The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-23
COMMIT EXPLAINS
 ERRORS IN SENATE
Assistant Secretary Offers Sug-
 geStion to Members
GREAT INJUSTICE DONE
Believes Senate Itself Should Have Opportunity of Approving the Sen
 ate Journal-Shoud Be Typewriter.

W. J. Conniff, who was assistant sec retary of the state senate at the recent sessions, believes that the public has been done a gfeat injunstice by the sys- tenn in vogue in the senate which has been the cause of a number of important acts passed by the legislature to be un- constitutional. MT. Connifff has written 2 letter to each of the state senators in which he offers a suggestion for improv-, ing conditions. A copy of the letter which he has sent out Is as follows:
 Dear Senator: As you will perhaps re- member I was assistant secretary of the senate, at both the regular and extra sessions of the legislature. I am familiar with the system, routine and requirements of the secretarys office.
 Inasmuch as irregularities have ap- peared in the senate journal, feel that 1t Is my duty, both to myself and to you who elected me, to give you my opinion as to the cause of the said irregularities, and to present for your consideration plan, which, in my opinion, would tend to eliminate the chances for the occur renee of such irregularities in the senate journal in the future
 am advised by lawyers who have care fully examined the senate Journal as to certain bills declared to be unconstitu- tional by the supreme court of Alabama that the memoranda tabs prepared by the secretary of the senate, from which tho senate journal, as finally written and rec ognized by the supreme court to be the official record of the senate's proceedings Is copied appear to be regular; and that the constitutional defects or Irregularities in the record of the passage of said bills by the senate came Into existence, in their opinion during the work of copying and comparing the senate journal as finally written from these memoranda tabs. These memoranda tabs, as you know are the daily records of the proceedings of the senate which your committee on the journal approves, and which remains on file in the office of the secretary of the senate to be copied verbatim into a book, as provided by law, to be filed of record in the office of the secretary of state. In the case of Montgomery county vs. Gas ton, 126 Ala. 426. the supreme court held that the batch of papers, spoken of above as memoranda tabs. is not the journal, but only the data from which the journal is made up; and that if the memoranda tabs show the bill to have been passed regularly, and the Journal as finally writ ten from these memoranda tabs shows tho bill to have been passed irregularly the bill is irregular, for the journal as final l. journal of the senate, and the memoranda tabs cannot in any sense be considered as such. Now, heretofore the greater part of the work of copying the senate journal as finally written from these mem oranda tabs has been done subsequent ly to the final adjournment of that par tleular session of the legislature. This compiling and indexing of the senate jour nal as finally written from these memor- anda tabs is a personal duty of the sec- retary of the senate himself which the law clearly recognizes as such, and for which it allows him an extra compensa- ton of $600.
 Therefore since the records on file in the office of the secretary of state show that the memoranda tabs, as approved by the senate, through its committee on the journal, appear to be regular; and since the senate journal, as finally written and copied from these memoranda tabs, appears to be irregular; you can readily deduce for your self the cause of the ir- regularity.
 In my opinion the senate journal, through its committee on the journal, should have the opportunity of approv- ing, not the memoranda tabs from which the senate journal is copied, but the senate Journal itself as finally written and the senate journal as fianally written and ap- proved by the senate should be ready for filing in the office of the secretary of state at the time of the adjournment of the legislature.
 This can be effected, in my opinion, by having the senate pass a resolution al- lowing the senate journal to be type written, instead of by hand as hereto fore. A day(and night shift at the type writer working regularly could have the senate journal of each preceding day type written in the record book required by law to be filed in the office of the sec retary of state ready on each following day to be approved by the senate as final ly written. This system would permit an examination of the senate journal as final ly written by the senate committee on the journal; place the final responsibility on the senate itself and thus insure against the walking of ghosts in the form of unconstitutional bills~after adjourn ment sine die. Respectfully submitted. w. J. CONNIFF, Assistant Secretary of the Senate.