Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1907-04-11
Legislative Adjournment.

The legislature will adjourn on May
ances make necessary a change of date.
The senate was willing to adjourn on
April %, without taking account of
the bills introduced or to be introduc-
ed but deferred to the opposition and
now proposes to adjourn on May 2.
The house is not willing to end the
that this cannot be done if necessary
legislation is to be pushed toward en-
actment. The house. therefore, Satur-
day, passed its own resolution provid-
ing for final adjournment on Nav l6.
Will the Legislature be able to ad-
journ on that date, and at the same
time give to the public business the
attention it deserves? In three months
of the present session only one of the
platform measures has reached the
governor-the two-cent railroad fare
bill Others are in various stages of
progress. or non progress, in the two
houses or in committees Will the leg
islature be able to send these measures
to the governor before May l6? Pro
testants against setting any date for
final adjournment, denounced the SEN
ate as the graveyard of necessary acts
of assembly, which it is. But it was
argued that what the senate does has
no bearing upon the action of the
house, and that the house could not.
by sitting longer than May Is. compel
the senate to perform its public duty.
Some day, before the millennium. a
Justly incensed house may, i'll that
way. expose recreant senate. That
cannot be done so long as the house
meekly argues to discontinue its lab
ors because the senate neglects the
| public business.
While the debate on the resolution
to adjourn was in progress the speaker
| said that if the members discussed the
| bills less and voted more the business
of the house could be expedited and
adjournment could be had easily on
MAY Is. Here two questions naturally
arise: What is to be gained if the
house talk less and vote more, if the
senate will not pass the house bills?
| What is the criterion of debate? The
senate is not attending to its duty. 1t
has many house bills in committee. 1t
| is killing necessary measures, although
| for reasons best known to itself 1t
passed the two-cent fare bill The sem
ate cannot be coerced as the speaker
we'll said. But the session could be
extended and the responsibility for
failure of legislation demanded by the
people be laid at the door of the body
responsible for it.
Little discussion of measures is bad
for good legislation and good for bad
| legislation. and in this Legislature, as
| in former ones, the bad and the trivi-
al outrank the good and the important.
| There is not too much discussion of
| bills, the speaker to the contrary not
| withstanding. That is not delibera-
tive body in which measures are rush.
| ed as if all the members were working
'by the piece" Every section of ev-
cry bill ought to be scanned by every
member, and every vote should be cast
for or against a bill according to its
merits and not through Indifference,
or because somebody has ordered that
the bill shall be passed or defeated.
Time could and should he saved, how
ever, by compelling members to pay
attention to roll calls and by refusing
to permit them to record their votes
after the call.