The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-02-13
TINES BUREAU
AT THE STATE CAPITAL.
(Special ID ZEE TIMEs.

ton of adjourning the house until
Monday Several of the asy-going
members who do not care much
whether school keeps or not wanted
to adjourn until Monday at 10 o'clock.
But speaker Honan told them no, that
they must meet today and tranastc
business They objected, he insisted.
He told them plainly that there should
be no more fooling around and they
should either play ball or get off the
lot. And he had his way about it. and
there was a session this forenoon, but
none this afternoon.
The speaker has more than 100 bills
on his desk ready TO be handed down
for second or third reading, and he
understands fully that unless the mem
bers attend to business they will not
get much done. He did not propose
to quit when there was a lot of work
to do. In the senate, however. it was
different. Some one made a motion
to adjourn and it was carried without
much of a stir.
Senate VIII Push 1t Along.
Everybody in the senate, yesterday,
was surprised when Lieutenant Gov
ernor Hall handed down the Tomlin-
son bill and referred it to the com
mittee on public morals. This is the
liquor bill that passed the house
Thursday along toward night 1t was
sent to the senate yesterday and no
time was lost in getting the senate
machinery busy with it. There seems
to be a disposition now to push it
along as rapidly as possible, because a
good many of the members of both
houses are tired of having the saloon
question before them week after week
as the paramount issue" They want
to get at something else. but up to
this time there has been little chance
for anything else because the saloon
bill was in the way and occupied about
all of the time and attention.
Repeal Still Very Uncertain.
There is good reason to believe, as
has been stated before, that the SEN
ate will trim of the amendment made
in the house to permit the granting OF
licenses to road-house saloons within
four miles of city, make the license
fee a straight $1,000 and then passd
the bin. II it passes the senate in
1t may or may not get through the
house in that shape. Some of the
democrats of the house are opposed to
the bill without the road house feat
ure, and if one or two votes were to
be lost it would kin the bill. So there
is no certainty yet that the local OPP
ton law will be repealed. There are
two democratic senators who viii
stand pat against repeating the law
They are McCarty and Tilden. On the
other hand there are four republicans
who are counted on to vote for the
repeal. They are Wood, Gonnerman
Durre and Orndorf. But it is not ye
certain that either Wood or Conner
man will vote that way. They win in
! sist on high license feature in thu
| bill, and if it is not placed there they
may oppose it.
The general understanding is tina
the TomIinson bin will be reported gu
of the senate committee early mex
week and that it will be forced to pas
sage as rapidly as possible.
People TO Vote ON Franchises.
Representative Hewig of Evansvill
introduced a bill yesterday that is like
IN to attract a good deal of attention
His bill proposes that whenever
franchise for any public utility is ask
ed for from a city the question @
whether it shall be granted shall b
submitted to a vote of the people. ]
the people vote for it the franchis
would be granted. If a majority vote
no it would not be granted. This bi
is in direct opposition to the publ
utilities bills that have been introduce
by Garrard, the democratic floor leade
: Of the house. would take away fro
the city entirely any control over II
matter of franchises and vast excl
sive power in that direction in the raj
road commission. This commissio
would have power to grant a franchi
to any corporation that might wish
establish a water, gas. electric ligt
telephone, telegraph or other kind of
plant in any city without asking Il
citizens or the city officers wheth
they want it or not. Not only that b
the commission would have power
grant any such company the right
raise it's rates to any point.
Under this Garrard bill if a cor
pany mad a franchise lHdL II u4Q II
like it could go to the commission al
surrender the franchise without ev
} the consent of the city and recei
} from the commission an indetermina
, permit to go ahead and do busine
and sell its gas, water, electricity
whatever it made at any price that t
commission might fix. Thus. all co
troll of public utilities would be TAX
y away from the cities themselves, a
3 the cities would lose whatever incoI
0 1t may be receiving from such &C
porations. If a competing compa
wished to establish a plant in a ci
where one Of the same kind alrea
was in existence it would have to a
the commission and The commssi
could let it in or keep it out. TIL
4 would competition be effectually stra
> g1ed.
This bill was prepared by attorne
for the Indianapolis Gas compar
whose franchise in this city expil
within the next year, and which ca
not get new franchise unless it tai
It under the law that requires 1t
sell gas at so cents per 900, the sa