The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1908-02-20
OHIO STATE
LEGISLATURE:

What is claimed to be Vita
weakness in both the Huffman
primary election bill which passed d
the Senate, and the Bronson bill is
that it gives to the dominant fac
tion the control of the primaries
through the appointment of the
sole challenger. 1t is argued that
the Importance of direct primary
is to permit opposition to the
"machine" and under the pro-
posed plans the independents could
have no ohallengers or witnesses.
The Huffman bill, despite the fact
that serious opposition was threat.
ened passed the Senate without n
dissenting vote, 1t received 80
votes, Senator'S Carter Rose and
Sites being absent, and Senators
AtWell and Williams not voting.
Amendments were adopted by
Senator Howe that slgners of nom
ination petitions pledge themselves
to the party principles and that it
require per cent of the total vote
cast to entitle party to recogni-
tionfor primaries Espy had an
amendments adopted requiring
the ward and precinct residences
of slgners of petitions.
Ths Rose county local option
bill, passed by the Senate last
week, was sent to the House and
read. 1t will be referred to The
Committee on Temperance. With
out doubt the committee will re-
port the bill favorably and recon-
mend its passage, but Chairman
Briggs says that he will afford
both the temperance people and
the liquor interests ample oppor-
tunity to present arguments at
public hearings. 1t is expected
that the bill will be reached for
vote in the House within two or
three weeks. At the Republican
primaries Tuesday every legislator
who was up for denomination, and
who was known to be favorable to
the Rose bill, was renominated.
This, the Anti Saloon league peo-
pie say, is the strongest evidence
of the approval of the bill by the
voters.
By vote of II to 4, the
House of Representatives made
half law of the Shuler bill that
restores to municipalities the right
to sell electric current for private
lighting purposes. 1t was sup
posed that such right existed, but
the supreme court, in case
brought by taxpayer of Nelson
Vile, recently decided that muni-
cipalities have no such authority
Mr.. Tinker, of Ross county, offer
ed an amendment providing that
municipalities could not sell
current below cost price and that
in figuring the cost five per cent
must be figured for interest and
another five per cent added for
depreciation of the plant.
What was charged to be a
scheme of the liquor interests to
nulllfy the Sunday saloon closing
law was defeated by the House of
Representatives, when it passed
and made a half law of the Hat
field bill that makes it misde-
meanor to keep saloons open on
Memorial day. Last week Repre-.
sentative Foster of Hancock coun-
ty slipped an innocent-appearing
amendment into the bill providing
that it also be misdemeanor for
any person to go into saloon or
buy liquor on Memorial day. 1t
was discovered that there was a
sleeper in the amendment that eX-
tended it's operation to the Sunday
law, so that entering saloon on
Sunday would also be u misde-
meanor. 1t was openly charged
on the floor of the House that the
object of the Foster amendment
was to make it impossible to OBJ
tain evidence against saloon keep
ers who violate the Sunday law.
After the Foster amendment had
been eliminated, the bill was
passed by a vote of so ayes and
10 noes,
Contrary to expectations, the
Gaymnn Senate joint resolution,
proposing an amendment to the
constitution bV winch the General