The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-06-04
LETTER FROM
". R. HARDEE
The Closing Days of 1909 Ses-
sion Interestingly Discussed
USE DILATORY TACTICS
Minority Is Resorting to Various Means to
Prevent Any Legislation After an Open
Avowai of Their Purpose to Do So
Tallahassee, Fla, May rs, 190'

Tallahassee, Fla, May 70, l9O9.
Editor TRIBUNE:
When this appears in print the legs-,
lature of 1909 will have finished
all but one of the sixty days in which
it is empowered to perform the stunts
of making or failing to make laws Tor
or against the interests OF the citizens
of the State of Florida. After today,
the 2Sth, we have five working days.
We have minority whose openly
avowed purpose is to prevent legisla-
ton and all kinds Of methods are EN-
pOyed to carry out this proposition. as
was demonstrated at the night session
on Friday, when the entire time was
taken up in a regular school boy per-
formance in the way of having fake
bills introduced and other silly things
that took up the entire nights session
with absolutely no results; and this
within five days of the close, and num-
erous important bills on the calender.
One of the obstructionists said to me
that it was encouraging to see tnat the
legislature was about to close without
doing anything to cripple the monled
interests of the State and that II they
could continue present tactics to the
end of the session, that the country
would be safe. And now / want 10
say, that some of those who howl loud
and long for the rights of the people
are directly the cause of this failure TO
accomplish anything.
First, we started of with resoiu-
ton to condemn some remarks made by
Frank Clark against w. j. Bryan, in
troduced by that voluble representative
from Volusia-a matter that the legls-
lature had nothing on earth to DO with,
this consumed days of the time, and
thousands of dollars of the taxpayers
money with no object possibly IN view
except to give the gentleman from Vo-
lucia little cheap notoriety st an eX-
pense of thousands of dollars to the
taxpayers of the State After days
and nights of this burning question,
the original resolution asking Tor the
condemnation of Frank Clark was
withdrawn, and mild substitute en-
dorsing the Democracy of W. j. Bryan
passed. But several days and nights
we're partly used and thousands OF dol
lars were squandered - the only result
being that the Volusia gentlemen, j.
E. Alexander got that cheap, tin horn
variety of publicity that seems to be
| his sole aim and his only conception OF
the duty he owes to his county and
state.
Things of this kind have been en-
couraged by those opposing legislation
and so long as they could make cats
paw out of professed peoples repre-,
sentatives and have them introduced
outside issue to consume time, the 90,
structionists have sat back and Laughed
in their sleeves, and applauded to ar
echo the over Jealous patriot who for.
gets that the Legislature is supposed
law making body and was not origin
ated to settle personal differences be-
r tween Frank Clark and W. j. Bryan
at the suggestion of gentlemen whose
desire for personal popularity outweigh
/ their interest in the public welfare
The people have good working
!. majority in the house but have beer
} led astray not by the actual Obstruct
lists, but by those who have been veal
enough to allow themselves to be al
verted from their duties into all kinds
of side issues. while the opposition have
sat smilingly by and when things wer'
about to die down and business abou
: to resume, they would gently say "sicl
} en- Tige" and all would be confusion
so the farce goes on.
n " w. r. HARDEE.