Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-10-30
THIRD WEEK.
Legislature Now Settling Down
to Business With Two Hun
dred Bills Airesdy Introduces.
No Hope For Adjournment
Before Thanksgiving.

No Hope For Adjournment
Before Thanksgiving.
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 &C
ton: the second week there was moth |
ing doing because the Committees had
not reported on the hills; laS week was
Ladies' week and of course the ladies
could not be neglected. However, the
social functions seem to be over aud
again we promise to get down to work.
The result of the three weeks shows
about two hundred bills introduced and
only this week renal ns for the introduc-
ton of new bills. 1t is expected that
at least three hundred more bills will he
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 two
hundred bills were in relation to hunt
ing and fishing. Two very meritorions
bills have been passed and approved by
the Governor The relief measure for
the City OF St. Adams and the bill grant
ing 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 prob
ably take up the matter of taxation i'll
relation to which there has been no less
than dozen bills introduced. Every
body has a 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 ow
ing to persons or corporations outside
the state. Every one of these bills has
some supporters, but the bill introduced
by Senator Bliss of Washington County
seems to be the fairest one of all and
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 person.
al property which has been in posses
sion of the debtor for at least three
months and which is included in the
inventory. The poor man who is honest
can "swear off 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. Repre-
sentative Wheeler of South Burlington
has introduced bill which upon the
surface appears to obviate some of the
evils of double taxation. This bill pro-
Z
vides that person paying taxes npou
property upon which there is an incum
brance 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. Upo" presenta
,ion of this second receipt to the holder
of the mortgage the mortgagor shall be
given credit upon the mortgage debt fo'
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 no,
yet been discus1 enough to warrant &
prophecy as to its probabilities of pass
age. Other bills of miscellaneous ma.
ture regarding the listers and tax inven
tories are numerous and many of then
will die natural death.
The Senate has passed bills abolishine
the Court Of Claims and providing tina
persons sentenced for committing mis-
demeanors shall be confined in Count,
Jail instead of at Rutland. The hous,
has passed bills providing for stsnog
rapher for the Governor and the bll
which provided that deer shall be kllet
only between sunrise aud sunset of tn
last six working days OF October. TIL
Trustee process bill is being held "
for amendment. That is about all tina
has been done up to date. The liquo
bills are still in the hands of committees
The breadth Of thought of the mem
hers is shown by the bills which hav
heen introduced, among which are bill
relating to appropriations for Count
fairs, fixing pay for" side judges" relat
ing to the Trustees of the M. E. Church
providing penalty for careless shooting
preventing forest fires, regulating tn
lobby, celebrating the discovery of LAX
Champlain, creating Board of Forestry
establishing a department of pedagog
at Middlebury College, employers liabili
ty act, to pay several persons the sur
therein named, new liquor laws, appro
priations for the state geologist, to SUP
press hedghogs, legalizing grand list q
several towns, relating to plaralit
election OF representatives after frs