The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-22
NOTES FROM LEGISLATURE
ILLNESS OF SENATOR FARREL OF
 THE SEVENTEENTH.

Caused Postponement of the Order of
 the Day, the Bill Granting Gratuities
 from the General Assembly-Bill
 Will Come Up Again Tomorrow
 Little Prospect That Much Business
 Will Re Attempted in Either House
 This Week.
 Hartford, April 22-The Illness of Senator Farrel, of the Seventeenth dis trict, last week necessitated a post ponement of the order of the day made for last Tuesday, the measure under consideration being the bill prohibiting .gratuities from the general assembly. This bill was reported from the com mittee on legislative expenses, of which Senator Farrel is the chairman, and has been on the senate calendar for weeks. It was taken up at the senator's re- quest Tuesday, April g, and explained at length by him and debated by Sena- tor Judson. It was found that one or two features of the measures would work hardship in the case of the senate and house clerks, requiring a considerable amount of work to be done by them without compensation. In this work is embraced the indeXing of the journals. This has been paid for by the two houses, as being outside of the regular clerkship duties. It requires a large amount of time after the ad- journment, and the compensation at most has been less than what the labor was worth from fair point of view. The bill, as it now stands, would cause the clerks serious embarrassment and outlay. The measure will come up again Tuesday, as order of the day, in case Senator Farrel is able to be at the capitol.
 In presenting the bill two weeks ago the chairman of the committee on leg islative expenses made every point that could be thought of in it's favor. He showed a thorough understanding of the issues involved. It was, from the senator's standpoint, clear and con vincing. But it is more than evident that his views will be controverted in the senate by men who have, like Sem ator Farrel, hikh ideals of public ser- vice. The committee itself is not who'll ly agreed on the measure. It is not ex- pected that the bill will go through without amendment favorable to the clerks, whatever may be it's fate in oth- CT respects.
 Senator Farrels illness was greatly regretted at the capitol, and the best of wishes were felt for him during the week. He is popular on all sides, and worthy representative of his district.
 It is not probable that much business will be attempted in the senate or house this week on account of the Jamestown visit, in which so many of the members are interested. It will be the first of May by the time the two houses get settled down to work again after the Jamestown function. The amount of work on hand is much lar- ger than at this stage of the session in
 evious general assemblies. The most Knportant of the governors recom- i1endations have not been acted upon, and much time will be required for their consideration.
 The attorney general, Marcus H. Hol- comb, has drafted the constitutional amendment abolishing the school fund, but the house committee which will have it in charge has not yet held a meeting to act on the ideas presented by Governor Woodruff. The new state library project, the state armory and arsenal, and the good roads measure have not been taken up except in gen. eral way.
 The notion of bonding the state for these necessary Improvements is gain ing ground. At the present time that seems to be the only way out of the difficulties in the way The state treas ury will not admit of the outlays being made at once to go on with the work that has been planned and reported fa- vorably by different state commissions. None of the work that must be done by the general assembly this year has been unnecessarily delayed, Both houses are more than ordinarily capa- ble. Tn 1879 the high-water mark was reacaed in regard to legislative ability, That was crucial year in Connecticut politics, and every effort was made in
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