The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1909-02-01
But the Present Week with
State Law Makers viii be
a Busy One.
(By Charles BROOKS smithl

tBy Charles Brooks smith)
CHARLESTON. Feb. Eighteen
days Of the forty-hye days OF this
Legislative session have been swal-
lowed up by the yesterdays and this
Is what has been done: Five bills
passed. namely, the legislative APP
preparation bill. the MartinsburgI
charter. creating criminal court for
Harrison county. creating a water
works and sewerage board for the
City of clarksburg. passing al
model" charter for Huntington;
23O bills have been introduced IN
the House and III in the senate,
not to mention numerous resolu-
tons.
Five bills passed in IS days viii
strike many people as being very lit
tie accomplished In that length OF
time. But 1t is not fair to iegisla-
tors to take that view of 1t. 1t re-
quires time to organize a legislature,
appoipt committees and get them
working on the multitude of bills,
sorting out the good from the bad
and getting them started on their un-
certain way. 1t requires a certain
line of procedure, seemingly slow
at first, to get bills along on their
reading after they are reported fa-
yorably and get a place on the cal
endar. Friday. the House got 81
bills up; to their second reading, and
although there were no bills ON third
reading yet in that branch, there
are today. There are three up to
third and final reading in the enaste
branch. This legislature has been
busy. 1t Is the busiest aggregation
OF lawmakers that West Virginia has
had in a number OF years. Whllefrom
a mere sizing up of actual results in
the shape of the number OF bills
passed, it would seem that the leg
islators have been tagging, the con
trary is the truth. and this week will
see bills enacted into acts at a pref
ty lively rate. The business is now
in shape to shoot new laws over the
home plate. as It were, and this
weeks record will. one may be sure.
be swift enought to suit the most
critical and. impatient.
The great number of bills in now
are for the most part local In char
aster, of high Importance. to be sure
to the people and government of
communities affected by them. Tn.
proposed measures of state wide
bearing are yet comparatively few
and far between, that of most inter
est to the general public being, of
course, the A. D. Williams prohibI-
ton resolution in the House, leading
an others in popular interest, as an
incentive to gingery discussion, and
boon to the telegraph companies
VINO transport thousands of tele-
grams to legislators from watchful
constituents earnestly praying not to
vote for the resolution or as earnest.
lypleading to vote for 1t. In addi-
ton, and along the same line the
three local option bills by Senator's
santee, Hazlett and Craig. were
strong bidders for the public anon
ton. The former two bills take the
county as basis; Craig's bill. the
last pumped into the hopper en-
empts towns of two thousand nonu-
lation or over, whose councils now
nave the right to grant license The
other measures of most inheritance
are delegate Nugent's railroad cor,-
mission bill;Hatfeld's higher license
Dill which jumps up the saloon IL
cense from 5000 to 81, 900 and g,ves
city councils the right to do tho
same; bill to bring in more reva-
mes from the inheritance tax and
one raising fees in the Secretary 81
states office, which will bring IN a
good sized bunch OF coin to the state
by way OF that department. The state
administrations chief measures n.
wit: bills to tax Goa. oil ana pns
production, and to create a public
utilities commission, have not vet.
put In an appearance, but are due.
to show up in a few days, perhaps TO-
day II the program now about agreed
on is carried out.
But the sensational phases az ~
week should not be forgotten. They
injected spice into this legislative
life especially the countless rumorsI
set atioat in the corridors Of the biz
law show by the several acts of
record which, as a wohle. look Ike
probe eager to unearth something
that ought not to be in a real nice
honest government OF civilized and
Christian people. Delegate Moore.
Of Marshall county. of the majority
party, by the way. started the ball
whirling when he touched off his
Il cha