Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1909-06-28
ADJOURNMENT PROBLEM,
WHAT WILL BE DONE?
House Waiting for Utilities Commit
tee to MoVe-The Senate Watching
the House-Mass of Business Ahead.
Especial to The BuIletin)

Especial to The Bulletin.)
Hartford, June 26.-What the gem
era1 assembly is going to do about ad-
journing over the summer is engaging
the attention of good many people up
here these days, though not so much
is being said about it as was the case
a week or two ago. The house is wait
ing to see what the special COMMITTEES
on public utilities is going to do and
what some other committees are going
to do and the senate is waiting to see
what the house is going to do. If con-
ditions regarding the public utilities
matter and some other things are not
satisfactory to the house, and the
weather continues hot,and some bright
soul gets up and shows the lower body
what a mass of business is still ahead
of the legislature, about this week or
next week, there rs a pretty good
chance that the house will adjourn
over until next fall or winter, passing
a resolution under which it would re-
iInburse its members for certain ex-
pense incurred during the session in
the sum of $500, and drawing the reg
ular 5000 salary at the end of the next
session
The Third House Opposed.
Should the house do this, the senate
would follow suit before the sun set
the same day. The third house is de-
cidedly against any such move. There
are number of matters which the
lobby desires to see settled up. The
leaders of the republican party in this
state are not yet convinced that such
move would be a good one. The op-
ponents of the public utilities commits
sion would like to have that matter
meet the fate which is surely coming
to 1t during the dog days, if the gen
rwso 4 4 1, -
dispose of that and other business. AT
the same time, all these interests and
gentlemen have a very different house
and a different general assembly to
reckon withTthan has been the case in
recent years, and there is no know
ing when the house will take the bit
in its teeth.
Assembly Nowhere Near Through.
To go over the mass Of business
which is still before the general as
sembly and refer to the fact that pref
ty much everything which has yet to
be reported and refer to the fact that
pretty much everything which has yet
to be reported Of the forty or fifty mat
ters that the committees still hold,
will cause a fight in either or both
houses, and that sort of thing is trite.
Suffice it to say that at the meeting of
committee chairmen on Tuecday last
the news brought by the different
chairmen was in the aggregate very
discouraging. The general, assembly is
nowhere near through, and nobody can
say when It will get through; that
was the gist of it. Meantime every
body awaits developments and num-
Der of the senators are planning to
leave Connecticut by the middle of
next month, some of them to go to
Europe.
The Public Utilities Bill.
The public utilities special commit
tee is sore of fussing along, finding it
no easy job to frame any sort of a
bill. The members of it who were a
few weeks ago so hot for a commits
sion are in a very different frame of
mind these days, and there is no such
push behind the commission idea as
was the case awhile back 1t is very
doubtful if the special committee re-
ports the bill at all. Chandler of
Rocky Hill )imay report something by
way of a minority report or may ar
range with Wilton of New London to
do this, though even this is doubtful.
The committee mas had b'It one exec
utive session. on Tuesday of last
week. and will have another Monday
morning at TO- when it expects to re-
main in session all day, or until it gets
if it is possible to get any
where
If a bill is reported it will follow
the Massachusetts, plan, by which only
powers are given a
commission. which sits to hear the
or petitions Of citizens and
then makes recommendations to cor
porations engaged in the public SER
vice. These recommendations are not
binding, but II is to he understood that
the commission will go to the next leg
islature to make them binding, if they
are not complied with, and in Massa-
chusetts it has been found that the
invariably comply with
them for its own best interests. The
of the commission. which will
have five members at salaries of $4,000 |
each, will be that of the present rail |
road commission, with two members |
added, and it will have jurisdiction !
over all public utilities corporations. |
Then when such a bill reaches the |
house it will be in a tangled state of |!
affairs and many and varying opinions |
so that the possibilities as to killing it |
off will look good for the opponents of |
any commission.
Auto Bill Out of the Way.
The house has at last done one good |
thing; 1t ha got rid of the automobile !
bill. which was so muchly amended |
last week and had been printed in it's |
form when it was taken up
Friday and finally passed, after some |
Of its enemies tried to stick a knife in
It once more. Chairman Leete Of the |
committee on roads, bridges and riv- |
ers, who fought this bill through the |
house, certainly deserves a good deal |
Of credit not alone for his able way of |
handling the measure, but also for |
keeping his temper in the face of try
ing situations brought about by mem
bers for the simple purpose of harass- |
ing him.
The amended bill doubles the regis |
tration fees for autos, and really more |
than that, for while it starts with s6 |
a year for cars below 20 horse power |
It regrades them so that cars of 40 |
horse power and over pay $50. which |
Is three times the highest fee at pres |
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