The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-24
nv T. n. REESE.

claO --In a week Tallahassee will have assumed a much buster appearance. The Legislature convenes April 3, and the advance guard will move on tho city some days in advance.
 The hotels are already preparing for the rush and at the Loon, which is the principal house of accommodation, the pool rooms are being cleared and all other available space will be turned in- to bed rooms, for the Legislature brings not only the members, but great crowd of politicians, lobbyists and hangers s-on, increasing the normal pop uiation of the little Capital City by several hundred during the session, The hotel accommodations are never sufficient to provide for the increase and every other residence becomes Tor the time a resting place for transient statesmen.
 Interest beyond the normal attaches to the organization of the House and Senate. for the reason, that none Of the candidates for Speaker of the House and President of the Senate appears to have encompassed his election beyond the projection of a doubt.
 Some of the Candidates.
 West Floride has a candidate for each place J. Pope Reese has never yet made avowal of entry as possi- bility for the speakership. but he is regarded as a logical candidate. MT. Reese Is from Pensacola He is County Attorney of Escambia, and was recent I yappointed by the United States Ate torney General to assist the District Attorney in the prosecution of the peonage cases at Pensacola and Jack~ sonville. He Is regarded as an able lawyer ,and is being put forward by his friends to oppose the candidacy of Eugene Matthews ofBradford. for the speaership.
 Mir Matthews is looked upon as the of St. Augustine. is also mentioned as in most other States. the line of de- marcakion Is drawn as for or against the corporations. I. H. McWilliams. OF St. Augustine, is also mentioned aS a speaixership possibility.
 Hunt Harris of Key West. is being opposed for the presidency of the sen- ate by Dr. Theop. West of Jackson County. The geographical extremes of the State will meet in this contest Harris Is the corporation candidate and Dr. West is the representative in the contest of that indefnable class known as "the people" Both are well equip ped for the office, and the greatest inc ferest centers about this contest be-. cause of the large following which e9ch commands.
 Some Proposed LewtsIafIOns
 
 dealt with the great variety of Senne. dial measures that will be proposed at the coming session, and no session has ever had so many plausible claims for tn appropriation of money as will be offered. It would not. therefore. be sur prising. if the Legislature goes into the record-smashing business so far as Legislation and appropriations go.
 Mention has already been made in these columns of some of the more i'm. portant measures to be considered. These are known in advance of the session, and there is no telling how many b Is are up the sleeves of mem- bers who think 1t better policy to wait until they are on the ground before revealing their purposes.
 It is certain that there will be franchise tax bill. which will be oppos- ed by a strong lobby representing the corporations; there will be an imrni. grafton bill: a school book uniformity measure; a revision of the tax assess ment law; a good roads bill; a bill for an appropriation for an annex to the State Capitol, and a State arsenal; a bill for increasing The appropriation for public education; bill for the tax. ation of the fish and game industries and the appointment of q fish and game commissioner; a bill for the crea- tion of the position of state Librarian, and one for the employmene of special counsel for the Railroad Commission.
 These may be enumerated as only Q few, and nearly all of them call for special appropriations. That each of them represents a need now existing that should be supplied cannot be de- nied, but 1t remains with the Legisla- ture to say if these needs shall be sup piled, or If they shall wait. The ur- gency of procuring leglslation on im- portant matters is accenuated when the Legislature meets only bi-ennially. as is the case in Florida.
 If the needed reforms are not att tended to at this session, it means that those most interested. must chafe un- der the disappointment and wait for two years with the attendant uncer- tainty that anything will De done even them