The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-05-31
HAS WEAK PLACE.
Legislature Failed to Make
Lincoln Birthday LegalHOliday.
Neglected to Fix Time at when
1t Takes Effect.
NEW LAWS IN EFFECT.
Anti High School Fraternity
Act One of Them.
Capital Punishment Act Is
Formally Repealed.
NEW LAWS IN EFFECT.


LincoIn's birthday act. which was in
tended to make Feb II a legal hoh-
dav- is defective. and is probably with
out force or effect
There Is nothing in the act which
provides when it shall go into effect
The usual section setting forth that
.-this act shall take effect and be IN
force from and after its publication IN
the official state paper" or IN tne
statute book" is entirely omitted
The constitution requires that the
legislature shall fix the time for the
taking effect Of its acts. and since the
legislatures failure to fix any time
it is 10 be presumed that the legls-
lature hasn't decided yet when the
law shall take effect
This Is one of the laws urged Dy r
H COney and the Grand Army OF the
Republic, and its failure TO get
through the legislature IN proper
form Will no doubt be regretted II IS
the second one Of the g. A r. laws
which has been found 10 be defective;
The other is the law requiring school
boards to keep the stars and stripes
floating over every school mouse IN tne
state. The trouble with the nag law IS
that there is no penalty for its viola
ton
The publication of the session laws
on May - enabled a number of state
officers TO draw some extra pay for the
last five days Of the month, and puts
them regularly on the pay roll for in
creased compensation IN the future
These were the officers whose pay was
raised 10 take effect on publication or
the law in the statute book The su-
perintendents OF the Topeka, Osa-
watomie and Parsons asylums viii
draw s2.00e per year instead of ST.
500. The secretary of the state his
torical society gets a similar raise. the
- ~r-z r-a1~~ -
Office is raised from $500 to 5000. and
the stenOgrapher from 1920 to $500
The assistant state librarian is raised
from $500 to $1,000
One important provision which was
put into thE session laws this year Is
that requiring all state officers TO turn
in to the state treasury all the fees
which they received for making certf-
fed copies of documents in their Of
fees Heretofore, It has been the rule
for requests for certified copies to be
turned over to some clerk in the Office,
who made the copy, and collected the
fec. 1t was usually a sort of side-line
b. which some clerks picked up con-
siderable pin money. Some state Of
ficers required that the fees for GER.
titled copies all be turned over TO the
personal benefit of the head Of the Of
fee In the secretary of states Office.
however there has been a special law
by which fees for certified copies had
70 go 70 the state treasury.
Some Of the important laws which
went into effect on May p with the
publication Of the session laws were
these
The anti-fraternfty act. giving boards
Of education the right to expe1 from
school any high school student found
guilty of being a member of secret
society in any way connected with the
Institution II is not likely that this
law viii break up high school fraterni-
ties. but will simply require that they
- FL IL --g1
tutions, with no visible connection with
the public school system.
one new law requires that the coun-
ty attorney Of every county must be
regular praCticing attorney. duly ad-
mitted 10 the bar. In some extreme
western counties II has been the Gus
tom to elect anybody who would take
the Office In Haskell county, for in
stance. there Is said to be only one res
ident who is an attorney, and he will
have 10 be elected county attorney, IN
der the new law
1t viii also be impossible to hang
anybody in Kansas in the future for
the law repeating capital punishment
was included in the session law pubIf-
cation This law probably would not
interfere with any governor signing the
death variants OF hang" prisoners
now in the penitentiary-but no cover
nor Will ever do it.
The red can law requiring all gaso-
line cans to be painted red and labelled
L.
the law imposing a $50 annual license
on each vendor of patent medicines
This license fee must be paid to the
county in which the vendor operates.
and merely gives the right TO peddle
patent drugs in the county where the
license is issued.
One OF the freak laws is in reIa-
tion TO burglar equipment It provides
that any person found with nitro
glyCerine. dynamite or any tools or
implements adapted for breaking into
safes. in his possession. is liable to ar
rest Under this law, a man might be
arrested for having a stick of dynamite
70 be used in blasting a we'll. Or If
vault door in the state house should
get out OF fix, and the state should
send to Chicago for an expert with a
kit OF tools to open the safe. the ex-
pert could be thrown into Jail the min
ute he landed in the state.
Another freak law is the one which
absolutely prohibits any person from
entering upon or lettering upon the
property OF another. without first get
ting written permission from the own
cT Of farms, but it Will operate to
keep of picnic parties, botanists or in
fact anybody who may happen to go
out for a stroll in the country
law Of interest to cities of the
second-Class is the one permitting such
cities TO levy q tax OF not more than
~ mills on the dollar TO pay for street
lighting It is TO help out cities which
own a small municipal plant from
which the profits are not enough to
pay for adequate street lighting
The state chronological corumiSsin
created for the purpose of fnvestfgat-
ing and fighting San Jose scale and
other orchard pests, can now start up
in business, for the law creating IL Is
IN effect Fertilizers sold in the state
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