The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1907-01-02
LEGISLATURE To
OPEN NEXT WEEK
Senator kirknan and RepreS-
entative RatIiff Will Leave
Next Monday.
MANY BILLS COMING UP
AGREED THAT TWO QUESTIONS.
PUBLIC REPOSITORIES AND
HIGH LIQUOR LICENSE WILL BE
PARAMOUNT.

r. E. kirkman, State Senator, and
Walter S. Ratliff, Representative, will
go TO Indianapolis next Monday or
Tuesday TO take part in the prelim-
mary skirmishes incident TO the open
ing of the General Assembly. Thurs
day, January 10, is the date upon
which the Legislature wheels will begin
to grind and for period of sixty days,
the laws will be ground out or ground
up as the case may be.
| However, there appears at this ear
| ly day every indication that the hopper
will be filled with bills presented by
ambitious legislators, but it is another
matter to predict just what per cen
tage of these will come forth from the
intricate meshes of the law-making
machinery as actual statutes.
The manner in which many promis-
ing bills will be mangled. torn limb
from limb, as it were, will be appall-
ing, though not more so that in past
years. 1t is known that Senator Kirk
have measures which they will present
to the General Assembly, but neither,
up to this time, has deemed it in
cumbent to divulge the nature of the
bills which they will advocate. Sen
ator kirkman will enter the Senate
for the second time and as a member
of the General Assembly, the fourth
time, for he has served two terms
in the House. 1t is understood that
Senator Kirkman is slated for the
craftsmanship of an important commit
tee in the Senate and he will be a
member of one or two others that will
play important roles in affairs of this
branch of the Assembly.
Representative RatIiff will make his
debut as statesman when he enters
the House, but there will be Others"
for more than three-fourthS of the one
hundred members of the lower branch
will be new to their duties. Repres-
entative Ratiff, however, is now new
to State affairs, for in the pursuit of
agricultural and horticultural work he
has been Unidentified with State organ
izations for several years and he goes
into the General Assembly splendidly
in a manner that will reflect credit
upon the choice of the voters.
According to the views of those
persons in a position to know the
sentiment of Legislature and the peo-
pie, two questions will be paramount
public repositories and high liquor
license.
C. B. Lester, the assistant librarian
at the State House, Indianapolis, who
looks after the legislative reference
work said yesterday:
THE interest that the Legislature
manifests in the public depository
question exceeds that in any other
subject said Mr. Lester. .'At least,
find this true, judging from the num-
Der of inquiries that come to this Of
flee. The Legislators ask about almost
every phase of the question, and about |
two in particular.
THE matter of interest concerns |
most of those who inquire. Questions |
as to whether maximum or mini
mum rate shall be fixed by the law for
the repositories are most frequent. In |
favor of the establishment, by law, or
a maximum interest rate in the argu-
bank from getting the deposits by max
ing high bid for them.
To Prevent Collision.
I'm favor of the minimum rate to be |
by law is the argument |
that this will prevent collision among
the banks that would result in low /
rate being offered.
Then, too, the legislators are inter
ested in the question of security that /
the banks are to furnish to obtain the |
public funds. Sentiment seems to be
divided between a surety bond and
commercial collateral. Generally |
speaking, good collateral is counted |
as being better than a surety bond,
but the trouble seems to be that banks
are opposed to putting up collateral.
Interest in the liquor legislation
comes second only to that in the pub
lie repositories" concluded Mr.. Lester.
I'VE are asked for information on all
phases of the higher license question.
AS we have collected all the data OBJ
as to the workings of such
a law, we are able to help the legisla-
tors in practical way"