The Mena weekly star., 1909-04-22
TIE ARKANSAS
 LEGISLATURE
Extends Power of Railroad Commission Senate Would Ask Congress to Abolish the National Forest
 Architect Mann Retained.

.enate bill eularging the powers u he rai.road commission so as to require division superinteud- ents 10 repair bad track, aud giv- ing the commission the right to set a speed limit on such track. Violation of such limit before re- pair, resulting in wreck and death or injury, makes the superintend- ent, engineer and conductor guilty Of felony, with ? 10 10 years sen tence.
 The state text book bill was amended in the house so as to al low women to sit on the board oi commissioners. There was also passed by the house the bill by Rowe, amending the law relative to employers liability so as to make the contributory negligence defeuse comparative instead of absolute.
 The legislature adjourned for he day to hear W. J. Bryan this afternoon at the Capital theater.
 Yesterday the senate, while considering the Oldham bill rela tive 10 the completion of the ne
 state capitol, put George K. Mann back as the architect of the build ing and appropriating $l0,O00 to pay for his work. The senate began by passing the Turner special road district bill for Craighead county. The Row land road tax bill, giving towns of the second class o.e-third of the road taxes collected in the towns, was passed. The inherit ance tax bill prepared by Attor- ney General Hal l.. Norwood for the judiciary committee, was also passed, but only by vote of Is to IA. Then came the state cap itol bill. Senator Mckenzie of fered au amendment to section ', requiring bond of $25, 900 of the superintendent of construc- tion. The amendment was ac ,epted by Senator Oldham Sem a.nr Patterson offered an amend menl to substitute a stone for copper dome and the amendment passed after several hours of dis cussion. Senator Keel offered an amendment that the name of George K. Mann be placed in the bill where the blank was left for he name of the architect and $l0,o00 be appropriated to pay him. This also caused much dis cussion, as the architect had been discharged by the Patterson bill, and It was easy to be seen it was being run over the Donag hey forces for the purpose of defeat iug the bill. Next came the sec tion appropriating $l75. GOO to replace the work declared by the experts wto have inspected the building to be faulty. An amend ment was made to cut this to $40, 900 and another to cut it to $25,000, but both were finally passed aud the section was adopt ed.
 During the morning the Senate reconsidered the Logan resolu- ton, which asks Congress to abolish the forest reserves in Arkansas. The Senate reversed itself and adopted the resolution by vote of Fl to II.
 The Keel amendment to re- employ George K. Mann passed by vote of Is to II. a number of the Donaghey supporters being out of the room at the time, so Governor Donsghey does not teel as though he had really lost any, thing. There is one thing cer- tain-Goveruor Dona,.hey would never accept the bill with George k. Mann provided as architect in it.
 There will be no further con- sideratiou of the bill now until 1 Monday, when it is again the | special order of business.
 The House passed the Deaf 1 Mute lns,l'ute appropriation billl without a cut, aud also took uI i the University of Arkansas ap- propria'ion bill, as it had been sgreedupon, and passed 1t also. The D. al Mule Institute is given S20, GOO for an additional building. Many new bills were then in- troduced. Estes, of Boone, in- lroduced bill which would xtend the local option laws all ever the state. Oliphint of Flu ton introduced bill making il unlawful for newspaper 10 cir culate in dry county winch earned liquor advertisement Gam, oi Benton. introduced Lil making fool ball misdc meanor, with fine of Sl00 tt $500 or jail sentence up to twelve months fer playing the u1tna Nfnr 0f p..laa1-. . 1