Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-03-29
last WEEK HALF GONE.
LEGISLATIVE MACHINE GRIND
ING HEAVY GRIST.
Description of The State House
During Closing Days-E Every
cne Tired Out.
ALL WILL BE GLAD WHEN THE
SESSION is OVER.

| than under way and the end of the
present Legislature is plaiply in sight.
Both houses adjourn without a day
next Monday night, and for two years,
| unless the Governor calls an extra ses-
sion in the meantime, what has been
done viii have TO remain upon the
statute books as laws, while what
has failed to be done for another two
years mnst remain undone, and the
chances are that much of good viii
fall ia this last designated class, for
more than the usual number of impaEt-
ant wise bills now seem doomed to die
on the files or BY majority vote in
one house or another if not both.
The Baltimore q Ohio railway IN
vestigation has closed and the State
has accepted 81, 500. 600, which this
corporation offered for the Washing
ton Branch stock The offer of that
sum of money was practically asked
for by the Board Of Public Works or
at least the b. q o. was given clearly
to understand that sGch an offer would
in all Likelihood be accepted, and the
offer was not slow in following the
hint The majority of the members
of both houses appear to think that
this was an adequate price, but most
determined minority hold q different
view and earnestly opposed selling at
less than the full worth of this stock,
which is variously estimated at from
SO, 600, 600 TO $4, 600, 600 In fact it is
very doubtful il a majority of the
members do not agree that ii is worth
not less than SO, 600, 600, but that
they favor selling because of their un-
certainty as to the advisability of
holding on ard prolonging investiga-
tion and litigation in what may prove
fruitless effort to get more The
Senators and Delegates and the full
Board Of Public Works practically ad-
NIT that the State is not strong enough
TO cope with this railway corpora.
tion. aud favor accepting largo lump
sum of money at any possible sacTi-
fee, rather than longer hang on to
the bull which they apparently had
very firmly but with small courage
by the horns
What will Toe done with the bills to
repeal the taX-eXemptiOn privileges Of
various corporations, especially the
| Il. q o., and tho bill to prevent dis
elimination by the same road agaipss
Maryland coal, is hard to say. It is
declared positively that tho sal OF
| the States stock carried with il no
promise of any sort to let up on the
| crusade against the tax exemptions,
and yet every one of these bills is
| making haste slowly. The anti dis
elimination bill is furthest advanced
but that has lain for comparatively
long time immovable on the third
reading file of the House, while prac.
| tically every one of the others has
kept carefully under cover in Senate
committees. The telegraphers' eight
hour bill, however, has passed both
houses, and is now up TO the Cover
| nor.
The Legislature, in these closing
| days, resembles nothing so much as a
huge ponderous machine, clauking
and grinding laboriously along on its
difficult work. The members are all
| thoroughly tired aud unstrung. Ses
sions do not begin until 12 O'Clock or
| dinarily, but before 10 O'Clock the
| members of the most important COM
mittees are hard at work going ever
| and passing upon bills, while from
| that time on frequently until -. or 2
| o'clockat night, there is hardly spare
/ moment even for meals. The House
| for nearly two weeks has been meeting
/ three times daily, while the Senate,
even with its short loll call, has got
| ten badly behind with two. The strain
upon the men who make up this ma
| chine is beginning to tell in various
ways, the stronger, from a physical
| standpoint among the Delegates and
| Senators, continue toswatch bills with
Ilogged persistence, kbut most of the
others have given that over. Speeches.
| save among a half dozen of the Sena.
tors, have shortened, until a man who
formerly took fifteen or twenty min.
utes to explain himself, now contents
his conscience with fifteen or twenty
words. Sharp clashes and bursts oil
temper are frequent. with quick re.
turn to tired good humoF, but eacE
day the grind goes on.
| Committees assemble, pass huriediy
ON as many bills as they possibly can
hurry down to the one or the other OF
the two big chambers and then fol
two hours an a half wrangle anG
wrangle and wangle o. listen to the
same, with only occasional intermis
sions for vote. A scramble for luncl
then occurs, after which the House re
assemblies. while the laggard Senate
retruns to committee rooms, again &
pass upon the interminable file oi
bills. Dark comes on with the Hous,
still passing bills, adopting unfavor
able reports or fighting over the sub
l SElLuIlOn Oh Ull4S AOE uDI&NOfdni6 re
ports, while in the Senate chambe
half dozen Senators (the engrossinl
committee) read and read and rea,
bills, with an occasional interruption
| from some other Senator, rushing il
hurriedly and then rushing back on
on his way to or from kthe session O
some committee or leaving one L
rush over to another, for the oIosin,
days of legislative session is like
three ring circus with a merry 70
round, only that with tile circus tber
is a limit to the amount that can e
ON at once. while with the Legisla
ture the limit is only the individual
endurance.
Then follows a short adjournmen
and a general reassembly. Right a
tile outset of the night session as like
ly as not, some minor poiut in mat
ter of no general Importance to th
, State as whole will snag half Of til
whole machine. and for an hour. tw
hours and at times as long as three
, furious battles rage. speeches, roll
calls. then more speeches new forms
! tions, ,newsmotions and more roll-call.
until the evening has all but passe
| into morning with the tired out men
bers still in their seats and the fiIt