Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1909-07-10
LIKELIHOOD OF RECESS
SEEMS FADING AWAY.
Still There is a Possibility of Someone
Becoming Restive During Next Hot
Wave and sprinsing Adjournment
Till Fall.
Especial to The Bulletin.)

Especial to The Bulletin.)
Hartford. July 9.-The likelihood of
the general assembly taking summer
recess is growing less and less as the
days go by, and the only probability in
that direction now lies in the POSSIBLE
ity that one of these sticky afternoons
II there ever are any more, somebody
VIII spring adjournment till fall on a
tired house and it will go through.
And there is also the possibility that
one of these days the senate won't find
IL possible to get a quorum together
know Of five senators who will shortly
sail for Europe, and two more who will
not stick it out at Hartford after the
middle of this month Senator Turner
state of his health. A quorum is eigh-
teen; with eight of the tfirty-fi five gone
there is little ieeway.
Both Houses Trying to Sprint.
Meantime. however, both houses are
trying to get along a. little faster, as
the willingness of the senate to sit to-
day, after having no session Tuesday
because of the Norwich celebration,
and the energy which the house is put
ting into afternoon sessions teStifies to.
Most of the best Judges are setting
final adjournment about August Is
now, and it will hardly be before that,
but ought to come by then if matters
go along well. The praise that Chand-
Ter of Rocky Hill accorded the legisla-
ture because of its unorGanized condi-
ton in his Fourth of July speech had
really little point. With an organized
house. such as usually exists at this
stage of the session, all of the business
which has been done thus far, ana
which amounts to anything, could have
been done over two months ago, and
much more added to it, so that moth
ing but the public utilities matter
would now delay final adjournment.
Speaking generally, that is; of course
there would be other matters which
wouldn't bet settled until just before
the proroguing came.
Chandler, who is a newcomer and
knows little of Connecticut legislative
practice and nothing of that precedent
and tradition SO dear to the heart of
this steady going commonwealth, tries
to show that great things have been
done by this legislature already. but
his list isn't very convincing. We're
accustomed to having legislatures
which meet but once in two years and
sit six months and more than has been
done to the long list of minor court
judges, which demands more and more
attention every session. 1t is true that
the general assembly has established
an ti-tuberculosis policy and plan of
anu llcsS dpDIODI IdICO 94UU.-
600 for new reformatory and provid-
ed for a Connecticut river bridge near
its mouth. three worthy accomplish
ments of moment, but hardly enough
for six months work
What Will Have Been Done
What it has done with trades schools
pure foods or good roads but follows
out the lines of constructive legislation
laid down two years ago and is in no
sense original with this legislature, and
the commissions it has provided for
are hardly to be pointed to with pride
in a. state which is already over en-
numbered with commissions. The
Windsor Locks dam is purely a pri-
vate project and in no sense an ac-
complishment of general Importance,
or even interest. He asserted that the
direct primaries bill was yet to be con-
sidered, but that isn't so; the commits
sion on this subject has been contin-
ued two years, that's all. When the
general assembly gets through it will
have pnt on the books some good leg
islation, but it will have refused more
that Is just as good and some that is
much more necessary.
Utilities COMMITTEES in a TanqIe.
The special committee onpublic utili-
ties which was to have reported this
week. is in a tangle over the matter
of giving a commission powers with
regard to rate making, the especial
bette noir of the corporation lawyers.
The sub committee drafted a bill with
this init being understood that the
present railroad commission is TO be
retained and the public utilities COM
mission to be another body altogether
and it was supposed that this would
pass the whole committee. 1t won't
and now another bill is being drafted
and when it is done the whole COM
mittee must thrash out tne matter as
between the two. There may be a row
and a minority report yet, and there
will be no report before the latter end
of next week, if then.
A Joke on the Senate.
The new automobile BILL which has
not yet been signed by the governor
and therefore, perhaps, isn't the sub
ject for letting the cat out of the bag
exactly, contains good joke on the
senate. 1t contains other things which
wouldn't be there if a more careful
draft of it had been made, but is a
good law, just the same. The joke.
however, comes in the fact that the tax
on auto manufacturers is twice what
the senate, which originated it, sup
posed it was to be. When Senator
Blakeslee's amendment to change the
tax on manufacturers from lump sum
of $100 a year to so much per engine,
it was placed at 81. The senate dis
cussed it at this figure and refused to
make it 81.
Then the bill went to conference, and
when 1t turned up in the house on the
report from the conference committee
it was passed as the senate had passed
it, and that body didn't get another
chance at it. The hause conferees
brought in an amendment changing the
rate per engine to 81, and evrybody
familiar with the senate's actlon won
dered why, for that was what the sem
ate had fixed it at. That didn't go
through, and the senate amendment
fixing it at 50 per engine % passed.
s2i Yes, there it was In Senator
Blakeslee's handwriting, and the sem
ate had passed bis amendment. Mo-
body knows yet quite how it occurred,
but its there.