The Topeka state journal., 1909-03-08
Legislature Will Quit Business
at Midnight.
Review of the Work That Has
Been Done.
RUSH BILLS THROUGH
Pass Nearly as Many in Last
Two Days as All Session.
Anti Sunday Baseball Makes
Appearance Unexpectedly.

L ne 1SUS session OF the Kansas leg
islature will adjourn tonight at mid
night. A few of the members living
in Topeka and close by will stay until
Friday in order to receive messages
from the governor in regard to his ap-
proval or disapproval of bills and the
formal adjournment will be had at s
O'Clock Friday evening, but the real
adjournment so far as the passing of
bills is concerned comes tonight.
This has been notable session in
that 1t witnessed the hardest fight on
a single bill Kansas has seen for a
dozen years. The utilities bill was the
feature of the session. For three
weeks the house wrestled with this
bill to control the corporations, while
the governor and most of the square
deal leaders used every effort to push
the bill up the legislative hill. but all
to no avail. Four times the fight
| reached the stage of a pitched battle
on the floor of the house and the bill
went down to defeat in the midst of
debate six hours long. This bill will
be an issue in the next campaign and
will be nightmare to many of the
members who went on record against
it.
In spite of the bitter fight over the
utilities bill the house leaders got to-
gether the last week of the session
and worked in harmony in an effort
to clean up the calendar. Mitchell of
Douglas especially did effective work
all week in getting through a great
many important bills Among the
Democrats who ably seconded the ef-
forts of the Republican leaders to
make the session a success were Foley
of Rice, Brown of Kingman, FEEDER OF
Barton. Davis and Louderback of
Bourbon and Flanagan of Decatur.
Morrison, Democrat, was bitter
against Dolley and the square deal
| leaders to the end. The house had
passed 15S bills up to and including
. Thursday night. n FRIDAY
urday it passed nearly as many bills
| as it had passed all through the ses-
| sion up to that time. While the local
| bills and unimportant measures died
| like flies towards the end, yet every
member who had a bin was given
consideration by either committee or
! the house and a large number of these
bills were passed this week. ~ te
Economy the Watchword
The present house went on record
as the most economical since the days
of the grasshopper. In fact it car
ried economy to the verge of par
raises in salaries, additional clerks or
deputies, the state fair. and a dozen
other good and bad measures; it cut
most of the appropriation bills down
from last year and a new appointment
or a new appropriation of any kind
was a red rag to the bull. In it's
haste to keep down expenses the house
stopped progress in many good things
and crippled many departments.
The combined efforts of Wichita
and Topeka could not even bring the
state fair bill before the house for
consideration and let the fight for the
location be settled afterwards. Satur-
day night just before midnight Speak
er DolIey tried to get the state fair
bill which had been unfavorabIy con-
sidered by. the ways and means COM
mittee, before the house, but Amrine
OF Motifs killed the bill by a motion
to adjourn which was seconded by
Cunningham.
The Republicans of the house re-
deemed one old Populist measure
Democratic brethren they passed the
initiative and referendum resolution
by Mccormick, and yet party pledges
of this day and date are left to go to
OF eight resolutions to amend the
state constitution only three were
passed Saturday. while the other five
were killed. The propositions to hold
a constitutional convention, to adopt
the initiative and referendum and to
raise the pay of the members of the
legislature to $500 and mileage for the
regular session and 800 and mileage
for special sessions went through a
flying. The Davis resolution to increase
the terms of state officers from two to
four years was killed, but it would
have passed had Davis consented to an
amendment allowing a state official to
run for different office after serving
a term in one office. The amendment
chance for promotion II they were
entitled to the honor and could grasp
it. But Davis wanted the whole hog
or nothing, one term and then get out
for good so far as any state office was
concerned and the result was that his
meritorious resolution was killed.
Fight ON Sunday Ball Fails.
The anti-Sunday baseball bill got on
the calendar in some manner and came
before the house late Saturday night in
spite of the efforts Of the members to
fllibuster against It. The fight on this
measure was a red hot one and a call
of the house was had in an effort to
pass the bill On first roll call sixty
members voted for the measure only
three short OF the required constitu-
changed their votes most of them from
yes to no, and when a lot of absentees
were rushed in the bill was still short a
few votes. After an hours battle the
friends of the bill gave up the fight
and the house adjourned a few minutes
before midnight. Matson and Jewett
Of Sedgwick voted against the bill and
so did Cline of Montgomery. but Rogers
of Sedgwick voted yes and worked the
way he voted. In Topeka. the home of
the champions of the western associa-
tion Howard was absent, Stone voted
and worked for the bill. While Penwell
voted against it. The representatives
from I1eavenworth. Atchison, Hutchin-
son and Kansas City also voted
against the bill. Anyway, IL can be
said at the end that the present house
killed one drastic bill.
OF the thousand bills introduced in
the house five hundred died in COM
rnittee, two hundred met death on the