Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-04-02
SECOND HALF
General Assembly Is Handling Business With Dispatch These Says.
 0~v-c
COMMITTEES ARE BUSY

Hartford, April 2.-The general assembly began to-day what may be termed the second half of its sitting
 as the progress of legislation seems
 to augur well for propagation iii less
 than ten weeks, and it mas been sit ting already about that length of time. The wedding out of bills dur
 ing the past month has been with some dispatch although as yet no
 particularly striking act of legisla-
 tion has been sent through the chan
 nels of the railroad debenture bill
 which already has become law is excepted. As rough estimate, about 750 measures of all kinds have
 been reported from the committees to
 either branch and of this number ap-
 proximately 400 have bore "Fa- vorable" tag and gone through most
 if not all of the stages of passage.
 When the closure for new business
 was put on on February 2, about
 1, 300 petitions, resolutions and bills
 had been introduced and since that
 date only one measure of new busi- ness has been allowed in, that being a resolution raising a committee to inquire into certain acts of the rail- road commissioners in the matter of the Folly Brook crossing All the committees have been busy with hearings and either this week or next a very large number of reports should be sent in making a notice- able difference in the quantity of pa- pers in the tin boxes of clerks of committees. It is estimated that be- fore April 15 about two-thirds of all the matters introduced will have been reported from the committees and hearings will have been held on the larger part of the unreported mat ters. The judiciary committee start ed work with almost $50 matters be- fore it, and already unfavorable re- ports have been given to about 13O matters, favorable reports to about 100, and it has about 30 bills under discussion, and hearings assigned on more than a score more. Many mat ters before it are covered in dupli- cate, and on such bills as trial by jury there are a dozen or more iden- tical petitions and resolutions. The committees on interpretations, fish cries and game, railroads and cities and boroughs have been carrying the largest number of documents and have been giving hearings nearly ev- cry legislative day with comparative ly small returns in the way of re- ports. AS soon as these committees are able to give attention to framing reports the progress of business in the assembly will show great strides. Although the labor committee has held sittings two and three after moons each week it has made less than half dozen reports, and this is the case with the committees on ex- else, roads and bridges, and humane institutions. Last Thursday both branches caught up with the com mittees and the general impression was held that the session was nov ing along at slow pace. but commit tee chairmen think otherwise. Sen- ator Walsh in the upper branch and Representative E. s. Banks in the house have repeatedly urged the con- mittees to give attention to hearings and in this regard the present sit- ing has been remarkably active.
 From now on the more serious mat ters of legislation are booked and the sessions are likely to be longer owing to more general debate, al- though the leaders do not yet see anything in sight which should serve as an obstruction to the passage of other measures. Most of the bills covering recommendations made by Governor Woodruff in his message, save that of employers liability. are likely to be reported this week or next giving promise of opening the way to adjournment around the frs. of June. This week the Southern New England Telephone comnany will have its innings before the iu- dietary committee and the bills which are reported dealing with this sub- ject in different ways will give the assembly the opportunity for speedy action on what has been looked upon as one of the few very important questions to be decided.
 Hartford. April 2.-There was a long debate in the house to-day over bill 3S6. entitled an act concerning the employment, instruction and school attendance of children. pro- viding that agents of the state board of education may exercise the powers of prosecutors in prosecutions for violation of the laws relating to the of children at schools. The bill was finally rejected.
 The commission which was ap- pointed to consider the matter of an liability act met to-day. The commission will assign a date for later hearing.