Live Oak daily Democrat. (Live Oak, Fla.) 190?-190?, 1907-04-20
WARM AND DETERMINED FIGHTS
OVER MANY OF THE IMPORT
ANT MEASURES
OUR SUZANNE COUNTY
Representative Holding their Own as
! Lawmakers-Consid Interest
In Senatorial Race i'm Suwannee


Tallahassee, April 21.-Another
breathing spell and no more legisla-
tive until Monday afternoon, at four,
both houses adjoining yesterday
after morning session.
On yesterday, after transacting
routine business, the house proceed
ed to the consideration of the Wat
son primary election bill. Mr.. Reese,
of Escambia, offered lengthy
amendment, which was accepted pro-
viding very strict regulations against
interference with voters at the polls,
and several other amendments were
adopted, and others lost. As a last
resort against the passage of section
3, which permits inspectors to pre-
pare ballots for those who are blind,
or disabled, or cannot read well
enough to prepare their own ballots,
Mr.. Reese moved to strike out the
entire section, having lost his tight
the day before against the provision
those who cannot read sufficiently
well TO prepare their own ballots"
n motion to lay it on the table cut
debate short; and Mr.. Reese ex-
planned that his action was dictated
by his fears of the corruption which
would result in the event that the
Inspectors were allowed to mark the
ballots for those who would declare
they were. not able to read their bah
lots, in order to have an inspector
witness that they delivered the
goods, when they had been bribed.
The motion to lay on the table pre-
vailed by vote of AZ to II, those
voting in the negative being Messrs.
Decker, Dudley. Farris, Long,
Matthews of Marion, Melton, Millinor,
Ogilvie. Paul, Reese, Register, Rowe
and Smith.
The special order of the day In the
house was the bill of Mr., Matthews,
of Marion, to authorize the employ
ment of special counsel by the rail-
road commission, and together with
it one by Mr.. Carter, of Alachua, for
the creation of the Office of assistant
attorney general Mr.. Matthews bill
passed to third reading without OPP
position. Mr.. Carter desired that
consideration of his bill be postponed,
on account of the absence of parties
interested in it, but the house would
not agree to this, and the bill was
accordingly taken up.
The main feature of Mr.. Carter's
bill was that it provided that all
legal business of the state should be
transacted through the Office of the
attorney general, and would prevent
the employment of special counsel by
the railroad commission, the internal
7 improvement board, and other de-
partments or boards. Mr.. Carter and
Mr.. MacWilliams, chairman of the
judiciary committee, which reported
the bill favorably, spoke in its be-
half.
Mr. Matthews commended on the
! other side that the commission should
be empowered to employ counsel in
sympathy with them. and not have
to call upon the attorney general
Mr.. Matthews, however, won a
clear victory for his contentious, and
I his motion to strike from the Carter
bill the first section, which provides
that all the states legal business shall
be transacted through the Office of
/ the attorney general, was carried by
a vote of 80 to II on roll call AS
amended the Carter bill then went to
/ the engrossing committee. AS now
stands, the Carter bill simply pro-
vides for the Office of assistant at
torney general.
! Mr.. Crane in the senate introduced
a bill appropriating $4,000 a year
for two years for the Florida State
Mid-Winter Fair at Tampa, and Mr..