The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1906-08-16

in this state, and said commission
shall have such other powers and
duties as the legislature shall con-
fer upon the commission"
This amendment was added to your
bill and passed by the house and sent
back to the senate. Now what be-
came of it? Was it defeated in the
senate because you couldn't help 1t?
No, you tell me in your letter that
upon your own motion the senate re-
fused to concur in this house amend
ment and it was defeated, Then when
committees from the house and SEN
ate met in conference the house mem
bers insisted on adopting the house
amendment while the senate members,
of which you was one. opposed It,
You say in your letter that the house
members "were positive in their de-
claration that unless that feature
providing for a possible delinquency
of the legislature was preserved the
bill could not pass the house, and
they would not feel justified in ask
ing it." Then is where you rose to
the occasion and came forward with
the following amendment:
"But in the absence of specific legis-
latis the commission shall exrcse the
powers and perform the duties EMU
merated in this provision
But there are no powers and duties
enumerated in your original provl-
sion. Under it they are all left with
the legislature. This latter clause to
your original bill is therefore abso-
lutely meaningless Then why did you
attach that clause to your original
bill? You say that when you intro
duced the bill originally you intended
that all the powers of the board
should be left to the legislature and
that none should be conferred in the
amendment itself. The house OPP
posed this and offered an amendment
comforting powers upon the commits
sion, You defeated the house amend
ment and had your amendment added
for the purpose, as you say, OF en-
bodying the house idea. Now the
house idea was to confer power upon
the commission in the amendment it.
self. But you now say in your let
ter to me that Notwithstanding the
last above amendment 'the definition
of the powers and duties of the COM
mission deyolves wholly upon the
legislature" In other words, the
house members were made to belleve
that the house amendment idea was
in your amendment when as mat
ter of fact it was not. In other words
still the house members were led TO
believe that your amendment was a
bona fide one, and conferred powers
upon the commission when as a mat
ter of fact it was intended by you
only as a subterfuge to get your orlgl-
nal bill through the house. If plain
or fraud was ever perpetrated upon
a legislative body than the senate per
petrated upon the house in this in
stance, and primarily upon the people
of this state, / would like to know
where you will find it.
For years the people of this state
have been battling for control and
regulation of the railroads In 1887
the legislature created a state board
of transportation and until 1901, three
secretaries occupied the positions ere
ated under that law and drew their
salaries without giving any relief
whatever to the people. This board did
little more than to serve as medium
for the distribution of passes and as
a matter of fact served the railroads
better than the people For nearly
fifteen years the people were held in
suspense expecting something through
this board During the whole time
the railroads tied up everything il