The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-01-06

l ests Of this, State, and the public at
 large from the dangers of bovine infec- tion s
 Fortunately there are in most of the other commonwealths statutes that en- abled the proper authorities to take | immediate steps to deal with the con | tagion, and we are sharing in the good
 results that have followed their prompt
 action. But the law of this State does not give the cattle commissioner, or !anyone else, authority to quarantine cattle suspicion that they are suf- fering from contagious or infectious disease. '--a"- -'9~-'"'' ''a r' -'"s-'- -'fs
 It is obvious that in order to make preventive measures effective the cat tie commissioner should have the power to act quickly and sternly, if necessary in his judgment, and that he should not be compelled to wait for positive physical evidences, as is now necessary. The delay of a few days in waiting for such physical evidences might prove very costly to the owners l of cattle and the users of milk.
 l The affliction of cattle with tuber- culosis is a constantly. serious one for the dairy interest and the public. and | but few States are in as unfortunate a position as Connecticut on account of our lax laws on the subject. No cattle should be imported into the, State without the certificate of quail fled veterinarian of good standing that they are in good health and have pass ed the tuberculin test. Other States | that border upon ours have such laws and as Connecticut is not thus protect ed it has been the dumping. ground for diseased cattle.
 1 The law is admittedly defective and inadequate in these two respects and ought to receive your prompt atten- | tion. = @SE% | It is said that owing to our loose statutes concerning cattle inspection large amounts of diseased cattle sare | slaughtered and sold in Connecticut This is a menace to the public health that it will be criminal to continue 1 through our neglect to pass proper l laws. sfs
 In my opinion it is our duty to pro- vide for State inspection of cattle both before and. after killing. If certain days of the week were designated for | killing in our chief cities a small corps of inspectors could easily cover the ground; and in those cities having food l inspectors this work could be commit l ted to them. ; &a1 LEGISLATIVE PUBLICITY. | There is too much loose, inefficient and conflicting legislation. In my | opinion it would be a step in advance l if provision should be made so that | all bills intended for presentation to | the General Assembly &should be- re- ferred first to permanent clerk of bills, who should be an able lawyer and parliamentarian. Were such i department with a capable official at ] it's head available for the members of | the Legislature to consult with, he could show the member who proposes | a new law wherein it conflicts with 1 existing laws. If such be the case. he 6Y-ay tIa6 6lrN cDI l if 1t contained flaw and could also | refer in connection with it to bills en- acted in other States on the same sub- l ject matter. ..s4 | Moreover, a permanent clerk of bills would in effect constitute a bureau of | information that would be available not only to members of the Legislature l but to all the people of the State-v I also believe that it, would be a. good thing to have complete and accurate stenographic reports taken of the daily proceedings of the General Assembly and published in convenfelt form for general distribution. This would go long way toward fixing responsible ity and would be very valuable rec ord for future reference. ssa SPECIAL LEGISLATION. There is now and has been for a long time too much special legislation and special charter legislation by the. Gen eral Assembly. 1s This tendencyG Ope.rs the way for bad legislation .@a1lfl1 it should be discouraged bysc this body. The trend among the best governed commonwealths today is toward a re- duction of special legislation to a min- imum and toward as great a uniform ity in charters as it is possible to ob- tain. Our cities ask for larger measure of home rule and only. those who are given the responsibility of management of city affairs can appre- ciate how much justice there isain this request. These things should be borne in mind in your deliberations. ,afs4
 GOVERNORS VETO as'
 The veto power of the Governor of this Commonwealth is an anomaly. AS the Governors veto can be over ridden by a majority vote, it is only a privilege to express his opinion and has little force. The example of the Federal government and of the great majority of State governments which require two-thirds vote to- override the veto of an executive. might well be fol < lowed by this State. a@r T F,.s
 DIVORCE.
 While the laws of Connecticut in all probability fairly represent the views of the people of this State as to the causes which should be recognized as
  ing the recognition of foreign divorces should be rendered more certain. It is also probable that reforms of pro- cedure could be adopted which would tend to obviate the possibility of fraud or collusion in procuring such de- crees.
 I invite the careful attention of the General Assembly to this subject.
 DIRECT PRIMARIES COMMISSION.
 A special commission appointed dur ing the term of office. of my predeces- sor to consider the subject of direct |. primaries is said to be ready to make it's report to this General Assembly. The report, on account of the high character. of the gentlemen composing the commission and the study they have given to the subject, merits your thoughtful consideration.
 REPORT OF FACTORY INSPECTOR.
 Your attention is called, to the report of the Factory Inspector, particularly to that part dealing with the opera ton of the law corcerning the employ ment of womeh and rnihors. i,-s}
 I am of the opinion that an amend ment should be passed to clear up the existing uncertainties. and I recoE- mend a reduction in the hours of labor fo,, xx,O,,,op and y,aiY,0rc and iSino