The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-03-19
Stayed With Them Until He
Saw Them Signed in Both
Bodies That Night.
House of Refuge and Hospital
Now Wanted.
$i5O,OOO REVENUE FOR CITY

Perhaps the best satisfied indvidua,
today in Paducah is Mayor James p.
Smith, who literally fought through
the lower house of the general as
sembly the high license and the police
bills, which were In the hands of the
committee on rules with $50 other
measures, that other people wanted
passed just as much as Mayor Smith
and the people of Paducah wanted
these two.
The license bill will add $4,000
revenue to the city in the four years
of Mayor Smiths term. The police
bill will enable the city to save sew
eral thousand dollars of expense.
What the additional revenue to the
city will mean is little appreciated
outside the city hall. While the reve-
nue. has been scarcely sufficient to
meet current expenses, and the last
general council was compelled to in
cur floating debt to repair the city
| lighting plant, there are improve
ments and repairs actually demanded.
Mayor Smith has undertaken this
year to pay of half the floating debt
of $4,000. His idea, as stated to-
day, is to enter with the county on
the two projects he outlined to Judge
Lightfoot and the fiscal court, joint
county and city house of refuge, and
contagious hospital. There are poor
people who cannot gain admittanc>
TO the city hospital" he said. "for
fear they will endanger the lives of
Those already there. yet that are I'm
need of attention. There is no place
to take them, and it is a reflection on
the community that. they are allowed
to suffer.
| 81 believe, too, that II the people
of Paducah knew how many waits are
being brought up amidst criminal
and loathsome surroundings, bright
little youngsters, they would be horri-
fed. I never appreciated the condi-
ton until 1t was brought to my Off
cial notice. We will save money by
building such an institution. 1t would
not be a competitor of the Home oil
the Friendless. 1t will take care of a
class the Home cannot reach, and has
not capacity for"
| These bills will become laws in
80 days. The city can fix the saloon
license at $500 for the second half of
the present calendar year, which will
yield about $12,25O revenue addi-
ltional TO that already anticipated in
the city budget. .r..
How Bills Were Passed.
The high license bill was passed
Monday in the house, having already
passed the senate, but the substitute
police bill was still pending in thu
house when the last session was
called to order The bill, fixing the
minimum police force at 90 and the
maximum at rs, had passed the sem
ate, but the bill in the house. had no
Imaximum and minimum and con-
tanned no civil service provision.
In the night Mayor Smith gained
knowledge that the police bill was not
on the calendar. and he went to
Chairman Klair, of the rules commit
tee. Klair was temporarily in the
chair, but he said he would take the
floor and advocate the bill. 1t was
called the second one after that and
Ipassed.
Then the measure was rusned to
the senate, but there pandemonium
was reigning. A strong coterie was
trying to effect an adjournment to
prevent the passage OF house bin,
land it was difficult to get a hearing,
but the police bill needed senate con-
currence. and moreover, it had to be
copied.
1t was necessary for City Solicitor
Campbell, who had been doing yeo-
man service in the passage of the
measure, to split the bill among sew
ieral stenographers to get the work
done, and IT cost a good many times
more than ordinary stenographer's
fees to hurry it up.
No one was listening to anybody
else in the senate, but Mayor Smith
Swung his fist emphatically a few
times in front of the right parties and
succeeded in transmitting some of his
energy and enthusiasm to them, and
the bill went through, He sat up
with the legislators until o'clock in
the morning to see the bills signed.
1 81
Mr.. F. w Katterjohn. of, the board