The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-11-24
DONE AND
NOT DONE BY
LEGISLATURE
Has Disposed Of But 1872 Out of
662 Bills
TOWN SPIRIT PREVAILS
Local Control Of Affairs by Each Com
munty Controlling Idea in Leg
islation

The st. Adams Messenger yesterday
published the following special from
Montpelier:
When the members OF the legisla-
ture started for home Saturday morn
ing they had something more than
$50, 600 in their pockets and in their
minds the consciousness that a large
amount of important work remained
to be performed after they return.
Out Of 662 bills introduced in the two
houses only 1872 have been finally dis
posed of, and few Of those are of real
Importance.
There have been 547 bills mtroduc.
ed in the house OF these l40 have
been passed and sent to the senate
SO have been killed, and three dis
missed; Is have been ordered to "a
third reading. 3l4 are in the hands of
the committees and the remainder are
in the files or have been ordered 10
lie.
OF the l40 bills sent TO the senate
HsX have been killed and 50 passed
The senate has sent 81 bills to the
house. That body has killed five.
ItAoa'A - NlAih Nn OAlf w q tiiiA u ANnu
ing, and the others are with the COM
mittees
The bills are distributed among the
house committees as follows: Agricul
ture, s. appropriations. p. banks. 10:
corporation 10; claims. 2: education.
10; elections. 9 game and fisheries.
81; general 10, grand list e high
ways and bridges, S. insurance. 3;
judiciary SO, military affairs, 2. mum
cipal corporations. H.. public health.
~, railroads, -; state and court eX-
penses, TO- special joint committee on
taxation, 81 temperance 20
II may be guessed from the number
Of bills remaining in the hands of such
committees as the judiciary. temper
ance, taxation. education. and appro-
! priations. that much of the more inn.
portant work OF the session is yet 10
he disposed Of In fact hardly any of
the important work has been finished
IL is impossible to tell what progress
has been made ON the bills the com.
mittees now hold, but it is certain that
good deal Of time viii be required
for their proper consideration. Even
the committee ON highways and
bridges has eight bills yet In lbs pos
session and some OF these are of such
consequence that even II they are 90
be killed 10 will require some time
TO reach the killing stage.
IL The committee on game and fisher
les has got through with one import
ant bill permitting The killing OF doe
and that measure has gone TO the
| governor IL Il had not been delayed
in the senate it probably would not
have passed as 10 Is claimed that
there was at one time majority
against II in that body. II is claimed
by some of It's advocates that there is
such a surplus OF doe that many OF
them are barren aud that the iucrcas,
OF deer would be larger II some OF On,
females were killed on for a year OF
| two The principal argument how
ever. was that New York and New
Hampshire permit the killing OF do,
l and that Vermont is raising female
J deer To be killed whenever they stray
across the line into those states j
Is suggested. however. that deer are az
likely TO stray from those states int
= Vermont, where the open season ID
: much shorter, and that this state gains
) more deer than It loses by the eN
change.
OF the twenty bills In the hands o
the temperance committee some arr
OF much importance. like the county
option bill. or the two measures. pro
posed by Kinsley of Rutland and How,
OF Bennington, providing for a state
licensing board County option ha
made little progress thus far III
principal advocates are among thosu
who would prefer a return to stat
prohibition. The town Is the unit %
government In Vermont. and the 2il
| towns which cling jealousy to thel
privilege of sending a representative
to the Legislature appear disposed, 81
far as the statements of their repre-
sentatives give any clue 10 the mat
| ter to insist on the privilege OF regu
lating all their internal affairs whicl
\ the law now entrusts to them.
This same spirit has made the pros
4 poet OF passing the Kinsley bill for
? state licensing board doubtful an,
= makes the compromise measure OF
tered by MIR Howe appear foasibl,
Local control Is preserved In thi
) proposition. though state supervision
, is TO be exercised and apparently tn
I benefits OF state supervision and loca
control of the liquor traffic would b
l secured without the disadvantage. "a,
tual or claimed, OF either Of then
. alone
> The provision for an nn.keeper'
license or for a summer hotel licens,
. carried In the nouoway bill aud som
. other bill. meets with scanl favol
other bills meets with scant favol
The debate and action ON the Barho
= bil to regulate Sunday opening q
l certain business places revealed dii
like Of change aud distaste for an,
thing that does not conform 10 III
accepted conventional ideas of me
= rality In fact from what one en-
learn of the house as whole. IL
more disposed TO make greater n
strictions than to allow larger priv
lcges In the matter Of the liquc
traffic.
Il Is not to be- expected that th
I appropriations committee viii get Il
\ bills out OF the way very early.
y must have them all In before Il ca
decide what the state cam afford
spend. and then make It's soleCtio
from the most deserving measures.
. The judiciary committee has worke
hard aud has met so many rehuhs