The Topeka state journal., 1909-03-11
HIS FIRST VETO.
Governor Stubbs DisapprOVes
Two Bills.
Que Intended to Amend State
Charter Laws.
OTHER ON TAX LEVY.
Gave County Commissioners
Much More POwer4
Right to Build Court Houses
without Vote.

At the regular session of the house
this morning two messages were re
ceived from the governor, one vetoing
the bill comforting additional powers
on the state charter board and also
the bill authorizing county commits
sioners to build jails and court houses
without a vote of the people on the
Issuing of bonds for these improve
ments. These vetoes were read to the
house and the roll called on the bills
in order to give the house chance
to pass them over the veto provided
that the necessary eighty-three votes
could be secured.
The Democrats were in the ma
5ority at this mornings session and
two-thirds of the members present
voted for the passage of the bills over
the Veto but the necessary two-thirds
majority of the whole house was not
secured. Brown of Kingman and
PenweH of Shawnee were the Demo-
Gratis present and Stone of Shawnee,
the Republican. Speaker Dolley pre-
sided. Formal and dnal adjournment
of the legislature will take place at s
O'Clock this afternoon.
The following is the text of the
governors two messages to the house ::
Executive Department, March 10,
To the House of REPRESENTATIVES:
I respectfully return to your honor
able body house bill No 725 without
my approval. This bill is entitled:
An act relating to private corpora
tionS and amendatory to chapter 40
OF the session laws of 1907 and re-
pealing certain paragraphs of the
general statutes of 1901 and chapter
$50 of the session laws of 1903"
A careful examination of this bill
shows that it's authors only intended
to make few amendments to chapter
140 of the session laws of 1907. One
or two of these amendments are of
some Importance The others may be
viewed indifferently. To secure these
amendments house bill No. 725 un-
dertakes to cover the whole subject
matter of chapter 140 of the session
laws of 1907 relating to private corr
porations, and the said house bill No.
125 has so fully covered the earlier
act that 1 am persuaded that the
courts would be bound to hold that the
act of 1907 has been entirely super
seded. Twenty or more of the sec
tions of house bill No. 725 are identi-
cal with chapter 140 of the session
laws of 1907 and these include the
very important section which appears
as section 81 of cha apter 14O of the
session laws of 1907 and as section 81
of house bill No. 725.
The most important act relating to
the regulation and control of private
corporations passed by this session of
the legislature was senate bill No. 1872
entitled:
IAN act to amend section Al of
chapter 14O of the session laws of
1907. relating to private corpora-
tions.''
The said Senate Bill No. 1872 was ap-
proved February 9, 1909. and is now
the law of this state 1t includes the
full text of section 81 of chapter 40
of the session laws of 1907 which pro-
vides that any corporation which is
insolvent. or which perverts or
abuses it's corporate privileges may
be dissolved by order of the court
and provides for the appointment of
a receiver to wind up It's affairs. and
adds the very important provisO which
reads as follows:
provided, also. that if the dissolu-
tion of any such corporation is not
considered by the court to be either
necessary or advisable and that the
corporate abuses can be corrected
without dissolution, receivers may be
appointed to manage the corporate
property and business under the
supervision of the court until fully
corrected, after which the corporate
management and property may be re-
turned to the owners and managers
thereof, and the court may remove
any officers responsible for the abuse
and mismanagement of the corporate
property and business, and may or
der the calling of an election of the
Now, q month later, comes this pro-
posed revision of the law of corpora
tions designated as House Bill No 725
and re-enacts section 81 of chapter
14O of the session laws of 1907 with
out this important amendment. House
Bill No. 725 being the last expression
of the legislative will, if permitted to
become a law, entirely supersede not
only chapter 40 of the session laws
of 1907 but the important amend |
ment of such chapter 40 enacted into |
law a month ago.
The difficult question is therefore to |
determine whether the amendments to
the corporation law intended by House |
Bill 725 are more important than the |
amendment to section 81 enacted into |
law by Senate Bill 1872, and with great |
l am constrained to hold |
that Senate Bill 1872 is the more i'm |
portant I do not anticipate that it |
will often be necessary to invoke the |
remedies prescribed by Senate Bill |
1872 for the correction of corporate |
abuses. The mere fact that such is |
the law and that it is easy of |
application will, 1 trust, be sufficient |
restraining influence upon corpora
tons so that it need not be exercised.
This is one of the unfortunate ac-
cidents which not infrequentIy occurs
In the legislature when different mem
bers are amending and improving
1ifferent sections of the same act and
working independently of each other,
and there is not the slightest ground |
for believing that any person. either
i'm or out of the legislature, intended |
that House Bill No. 725 should super
sede and repeal Senate Bill No
1872 Respectfully submitted,
w R. STUBS, Governor