The Glenwood post., 1907-02-02
LEGISLATIVE NEWS AND GOSSIP

appointed Senators Campbell, De La
Vergne and Lewis to serve on the joint
committee of seven, which will inves-
tigate the estate of the late WinAeld
S. Stratton. This committee will be-
gin its inquiry at the earliest possible
date. as it has but thirty days in which
to work.
A bill to reorganiZe the state mill
tia, in compliance with the terms OF
the Dick law, passed by the national
Congress four years ago, was pre-
sented in the House by Mr.. Kelly. The
bill seeks also to take some of tho
weight off the top of the state guard,
so that it will not be so much an affair
of officers. The regular army has dis
carded the brigade formation, which
is retained by the Colorado guard,
making the latter a subject of criti-
cism whenever officers of the two
meet to discuss military affairs.
Should the bill become a law, the adj
jutant general would be the recognized
head of the guard 1t also provides
for the organization of an ordnance
department.
Mr. Kelly has introduced bill in
the House in reference to the G. w.
Clayton estate. The bill has been
both Moses Hallett, the administrator
of the estate, and r. w. Speer, mayor
of Denver The bill provides that the
will shall refer to property in the
county of Denver, instead of the
county of Arapahoe, and that the pro-
posed home shall be built in the county
of Denver, instead of the county of
Arapahoe, these provisions being IN
line with the expressed wish of the
maker of the will. The bill will also
permit the administrator to hold GER
tain real estate longer than the ten
years mentioned in the will Should
the sale be forced at the end of the
ten years it might result in loss to the
estate.
Two bills by Senator Parks which
have gone through the Senate may
meet with opposition in the House.
One is to abolish the salaries of mem
berS of state boards and commissions,
placing all in an honorary position
and requiring members to draw moth
ing more than their actual expenses.
This is Buchtel proposal and should
have easier sailing. The other affects
county officers, and, it is estimated,
would bring saving of from s1J00O0
to 100000 per annum to taxpayers.
1t is to keep down the expense ac-
counts of county officers to actual out
lay. Under the law they can charge
10 cents a mile as mileage, even when
they travel on passes. Under the pro-.
posed measure the maximum charge is
3 cents per mile when fare is paid and
nothing when passes are used
The Senate Thursday, in committee
of the whole, took up the long-deferred
local option measure, S. b. No. 40, by
Senator Drake. Senators jefferson,
Wood and Adams led the sharpshoot-
ing against this measure. Senator Ad-
ans offered an amendment to change
the words "anti-saloon territory" to
'anti-liquor territory" If liquor could
not be sold in saloons he didn't want
it sold anywhere. He professed to be
perfectly honest in his attitude, as did
Senator Wood. Defenders of the
Drake bill, including Senator Booth,
said the object of the bill was to al
low the people by popular vote to set
aside certain territories where saloons
could not operate. and that substitu-
tion of the word liquor" for saloon"
would destroy the effect of the entire
measure. The motion to substitute
was lost, being supported only by nine
votes.
The joint committee from the Sen
ate and House of Representatives met
and decided to hold the investigation
of the Stratton estate at Colorado
Springs where certified copies of i'm
portant papers in the case may be
readily seen and there will be less diff
fculty in getting at the actual condi-
tions. Senator Campbell was made
chairman of the Stratton investigating
committee and Representative Collins
was made secretary. They will occupy
these positions permanently during the
The committee con
sists of Senators Campbell, De La
Vergne and Barela, and Representa-
tives Collins, HARRISON, Lines and
Young The committee decided to re-
convene in Denver on January 31st and
go Immediately to the Springs. Sena-
tor Campbell estimates that the entire
hearing will not consume more than
three days.
The Senate committee on state in
stitutions in its report says: On ac-
count of the enormous amount ex-
pended for coal, for fuel and other pur-
pose; by the state institutions. and
being advised by the warden of the
state renltSnllafy tlat auul'lonal means
should be devised for the work and
employment of the prisoners in that
institution, and being further advised
that the state owns tract of land on
which are coal deposits, your commit
tee believes that 1t would be wise and
economical al well as a great help in
the discipline of the prisoners at the
State Penitentiary If the prisoners
were set to work developing, operating
and mining coal on the coal lands Of the
state for the purpose of supplying coal
as far as possible for the use of the
penitentiary and other state institu-
tions. The present warden of the pen
itentiary heartily favors this idea, and
the committee recommends that the
necessary laws be enacted to carry it
into effect.
Archuleta county comes to the front
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