The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-02
LEGISLATURE WEARS THE END Mississippi Solons Clear
 Calendars. A HARD WORKING BODY
Constitutional Prohibition Still in
 Doubt.
Teierhsae Company is o.iy Corperation Under Severe Fire sf The Lawmaker. at
 Jackson.
BY DAVID HOLT.

After Monday March ?, no more bills may be introduced in the lower House of the Legislature
 The States Congress has been in ses- sion for forty-five working days and nearIy $50 bills have been presented. to say nothing of countless resolu- tfons. great and small.
 have reported every legislature in s Mississippi, in whole or in part since the extraordinary session called during the McLaurfn administrations When Hon Bill StegalI of Pontotoc made him. self famous with his What are we here for2" speech. wherein he referred to sOld Beck.D and his desire to go home and roll the dry clods pro and cons--and I can say that this is the hardest working. the most sober and serious legislative body that has as- ssmbled in this state in all that time
 The committee meetings are we'll at- tended and the way they kill useless bills would qualify the committeeman for positions in q slaughter house. A bill killed in committee Is very nearly dead bird" and but few of those adversely reported are ever brought to
 Even at the present high rate of speed. however. the calendars can scarcely be cleared of meritorious measures so that fine legislature may adjourn sine die. before March 20 or 21.
 No child labor law has been adopted though many bills touching that and similar subjects now rest with the conn mittee on manufacturies. There arc not many cotton factories in this state and child lahor conditions here are not nad/ The motives of those who seek 10 bring about the passage of such &aaaMures as are applicable to Q state like Massachusetts are of better quality Than their information on local condi- kfons.
 ssss- :. ......4.&,,xs.~.1 --.A.hs4..-s-... xnent has not yet passed the House. where 1t struck severe and unexpected opposition. For submission to the people such a proposed amendment requires a two-thirds majority in each branch of the Legislature on three several days. The first day on which 1t was called up the resolution failed to receive two-thirds of the votes cast. The vote by which the resolution failed was reconsidered through the Kindness cf Speaker Street. though not an accordance with precedent--and on reconsideration received two-tIrirds of all the votes lost but not two-thirds of the entire House
 Whether a constitutional measure can De cubmitfed under these conditions is question which the courts will probably have to decide. Many mefi- oers of the Legislature look upon state prohibition as an experiment worth trying who are opposed to placing such sumptuary laws in the constitution until they have been thor oslghly tried
 The resolution yesterday passed it's second reading and according to the dope on the subject it seems that the Senate will kill the resolution. even fl the House does not do so. At any rate II VIII have to fight hard for existance af each of It's five readinE-or ten. if the vote is to be reeonsfdered each Va killer of the first magnitude.
 The Senate passed the bill to pro- hibit the leasing of county convicts to any firms or individuals at the Thursday afternoon session. and took. thereby. long step toward q. doing away with a source of many NcrueI iniquities. It Is true that the greater number of the county convicts leased are negroes. and probably deserve severe punishment, but such sentence is often equivalent to a death sentence and mot only that. 1t occasionally catches white man.
 Hereafter, is the bill passes the House the County convicts will have the pleasure of either working the roads or convict farm. There will be fight against this measure in the house. The court house rings are all against 1t and the patronage distrib- utOrs are much better organized in the house than in the senate
 All of the animosity against corpor- ations seems to have been condensed and directed against the Cumberland Telephone and Telegraph Company.
 The two-cent passenger rate bill was put to death in the senate and there is no agitation in favor of dras- tic laws against telegraph, express or other public cervice corporations, but the. ax is laid at the foot of the Cumberland and there are those in the 14 E.s.A annihilation.
 The Physical Connection" bill pass ed the senate Thursday. and If the house does not concur it will be be- cause the measure has been shown to menace some of the established in- dependent companies having exchanges and long distance lines. Small local exchanges desiring to use the lond dis- tance lines of another company may do so under the terms of this bill, and a nominal fixed commission or fee goes to the company first handling the message. The Cumberland people say & at such system would cripple their Hervice. making contemplated ex- tensions of the lines down the Little J." Gulf and Kansas City and oth CT Tailroads, the citizens along which are clamoring for long distance tele- phone services. The reply to this plea Is another bill which will penalize that--or any other company-ror not promptly putting in phones on demand and for not handling business in a satisfactory manner. It is admitted \ that if these bills become laws mush room telephone exchanges will spring AIp in the larger towns and cities for the sole purpose of using the long distance lines of the larger compa- nies But, even if these bills become laws. 1t will not be safe for anyone to make the investment in such new companies until the courts have pass cd upon the legality of such legisla- ton The telephone people say 1t Is confiscatory, and that seems to be a very orninous word in these days.
 II was predicted that the attitude oe the state would change toward foreign insurance companies since ex- state Insurance Commissioner W. o. S Cole has become connected with local oornpanies. Mir. Cole has always been f,iaf vet exasting. in his official deal Snrs with the outside insurance com nanies. The only change in his atti- fude now reported is that he now fav- ora the pending law to require all fIfe insurance companies to deposit sss GOO in the state, to protect agents and parties insured. Local insurance arents favor the bin and the eompa- nles do not seem to be fighting 1t.
 Revenue GilI Amended.