Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-01-25
LEGISLATIVE GOSSIP
(By Staff Correspondent )

1 sion. The senate railroad committee
 began it's work tonight by granting
 a hearing on the 2-cent rate bills
 that are now pending. The prin- cipal argument against the bills was
 made by T. M Mehaffy. general at
 torney of the Iron Mountain rail- road. MT. Mehaffy contended that
 the Iron Mountain railroad would
 face serious deficit in it's passen-
 ger traffic if the 2-cent rate bill
 should become law. He presented an itemized statement, showing that , this deficit would amount to several i hundred thousand dollars year. lie
 passed this statement upon the
 present traffic, making no allowance
 fer any increase in travel that
 mig..t result from the lowering of
 the fares
 The fight between the conflicting
 interests at Hot Springs has been
 transferred to Little Rock and it
 promises to take up a large part of
 the time of this general assembly
 for some time. The Anis anti-pool
 selling bill which, It is claimed.
 would make it impossible to hold the
 6e-day race meetin., scheduled to open at Oaklawn Darl: early in Feb- ruary and it has bean announced that two special trains will be rlln 10 Little Rock iron: Hot Springs on nat night one bearing the sup porters Of the bill and the other those who oppose it. The bill is backed chiefly by the Citizens I'm provement Union, the reform or ganization at Hot Springs, while the Business -len's League and other organizations of business men are to make hard fight against it. Col. E. W. Rector has been selected to act as spokesman
 oze opposing the measure and he arrived in the city last night to unt-. after the fight is start ed He was upon the floor of the senate today. Considerable con- ment has been caused by the fact that the bill was referred to the committee on agriculture, but this is explained by the fact that it WAS thought e-e would have great effect upon the state fair which was last year at Hot springs.
 An anti-graft bill was introduced Il the senate today by Senator Goodwin of Bradley county. It is m act to prohibit the influencing gents, employees or servants. It prohibits the giving of any gift or sratuity 10 any agent, employe or ervant, with the intent to influence lis action in relation to his en- ,loyer's or masters business. It re- CTS particularly to agents, em- 'loyes or servants who are author zed to procure materials or sup dies, either by purchase or con- ract. They are prohibited from ac- epting any commission, discount or onus from the person who makes 1 he sale or contract. The penalty l s fine of not less than s10 nor !, aore than $500, or imprisonment 1 f not more than one year. The 1 aw provides that no person shal! he 1 xcused from testifying or producing 1 ooks or documents in court on the 1 round that suci4 evidence or docu- i 1ents might tend to incriminate i i'm, but no person shall be liable ! o any prosecutor on account of any 1 transaction concerning which he may estify or produce evidence.
 The house today passed the bin 1 by Mr. Black appropriat- ng $50,000 to defray the expenses If the state penitentiary from Sep ember l, 1906, to March l, 1907
 -le bill is to pay expenses which lave already been incurred, but which could not be paid by the peni- entiary board because of the peculiar situation in which the pen tentiary matters were left at the adjournment of the last legislature The last general assembly provided hat all proceeds from the peniten- iary should be paid into the state treasury and should be drawn out only on warrants from the state auditor. The legislature also ap. propriated s5o,O00 to pay the cur rent expenses of the penitentiary. Governor Davis vetoed this bill. The