Charlevoix county herald., 1907-07-20
MICHIGAN NEWS
THE LEGISLATURE DID SOME
WORK TIL AT is FATALLY
DEFECTIVE.
MR.. BIRDS EXAMINATION.
Mt. Pleasant Normal Must Close
Binder Twine Plant DoubtfuI-Other
Acts Full Of Flaws.
Laws That Are Not Laws.


Laws That Are Not Laws.
Attorney General Bird Is scrutiniz-
ing the acts of the late legislature and
some OF the results follow:
He has declared the members Of the
state legislature are ineligible to cleo
tom as delegates to the constitutional
convention.
Declared the act appropriating s154.
900 for the support of the Mt. Pleas
ant Normal school invalid
Discovered flaws in the act appro.
priating $l75,000 for a binder twine
plant at the Jeckson prison.
Declared circuit judges ineligible
to election as delegates to the constt
tutiOnal convention.
Outlined the defense of the secre
tary of state in the mandamus pro-
ceedings to be commenced by Lieut..
Gov. Kelley to test the constitutional
ity of the concurrent resolution sub
mitting the primary election amend
ments to vote of the people.
1t is stated at the attorney generals
Office that so far as examined the
work of the legislature has been found
to be full of flaws. Not more than eight
or ten Of the more important measures
have been submitted to the department
for scrutiny, but in nearly every case
the enactments have been found de.
fective. The attorney generals knock
out drops were first applied to the
military bill, which was so defective
that the governor refused to sign it.
Discovered that the act appropriate
ing $154.000 for the support of the
Central Normal school at Mt. Pleas
ant as signed by the governor had not
been passed by either house Of the leg
islature in the form in which 1t was
signed, and that as result OF its
nullity the institution will not be per-
mitted to draw any portion of the ap-
preparation for the next two years, and
1t will have to be closed until spe-
cial session of the legislature shall be
called to pass an emergency appropri-
alton.
A glaring error which may affect the
establishment of a binder twlne plant
at the Jackson prison has also been
discovered by the attorney general.
The bill makes an appropriation of
$175,000 for establishing the plant and
providing for the expense of operation.
In the first section, after naming the
amount of the appropriation, the bill
reads:
THAT of the amount of one hun
dred and seventy-five dollars so ap-
propriated, the sum of fifty thousand
dollars shall be expended for estab-
fishing the plant" etc.
Few mathematicians will be able to
subtract $4,000 from S175 and have
a remainder. OF course. it is plain to
be seen that the word thousand was
carelessly left out of the bill, but the
courts may hold that the error is cler-
ical and the law be held valid. The at
torney general is closely scrutinizing
the act with a view to the discovery
of other errors if they exist.
Another glaring piece of botch work
is announced. Many requests have
come in for a copy of the juvenile
court law and for instructions. The de-
partment has not received copy OF
the law Rep. Simpson. the author OF
the BILL was very much surprised to
find that it had been given immediate
effect. He had no intention of asking
that, and does not know why it was
done.
Judges of probate over the state are
sending children to the industrial
homes without proper forms and with
out copies of the law. The law as
passed late in the session, and no
printing has been done for the juve-
nile courts.