Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1905-02-23
From tie State CapitOI.


(BY OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENT.
The postal card stage seems to have
been reached in the senatorial fight
Saturday most OF the members OF the
legislature received postal cards which
read as follows:
''The grand old man (Col. Dick Ker-
ens) is ever great throughout Missouri
State! Rah for the grand old man.
o. P. P. S.-Tell the boys we say to
sing it,
Most OF the postmarks were so multi
ated that it could not be shown where
they were from. A few of them bore
the postmark of Whitewater, Mo. They
were all written by the same person.
Both the house and senate Investigate
ing committees are at work in ST. Louis.
They examined several witnesses Satur-
day. The democrats went after repub-
ican contributors and the republicans
after the contributions to the democratic
fund. Both committees are expected to
make reports to the Legislature in the
next week or two.
Senator Ely had a case in the Su-
preme court the other day in which his
client received verdict for damages
against the Cotton Belt railroad in the
sum Of 5000. Hon. w. II. Miller OF
jackson represented the railroad, and
this is the first damage suit Mr.. Miller
hoe 1<r- H. H., go
the Cotton Belt railroad. Senator Ely
has several cases that will come up while
the Legislature is in session, one of which
is another damage suit against the Cot
ton Belt in which the lower court gave
his client n verdict for $4,000.
Last week was one of the most stren-
uous OF the present session. Several
important bills were before the assembly
and some were lost and others passed.
The bribery bill, which provided that the
party to crime in bribery cases should be
exempt from prosecution If he would
turn states evidence was defeated in the
senate by close vote. This bill attract
ed a great deal of attention because it
WIS in the last democratic platform, and
was the pet measure OF Governor Folk.
In the house the st. Louis home rule bill
was gaveled to engrossment over the
heads of the democrats. The present
law provides that the governor shall ap-
point the police commissioners. The
new republican bill says the mayor shall
do this. The democrats tried in every
way to amend the bill SO as to make the
Office elective, claiming that under the
proposed law the mayor of a city could
build up political machine, and that it
would be great deal worse than the
present law, but the majority would not
let them have any voice in it and gaYel-
ed the bill to engrossment. When it
comes up for passage there will be some
exciting times. It is generally thought
that the republicas are not sincere in it,
but that their whole object in supporting
it is for the house to pass it and for the
senate, which is democratics to kill it,
thus manufacturing some republican
Campaign thunder.
The school supervision bill was defeat
ed in the senate by vote of t6 to is.
This bill provided that all counties shall
have a general supervisor who has
charge of all the public schools in the
county, at 4 salary, in Bollinger, of $500
Senator Ely voted against the bill for
the good reason that under the present
law county can have general super
visor if it wants it, and the proposed law
made it compulsory.
Representative Atkinson of Ripley
county introduced an important bill in
the house. 1t proposes to establish a
state board of control over all the elee-
mosynary institutions in the state, and
to do away with all the boards that have
charge of the several institutions now.
1t will come up as special order this
week, and, as there are several who OPP
pose it, lively times are expected.
There are bills in both houses con-
cerning text books that will come up this
week and as this is quite an important
question, and pne the members have
been studying for some time, the result
is anxiously awaited.
The repeal of the race track measure
known as the Breeders bill that has been
the subject Of much discussion will come
up also. 1t is generally believed that
the repeal bill will pass, altho there is
known to be quite little opposition to
it in the senate.
Nothing new has developed in the
seatorial rituddle except that Niedring-
haus lost two votes to Lieut.. Governor
Mckinley last week. There are now, in