The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-03-19
NOTES FROM HARTFORD
SUPREME COURT JUDGES EX-
 PENSE BILL OPPOSED.

Hostility to the Measure by Lawyers
 Direct Primary Clause to Corrupt
 Practices Act Stumbling Block
 Feeling That Present Act Should
 Have Longer Trial.
 ! Hartford, March 18-The bill requir- ing an itemized expense account from the judges of the supreme and superior courts in lieu of the fifteen hundred i dollars per annum now allowed each ! judge for expenses, will come up as or der of the day for Tuesday in the sen ate, being the first business on the call endar. It comes from the committee ! on appropriations and will be in l charge of Senator McGovern. The an- 1 imus of the bill is regarded with disfa- vor by the lawyers in both houses. Of 1 the five lawyers in the senate, James l F. Walsh of Greenwich, Stiles Judson ! of Stratford, Charles B. Waller of New London, Ralph M. Grant of South Windsor and Thomas J. spellaoy of | IIelI llOIl, IlOl DLG WILL tllcllllplOll tilO measure. Senator Walsh who Is sen ate chairman of the judiciary com mittee, and Senator Judson, president pro tempore of the senate, will take de- I cided ground against the passage of the act Ii is looked upon as an impu- tation on the honor and probity of tho l bench in Connecticut. There Is not an argument of any weight that can be advanced in favor of the method that is to be used under the bill in dealing with the expenses of the judges. But 1t is not the lawyers alone in the leg islature who are opposed to the refec- ton that Is cast upon the judges by the bill There is pronounced feeling in both houses that the bill should not have received the favor of the appro- priatlons committee. It's defeat is con- fidently predicted from all sides.
 There is great deal of anxiety felt concerning the fate of the bill that was reported by the commission on corrupt practices The direct primary" seems to be the stumbling block. Neither the republican nor the democratic party is ready for the direct primary, which would take the nomination for gover nor and Acknowledgements out of the hands of state conventions. Under the direct primary voters would select the candidates for these offices, governor and ieutenant-governor, without the intervention of the state machinery. State conventions would be necessary, however, under the bill reported by the commissioner for the selection of cap- didates for minor state offices and the adoption of party platforms. There is no lack of prejudice against the re- forms that have been suggested in the commissions report, and 1t would not be surprising if the whole layout should be dropped. There will hardly be salvage enough to pay for the picking up of the fragments The corrupt practices act now in force will grow better with age like new wine. It has been on the statute book two years and, where it has been studied most, it has the most friends. In large measure 1t was the work of the Hon. Allan w. Paige, who was in the senate two years# ago from the Twenty first district, and was at the head of the ju- diciary committee. The statute is en- titled to remain practically intact for the present, working out steadily the reforms that were anticipated by it's adoption under Senator Paige's leader l ship. This is not suggesting the view that the work of the commission, which had in it's composition men like the Hon. John H. Perry and Charles Hopkins Clark, Is not valuable and statesmanlike. On the contrary, the work Is one of high merit. Should 1t be dropped as it is feared that it will be- it will be due to the fact that the legislature and people have become wearied with the plethora of reform that has sprung up like toadstools. It is too early for the direct primary at present, but 1t is bound to come in the end. It is the only way by which the direct wishes of voters can be eX- pressed with regard to candidates of public measures.
 There is revival of interest in a Bushnell memorial in Hartford. The daughters of the noted theologian, Mrs. Frank W. Cheney of Manchester, and Mrs Appleton R. Hillyer of Hartford, whose husbands are millionaires, have leaning towards a public memorial that shall be located on Bushnell Park, grounds that will not fail to be through generations testimonial to the great ness and public spirit of Dr. Bushnell. It is interesting in this connection to point out the fact that Dr. James Me Manus of Hartford, in an article puh- llshed in the Connecticut Quarterly in February, 1895, suggested statute of Dr. Bushnell to be placed on the east side of the park, surmounting me- morial arch and bridge leading from the restored Gold street and the Center church burying. grounds, a center of vast historic interest. The clairvoy- ance of Dr, McManus concerning the coming Bushnell memorial was note- worthy. Bella l.. Pratt, the Boston sculptor, has finished the figure for the Connecticut monument which the gen. eral assembly has authorized to be put up in Andersonville in honor of the 1 prisoners of war, who died there. Cal | onel Cheney, president of the commits sion, and Major George o. Whitney will visit Boston this week to examine the sculptor's work. Mr. Pratt is highly elated over the figure, which he calls "MySoldier Boy"