The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-05-17

AT DAGGERS OVER THREE BILLS
Constitutional Convention, Pr
mary Election and Prison
Binder Irvine Plant.
Indications Are That the Bill Great
ing State immigration Com
mission Will Become Law
Other Matters.

Lansing Mich, May 14.-As the end
OF the legislative session approaches
tie usual session and clashes between
tie two houses are being experienced.
All the accumulated differences of
opinions that the session has produced
must now be ironed out and all the
legislative jockeying INDUCED in. Just
at present the two houses appear to
be endeavoring to wear out each 9th
er's patience in connection with three
more than usually important measures.
These relate to primary elections,
prison binder Irvine plant and the plan
for a convention to draft q proposed
new constitution for Michigan. These
three measures are In various stages
of completion and frausht with vary
ing complications.
Each hiuse has passed constitu-
tional convention bill, the senate beat
ing the house out so far as time is
concerned by about twenty-four hours.
The house, however, chloroformed the
senate bill with neatness and dispatch
: and passed a radically different bill
Of its own creation.
Goes to Conference Committee.
The result will be a conference con-
mittee which will undertake to adjust
the matter. The senate stood for 4
small convention, reference being had
to numbers, provision being made in
the bill passed by that body for sixty
delegates, five to be elected in each
congressional district. When this bill
was sent over TO the house there was
already on the general order Of the
latter body the Monroe bill reported
by ifs own committee on revision If
the constitution. The house stood by
its own member who introduced this
bill and promptly rejected the senate
creation and as promptly passed Rep
resentative Monroe's bill after amend
ing it so as to make the number of
delegates to the convention 100 in
stead if 11S as originally proposed.
This bill calls for one delegate3from
each representative district in the
state, fixes the compensation of dele
gates at 81 per day, provides that
candidates for delegates shall be nom
mated in August by the various polti-
cal parties, either at primaries or in
convention, as thesemethods have been
adopted by the several districts, pro
vides for an election in October and
for getting down to business in No
vember. The principal points of dis
agreement between the two houses
have to do with the number of men,
bers Of the convention and the COM
pensation they shall receive. AS
above noted the senate bill provides |
for sixty members at $40 per day,
while the house stands for 100 mem |
bers at 81 per day. Doubtless con-
ference committee will take hold Of |
the matter during the present week.
Situation Is Amusing.
The situation over the primary cleo
tion bill is somewhat amusing to the |
man in the grand stand. 1t will be re-
called that as passed by the house |
the bill provides for the nomination
of candidates for United States sena- |
tor and eliminates the 40 per cent. pro-
vision Of the present law, thereby Civ |
ing the nomination for governor and |
lieutenant governor to the candidate |
polling the highest number Of votes |
regardless of what percentage of the
total vote that number may be. These |
are the rocks on which the senate fac, |
tons split Those who oppose the |
house bill are willing to waive their |
objection to the provision relative to |
United States senators, but are eternal |
" opposed to the elimination of the |
percentage clause of the present law. |
The division is so close that the stu. |
alton just now seems to be that one |
side sis afraid and the other dassent."
The result is that the bill is permitted |
to calmly slumber in the care OF tho
committee on elections which favors
the measure as 1t came from the
house. Each side is in constant fear
that the other will take advantage Of
the temporary absence Of some Of the
opposition senators to precipitate ac-
ton on the bill This Is not likely to
happen. however, but il is evident that |
whichever is the winning side will |
have no more than vote to spare.
Binder Irvine Plant Bill.
After receiving the house bill APP
proprlating $4,000 for n binder twlne
plant in Jackson prison the senate
prison committee reported favorably
upon it and it then went, under the
rules, to the committee on finance and
appropriations. There IL still remains
In the meantime the senate got busy
and passed a bill carrying an appropri-
alton of S350,OO0 for new prison in
the trap rock district Of the upper
peninsula, the plan being to have the
inmates Of this prison crush rock for
use by the various municipalities OF
the state I'm inprovfng their hiphwavs l