The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-01
MORGAN AND PETTUS
BANkHEAD, CLAYTON, TAYLOR, UN- DERWOOD, STALLINGS, BUR- NETT, BREWER AND RICH-
 ARDSON.
Senator's and Representatives Who Passed this Negotiable Instruments Bill Without . Word of OppOsi- tiOn for the District of
 Columbia.

The Negotiable Instruments bill, now
 pending in the Senate was introduced
 in the House of Representatives dur
 ing the second session of the Fifty
 fifth Congress. and was favOrably re-
 ported by the committee on the Dis-
 trict of Columbia Ln March l4, 1898, 1t
 came up for passage. It was read at
 length, fully debated and passed with
 out opposition. The proceedings will be
 found on page 27S2. of Vol. 31. part g..
 fifty-fifth Congress. second session,
 now in the library of the Supreme
 Court In that Congress from Alabama
 were Representatives Bankhead, Clayton
 Stallings. Richardson, Taylor, Brewer.
 Underwood and Burnett. Did these men
 allow a bad bill to be imposed on the
 District of Columbia without word of
 opposition?
 that session, passed the usual routine and was laid over to the next session
 at the request of Senator Allen, who asked for time to -:amine 1t. On December 1s. 1898. 1t came up for passage by the Senate. being called up by MT. Faulkner, who stated that
 MT. Allen had no objection to its pas
 sage. It was passed without objection from any source.
 Would Senators Morgan and Pettus have allowe da bad bill of so much importance to pass the Senate with | out a word of comment? The proceed | ings show that Senator Morgan was present.
 The proceedings will be found in Vol. | 32, part l.: third .ession, fffty-fifth | Congress. easily accessible in the Su- | preme Court library.
 | During the debate in the House the only question raised was as to wheth-
 CT a check on a bank operated as an ! assignment of the amount for which l the check was given. and 1t was shown l that 1t does not under this bill and did | not under the law as 1t stood before.
 Mir. Parker. of New Jersey, said in
 the debate | bills. tiere were some very funny | facts. Some states had six, some four three and two, and some no days of
 grace at all. Some states had made the
 indorser absolutely liable, and in some | 1t was impossible to sue the guarantor
 until you had sued tho maker of the
 note and had the sreturn that he had l no property In some places note was
 only good if payable at a bank.-that
 is. 1t was only a note sn that case.-and l in another state a note was good If
 payable anywhere. In some cases the | words, for value received had to be | used, and in others the wards, without | dedication or discount were absolute ly necessary. and no man who attempted | to do business in any other state than | his own could be certain My friend | Judge Brewster of Connecticut, sub
 mitted it to me and have been over | 1t thoroughly"
 | MT. Hopkins-'1s this measure ap- proved by the American Bar Associa- | tion?
 MT. Hill-"It comes here from a com- i mittee of that association." MT. Hopkins-"Of course, if this bill | has been considered section by sec tion by a committee of the American | Bar Association"
 MT Hfl-"Tt has been." MT. King of Utah. which had all l ready adopted the bill. said: ''The ex- perience of Utah with bill of this | kind has been such as 10 enable me to commend 1t to this district or to any state that has not already similar | law"
 In the debate not word was said | against the bill.