St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1908-10-28
Third Week.
Legislature now Settling Down to
Business with Two Hundred Bills
Already Introduced. No Hope
for Adjournment before Thanks
giving.
From our Legislative Correspondent

Every week brings new hope that the
Legislature is about to settle down to
business. The first week it was the lack
of organization that prevented action;
the second week there was nothing
reported on the bills; last week was
ladies week and of course the ladies
could not be neglected However, the
social functions seem to be over and
again we promise to get down to work.
The result of the three weeks show
about two hundred bills introduced and
only this week remains for the intro
duction of new bills. 1t is expected that
at least 300 more bills will be
introduced this week and there will be
but three full weeks before Thanksgiving
in which to fully consider, amend, pass
or kill them Twenty OF the first 200
bills were in relation TO hunting and
fishing. Two very meritorious bills have
been passed and approved by the
Governor: The relief measure for the
City of ST. Adams and the bill granting
the Governor power to suspend the open
season on game, the last of which has
already been given wide publicity
throughout the state.
After the fish and game laws have been
attended to the assembly will probably
take up the matter Of taxation, in rela-
ton to which there has been no less
than a dozen bills introduced Every
body has remedy. Some bills provide
that all offsets be abolished; Others that
only debts owing within the state shall
be offset, and one provides that only
such debts may be offset as are due and
owing to persons or corporations out
side the state. Every one OF these bills
has some supporters, but the bill intro
duced by Senator Bliss of Washington
county seems to be the fairest one of all
and will probably be the neutral ground
upon which the legislators will finally
settle. This bill provides that only such
debts may be offset as are recorded in
the town clerks office, or such debts as
are for the purchase price of real or
personal property which has been in
possession of the debtor for at least
| three months and which is included in
| the tax inventory. The poor man who
| is honest can Swear of his honest debt
and the we'll to do man who is dishonest
will have some difficulty in evading his
taxes without impairing his credit.
/ Representative Wheeler of South Bur
/ liugton has introduced a bill which upon
the surface appears to obviate some OF
the evils of double taxation. This bill
provides that a person paying taxes
upon property upon which there is an
incumbrance may demand two receipts
from the collector, one showing the tax
upon the unencumbered value of the
property, and the other showing the tax
upon the encountered portion. Upon
presentation of this second receipt to the
holder OF the mortgage the mortgagor
shall be given credit upon the mortgage
debt for the amount which he has paid
upon the mortgaged portion of the
property. This bill will affect the rate
of interest on mortgage loans somewhat
and it has not yet been discusse
enough to warrant prophesy as to its
probabilities of passage. Other bills o
miscellaneous nature regarding The
listers and tax inventories are numerou.
and many of them will die a natura
death,
The Senate has passed bills abolishinl
the court of claims and providing tina
persons sentenced for committing misde
meanors shall be confined in county jai
instead of at Rutland. The House ha
passed bills providing for a stenographe
for the Governor and the bill which pro
vided that deer shall be killed only be
tween sunrise and sunset OF the last sil
working days of October. The trustee
process bill is being held up for amend
ment. That is about all that has beer
done up to date, The liquor bills ar
still in the hands of committees.
The breadth of thought of the member
is shown by the bills which have beer
introduced, among which are bills re
lating to appropriations for county fairs
fixing pay for "side judges " relating t.
the trustees of the Methodist church
providing penalty for careless shooting
preventing forest fires, regulating tn
lobby, celebrating the discovery Of LAX
Champlain, creating board OF forestry
establishing department Of pedagog.
at Middlebury College, employers liza
bility act, to pay several persons tn
sum therein named, new liquor laws
appropriations from the state geologist
to suppress hedge-hogs, legalizing gram
,, list of several towns, relating to plu
, rality election of representatives afte
, first ballot, to intolerabe severity as
: ground of divorce, relating to courts c
inquiry as to insane persons, docking
horses, railroad regulations, making