St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1908-12-23
A Needed Rest.

A Busy Week spent in Clearing
Decks for Final Action.
Our confidence that the present legisla-
ture would do something before it fin
ally adjourned has not been misplaced.
1t has already established for itself a
record never equalled by any other like
body in Vermont, by taking a holiday
vacation. Before final adjournment it
will have held sessions in at least four
different months, October, November,
December, January and possibly Febru-
airy. The work yet to be done is of far
more Importance to the state than all
that has been done. but this should not
be construed to mean that nothing has
been done during the many weeks of the
session. Hundreds OF bills have been dis
posed Of but they have all been Of pri-
vate or local interest. Bank charters,
city, village and town charters, and rail-
road charters have been amended cleo
trio railroads have been incorporated
and town lines have been changed Sal
aries have been raised for judges, states
attorneys. county clerks, secretaries, au-
ditors and governors. The agricultural
interests have been disposed of by com.
bining the agricultural and forestry de
partments with expenditures not to ex-
coed $12, 900 per year. The cattle com
mission has been considered and is left
practically as before except that it is
given more under the control of the Gov.
ernor and its expenditures are limited to
$40, 900 per year. The State Board of
Health have asked for several small ia
vors and have received everything they
asked for. The fish and game laws have
been given considerable attention and we
may now take pickerel through the ice
from waters not inhabited by trout; but
the laws have been so changed that one
person can only catch six pounds Of
brook or rainbow trout in one day We
may shoot one deer of either sex between
sunrise and sunset during the last full
week of October. The town of Pawet
was in trouble because minority OF the
voters persisted in electing the town Off.
GERS, but the legislature refused to divide
the town on that account. The county
option bill, which was a whack at the
local option law. was killed by the
House. A bill providing for pleurality
elections on the first ballot has been
killed; so has bill to compel teachers to
teach a certain brand of temperance in
the public schools. The offset bill abol-
ishing offsets although labeled killed" is
not dead. 1t sleepeth.
The reason why this legislature is
having such a long session is because the
members are like the man from Missouri.
They have to be shown. Committees
will hol1 hearings on a particular
measure and will send in unanimous
report eitherato kill or pass the bill. A
legislature not capable of acting for
itself would naturally accept this report
and would kill or pass the bill in &C.
cordance with the recommendation of
the committee. 1t is not so with the
legislature of 190S-9. To be sure the
committees consider the matter and
report. Then some member of the House
jumps up and asks the committee why
they so reported. This starts dis
cussion in which every free thinker and
free talker in the House has to be heard.
He wants to know Just how the pro-
posed measure will affect him per-
sonally, how it will affect his neighbor
and most of all how it will affect his
own town. EThe members of this legis.
lature are suspicious of themselves. For
this reason they have moved slowly, but
when bill has finally passed the House
and Senate and been signed by the
Governor, it has surely been well
considered and wisely passed. | know
of but one mistake that has escaped
detection in its course through the com
mittee room, through the House and
Senate and finally by the Governor.
They have amended the state constitu-
ton. They have passed a law which
reads that neither branch of the General
Assembly shall pass upon any matter
relating to town lines unless such matter
shall have been advertised in the local
papers for certain length of time before
the meeting of such legislature, In other
words the legislature of 190S.9 in its
wisdom tells the legislature of 1910
what it may do in relation to town
lines. What fix we would be in now
if the legislature of 1906 had said that
the legislature of 1908 must take final
adjournment before Christmas. 1t might
have been good advice and it may be
good advice for this Legislature to say
that the next legislature shall not pass
upon matters relating to town lines.
The legislature gets its power only from
the constitution, and it is not answer
able to any preceding session. There
are dozen able lawyers in the House
and a half dozen able lawyers in the
Senate and yet this matter escaped.