Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1909-03-20
WILL GO down in HISTORY.
SESSION WAS NOTABLE ONE,
MANY TERRITORIAL LAWS
BEING AMENDED.
COUNCIL STOOD LIKE ROCK
MANY BILLS LOST our IN UPPER
HOUSE IN SPITE OF
HARD FIGHTS.
Special to The Optic.


Santa Fe, N. NJ, March 20.-The
1903 session of the New Mexico leg
islature is ever. Most of the members
departed for their homes yesterday
afternoon and last night, while few
will remain over Sunday to visit
friends and to confer with Governor
Curry regarding conditions in their
respective counties.
The session just closed has been
a notable one in that it witnessed the
hardest fight on several bills New
Mexico has seen in many years. In
cluded in these bills were the local
option liquor measures, bill proyid-
ing for the publishing of the revised
statutes and the railroad commission
bill. For the past three weeks the
house wrestled with the last three
measures and during the closing days
passed, each one. But when the bills
reached the council there was moth
ing doing. While the governor and
party leaders used every effort to
get the bills through the legislative
mill, their work was of no avail and
the measures were allowed to die in
committee.
The chickering's between the house
and the council which prevailed more
or less during the entire session end
ed few days before adjournment
in a compromise. The council had a.
little the Dest of it, but the house
was given satisfaction on the main
point of its contention, as the appro
priation bill passed almost as origin.
ally presented in the lower body.
The council had habit of amend
ing almost every house bill sent to 1t
for concurrence and this became SO
chronic that trouble of such nature
as to block or defeat important leg
islation, came near taking place. But
the house caught on to the councils
game and returned tit for tat by re-
constructing or amending council
bills sent TO it for passage.
The thirty-eighth assembly broke
few records. The long distance
and multiple talk records were shat
tered to smithereens. In spite OF the
differences existing between mem
ibers of the house at various times
during the session, which became
acute. two days before final adjourn
ment, all got together the remaining
two days and worked in harmony in
an effort to clean up the calendar.
AS chairman of the committee on ju-
dietary, easily the most important
one. and as a member of other COM
mittees, Representative G. J. Roberts
of Colfax county. especially did efT
fective work all during the sesrion.
But Roberts greatest work was done
during the last week, when as chair
man Of the all important steering conn
mittee, he made possible the passage
of great many important bills,
which but for his labors and the Ia
bors Of other members of this COM
mittee, would have gone estray or
gotten lost in the shuttle. Mr.. Rob-
erts was the brains Of the house, SO
to speak, and as member Of the
lower body of the legislature, not only
the people Of Colfax county but
those Of the whole territory, had al
conscientious and hard working rep
resentative. But It would not be Just
to stop here. The story of the lower
house is not complete. unless mem
tion is made Of the splendid success
OF a member of the minority, the
democrats. To representative Bricel
Of Carlsbad. Eddy county, goes the
honor of passing the most bills