Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Would Take Three Weeks to Com.
plete the Work Laid Out.
OoT A PARTY PLEDGE FULFILLED
One of Them, Initiative and Refer
endum, Has Been Killed.
SOME OF OTHERS ON THE ROAD
senate from Now on VIII Have
About All II Can DO 20 Dispose
of the Appropriation
Bills.
tFrom a staff correspondentl


LINCOLN, March 1S.-(Special ELEVEN
days more in the senate and eight more in
the house, Then the pay of the legislators
viii lstop. BY that time the senate will be
well into the consideration of the appropria-
tion bills and the farmer members of the
house will be thinking of their plows. Pos
sibly the latter may decide to tarry and
pass a few senate bills. If they do not.
the senate will fix the appropriations,
sandwiched in between the bills for spend
ing money may be some of the party pledge
easures, for not single one of them has
yet passed both houses-decidedly con-
trast with the last legislature, which had
practically completed its program by this
time
Monday morning the senate Sitting COM
mittee will ltake hold of the general file,
on which there are 100 bills. The house
sitting committee has not been named in
its entirely, but the understanding is II will
take charge of the general file early in
the coming week. The house file is loaded
with measures, there being between 200 and
800 bills ready for consideration I'm COM
mittee of the whole all of which must now
pass muster with the sitting body.
The session will last three weeks more
at least. This was the verdict of a num-
bers of the senators today as they dis
cussed the outlook, A coterie of senator's
among the mthe Douglas delegation
would like to see adjournment on the six
tieth day or sooner, IL possible. but as
business is shaped now. this will be prac-
tically impossible. An early adjournment
would prevent the consideration OF dan
gerous measures and Il might also endanger
the pledge bills. but the latter are OF
minor consideration from some stand
points
incidents of Past weck.
The noteworthy incidents of last week
were the 1e$sas ~ comfy option hy the
sspaisNa the a.a7s3 ~ Tie initiative ana ref
erendum in that body and the nagatitc ac-
tion of the house on the bill to accept the
Carnegie foundation fund for pensioning
aged teachers in the state university.
The senate treated the initiative and ref
erendum with scant courtesy. AS an indi-
cation OF the feeling in the upper house
toward Mr.. Bryan. the vote on this meas
ure and the discussion upon It. serve as
IN excellent guide. While the house voted
down the Carnegie bill. the vote was so
close it but serves to show what a narrow
margin of authority is left the Peerless
Leader IN NeDfaSkd. ISy eNcrtlnR every art
and influence of which he was capable,
he was able to secure a bare majority on
bill. while In the senate his word counts
for nothing
Though striving TO enact a physical valu-
alton law which shall give the Railway
commission the right TO go out and inspect
every particle of railroad property and
place an actual value upon II, the senate
refused, by what was practically a party
vote, to give consideration TO a bill of
three republican senators intended TO make
the orders of the Railway commission more
effective and remove from the procedure
before the commission the delay and litiga-
tion which follows nearly every order, no
matter how trivial The railroads charac-
terized the bill as one calculated to make
a supreme court out of the Railway COM
mission, but the sponsors of the bill de-
clared it would have resulted in much bene-
ut and would not have injured the rights
of common carriers
Reasons for Bill.
When the railway commission law was
| enacted. one question in dispute was the
| manner OF an appeal. A compromise was
| finally reached whereby persons affected