raised the hue and cry that the Caldwell
amendment drawn up and introduced by
/ thatr una the amaud-
ment certainly would have carried.
Tho proposition to enforce the maximum
freight rates law had many friends in the
house, as the result OF the vote showed,
but 1t actually bad even more than that.
The roll call shows that motion by
Thompson Of Merrek TO table Kennedy's
motion to have these bills advanced to the
head OF the Sitting committees file was
supported by thirty nine republicans, and
that 1t was lost because forty-seven,
, twenty-scven republicans and twenty
fusionlsts, voted against 1t. -Four fusion
lists did not vote. II will be seen, there
foro, that the fusionists did not lend their
full support to this movement. just was
the case with the Caldwell amendment, and
that more republicans actually voted for
the motion than fusionists
When 1t came to Kennedy's motion TO ad-
vance the bills, forty-seven voted against
and thirty-nin for It. The lineup showed
nineteen republicans and twenty fusionists
for IT, indicating that some skilful aero
batic feats had been performed.
views of Republican Members.
republican member. speaking of the
affairs this morning. said
81 regret that such a good movement as
this should be made the victim OF partisan
selhshness. That sort OF legislation never
will succeed. The fusionists no matter
what may be said to the contreTy, precipi-
tated this fight for the purpose Of getting
everybody on record and making what po-
litical buncombe out of IT they could and
they know this 10 be fact better than
anyone else. They did the same thing In
the case OF the Caldwell amendment. They
/ conceived the Caldwell amendmC Mt and the
effort to enforce the maximum freight
] rates, for the purpose Of being popular
y with the masses and set their designs ac-
cordingly Now anybody who is fair
minded will admit that this is not the way
to go about getting good laws. No party
Is going to be dubbed into line by its ad-
] versary especially when the latters pur-
( pose is thoroughly understood Does not
q everybody know perfectly we'll that had the
fusionists really been as anxious 10 brins
about this legislation as they pretended
o they would not have antagonlzod the ma
' iority as they did; that instead Of trying tC
, force the majority in line as a party TO th'
10 I selfish schemes Of the minority, they would
, have sought this union upon the plane o
, real statesmanGhiD?
n THE majority has erred in this legisla
ture, il has done much that no doubt would
I. have been better left undone, but whatever
OF virtue went out OF n, It certainly did no
> akc erect IN the fusionists. I don't be
lieye the minority members will be abl'