St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1906-10-17
The Legislative Mill.

The Legislative Mill.
Plenty of IMPORTANT Bills for the COM
mitteeS-Lieut-GOv. PrOuty'S Banquet.
Functions of Ladies' Week.-FlOtsam
and Jetsam of the Session.
The Legislature got right down to
business last week for at least four days
and before adjournment Friday SO bills
had been introduced in the House and
six in the Senate. This may seem good
weeks work but as far as the number of
bills is concerned the Legislature of19O4
had in the same time rs bills on, the
House calendar and 20 in the Senate.
Under the new rules the prospective bills
are handed to the clerk who passes them
over to the revision committee. Their
duties are wholly clerical, and after the
bills have been edited they are given to
the Speaker who says, flor illustration)
"Mr. Carr, of st. Johnsbury, asks and
has leave to introduce bill" The
clerk reads the bill twice by it's title
and it is referred to its proper committee.
Wednesday afternoon the revision COM
mittee handed over 16 bills to the House
and four to the Senate and the real work
of the session was begun.
SOME OF THE BILLS.
The expected weekly payment bill was
introduced by Mr.. Jackson of Barre City
on Wednesday. The same an auto
mobile measure was introduced by Mr..
Cady of Middlebury, presumably at the
request of Col. Joseph Battell whose
| hatred of the "honk" machines is so in
tense. The bill provides that towns may
prescribe what highways may be used
for automobiles, and for a violation of
the restrictions penalty of not less than
$50 nor more than 5000 is prescribed.
Mr.. Ray ofRockingham has introduced
bill providing for the publication of all
warnings for town meetings, and Mr..
Grafton of Burlington bill which pro-
vides for the retirement of supreme court
judges at the age of 70 years, they there
after during life to draw half pay This
| bill also provides that supreme court
judges may be retired at the age of 60 if
they have been on the bench Is years.
This can be done only with the consent
of the governor and General Assembly
and if they are so retired they are to
draw half pay for life.
An important bill introduced in the
Senate Wednesday by Senator Johnson
OF Orange repeats the act of 1904 which
debarred delinquent taxpayers from vot-
ing at town and village meetings.
House bill IA, introduced by Mr.. Carr
of st. Johnsbury amends the law relating
to justices suits, providing that suits
against railroad should be tried in the
town where the corporations road is
located or in the town where the plain
tiff resides.
Directly in line with a suggestion by
Gov. Proctor in his inaugural message is
the bill introduced by Mr.. Gibson of
Brattleboro. 1t provides for the union
oftowns or school districts for the pur-
pose Of securing skilled supervision OF
schools; professional superintendent
may be employed at salary of $1,000
per year, the state to reimburse the
uniting towns up to certain limit il
offset to their expenditure for sucf
salaries; the unions formed to continu,
three years unless dissolved sooner by
vote OF two-thirds of the towns or dis
tricts uniting.
On Thursday Mr.. Carr introduced ar
other bill, which makes all rebate check
? for railway fares paid on passenge
a trains redeemable within 80 days. Tn
would effect only one or two of the shol
: lines of the state, which it is said will nc
# redeem such rebate checks in cash. tt
!. penalty carried by this bill is from 81
. to $500.
Both Mr. Senter of Montpelier and M
: Archibald of Manchester have introduce
y bills to abolish capital punishment an
$ to substitute Imprisonment for life.
: Mr.. Senter of Montpelier has intro
:, duced bill providing for a reorganiz;
ton of the supreme and county courts q
e recommended by the Vermont Bar Assc
t citation 1t provides for supreme coul
!, of five judges, and for superior court {
five judges who shall preside in count
J. court, and the special duties of the Judge
e of each court are detailed. The ouestio
n of salary is left with the Legislature.
Senator Chase of Windham introduce
on Friday bill repeating Secs. AGA an
4765 of the public statutes relating t
t telegraph and telephone companies an
f provides that either one of these col
y porations operating in any town shall
on the request fits patrons, forward a
messages to other telegraph or telephon
i companies operating in the same tow
and shall charge no greater toll tina
that charged by similar corporations i
II town. This bill carries a penalty of no
less than 800 nor more than $1,OOO 70
failure to comply with this provision an
, on second conviction foreion cor,o,