The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1906-04-05
THE MISSISSIPPI
LEGISLATURE
OUR ESPONDENT'S
WEEKLY LETTER.
RESUME OF THE PAST WEEK
Subjects of Legislature Recommend
ed and Acted Upon From Day to
Day.--House and Senate Bills Pass
ed and Other Items of Interest.

Day.--H0use ana Senate Bills Fass'
ed aud Other Items of Interest.
The Committee on Appropriations
submitted report which caused con
siderable discussion and some rather
sensational speeches. The excitement
was caused by the submission of some
correspondence between Judge w. ii
Hardy and Mrs. O'Pry of Hatties
burg, in regard to a claim presented
by Mrs. O'Pry for services as steno-
grapher for Judge Hardy while he
was acting as code commissioner. The
correspondence showed that Judge
Hardy had employed Mrs. OPry fol-
seven months and as code commits
sioner had endorsed and approved her
bill against the State for 1920. Sew
eral other letters were introduced,
enc Of which was from Judge Hardy
in which the statement was made that
he had paid Mrs. O'Pry. This the
lady denied, and said she had never
received a cent for the work.
The House refused to accept the
Senate amendment which exempts
money loaned at 6 per cent and re-
fused also to exempt money on de-
posit. This will make conflict be-
tween the two houses over the rev.
enue chapter. The House also re-
fused to reconsider the chapter OH
penitentiary, but decided to reconsid-
er the bill which creates an agrlcul-
tural bureau and which passed the
House. The reconsideration will
come up after the revenue matters
are disposed of.
The Senate passed the committee
provision which permits the working
Of convicts on the public roads.
The House adjourned out of re-
spect to Representative Maer, who re-
ceived telegram announcing the sud
den death Of his mother.
The House committee has decided
to report adversely on the appropria-
tion to the Mississippi State Board of
Health for quarantine purposes. The
committee has. acted but has not yet
reported, and it is not known whether
there will be minority report or not.
If the report Of the committee is
adopted it will mean that the state
will be without any fund to conduct
1uarantines during the coming sum-
mer in case of epidemic; but that
seems to be the object at which the
committee is aiming.
The fact that the last epidemic
was mild in type and caused few fata-
titles, and that the protection against
such mild form of disease caused
antold business and commercial losses
10 the people of the state, has impress
ed the people, or large part of them,
5hat state quarantine js useless ex-
Oense, if not a serious handicap.
The matter will doubtless cause
sensation when reported to the House,
and a fight will inevitably follow. 1t
is expected that the board of health
will muster its forces and make war
TO pass the appropriation.
The Stegall bill for the relief of
Pontotoc and the resumption of traf-
fc on the Mobile, Jackson and Kan
sas City railroad held the menter of
the legislative stage for a while.
The immediate passage Of the Ste
gall bill for the relief Of Pontotoc
is urgently recommended by the sub
committee on railroads, which re-
turned from the scene Of the tieup.
The subcommittee s report was sub
mitted to the whole committee, and
the document shows remarkably
distressing condition among the mer-
chants in the towns along the M. j..
and K. C. railroad. Business failures
are predicted if the Legislature will
pot. give some relief.
The +, committee found the inhabit-
ants of Pontotoc county almost a
unit in urging the passage Of the
bill. While travelling along $50 miles
of the railroadI the committeeman
were met at the depots of all the
towns, and on every hand the people
were clamoring for action by the
Legislature. Under the ruling Of the
Chancellor sustaining the injunction,
the committee found that freight
rates almost equaled the value of the
goods, since freight at present has
to be carried by a runabout cir
cult.
In speaking Of the depots from the
towns, the conn mittee found that at
Philadelphia tRe distance was one
fourth of a mile, at Louisville, one
half of mile, at Ackerman three
fourths of q mile, at Louisville one
half and at Pontotoc between one
half and three-fourths of mile. Th'