The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-08-12
PUT END TO
FREAK BILLS
Georgia General Assem-
bly, Adjourns.
SIGH OF RELIEF ARISES
Public no Longer Fears For Its
Rights.
End Comes To Session Remarkable
Fer ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ed
ucation And Biennial Sessions,
However, Are Defeated.

mixed feelings OF regret and pleas
ure. The Legislators regretted that
the constitutional limit Of the session
had been reached; the general public
reJoiced that the end had come.
This session Just terminated will
probably 20 down In history az the
one In which less real work for the
public was accomplished and more
freak legislation threatened than any
other In the memory Of the Oldest in
habitant. That much Of the latter
was defeated was due to the DISPOSE
ton the assembly early displayed to
dispute every bill introduced.
Two Of the measures which received
the strongest support on the part Of
the most advanced people. never reach
ed q hearing in either house. One was
the compulsory education bill. II pro-
vided that each child In the State un-
der. the age OF fourteen must attend
school at least three months Q year.
The bill was fought strongly by GER
tain influences. There are over 10000
illiterates In the State.
Biennial Sessions Lost.
The other measure strongly endorsed
was the one to submit constitutional
amendment to the people, to decide
whether Or not the legislature instead
Of meeting each year should meet only
upon each alternate year. This was
advocated by business organizat tons all
over the state but was effectively OPP
posed by the politicians. Resolutions
favoring constitutional amendments,
permitting the popular election OF
United States Senator's and the imposf-
ton Of an income tar, met a similar
fate. Neither meant anything more
than submission of both propositions
to the people at the next popular cleo
| ton.
A bill which would have placed a
heavy tax upon all foreign corpora
| lions doing business in the State, was
killed by a narrow majoSity. Anoth-
err to protect game and to provide for
game warden was killed because
ths members declared they did not
know enough about the necessity Of
game protection to issisiate inteiii-
gently.
But II was in the Introduction of
freak bills that the Legislators shone.
There was one which would prevent
females over the age OF twelve, not
circus RIDERS" from riding astride.
Another would prohibit drunkenness
in public places" A bill to permit the
| carrying OF pistols. X worn -outsid'e
the outer clothing" was favorably re-
ported. as was one to prohibit the car
| ryfng OF any deadly weapon less than
two feet long. Neither was passed.
Among other measures which failed to
get even a vote were:
More FREAK BfI1s.
To require hotel keepers to supply
| mosquito bars over each bed: 70 re-
quire the hotel men to furnish nine
foot sheets on each bed; to forbid
the supplying Of prisoners with malt.
vinous or spurious liquors; to make
unlawful the playing Of football or
baseball IN any school in the state or
by the students OF any school; to make
| all railroads stop all trains at every
station In the State; to make II a penal
ofrense to sell goods OF any kind to
any male under twenty-one years or
any female under eighteen years. 60
| charge $500 license I'M each OF the IA
counties for each merchant who PED
died clocks: to forbid the movement,
Of freight trains on Sunday; 20 ask
Congress to raise the pay OF rura,
carriers and to limit ali speeches. ia
the assembly to I'VE minutes.
Hits Negro Societies.
In It's late hours, the Senate agreed
upon the secret society bill which
originated In the House and n hecanna
law. II makes 1t a penitentfarv OF
Tense for any man not a .membsr ~ a
regularly organized society to adont
or wear the emblems or regaiia of
said society. II is aimed at nerroes
ana was passed at the reouest NJ p,,ts
ians and Eiks whose societies the ma.
sroes were pretending to have Joinad.
Near Beer License.
Near-beer was voted out OF nasrIv
halr the State of Georgia tonight ~
the Legislature when, a few minute.
pefore nnal adjournment, the Senste
high license bill was passed bv the
House. 81 to II. The bin prohibits ths
issuing OF neer-oeer licenses except in
towns OF $500 or over.
The high license bill imnoaes s....
tax Of $1,000 on wholesale dealers snS
manufacturers of near-beer ana a to~
OF $500 on retailers. Confederate vet
Grams are not exempted from pavmen,
OF the tax. -A'e"'
The House passed the bill onlv after
an intermittent contest lasting tweIve
hours. Early in the evening the Honse
defeated the bill by 10 to n, later re
Versihs itselr' thus terminating the
most important contest for the session
joint resolution proyidin1 To- =
committee composed OF four Senators
and seven Representatives TO invests.
gate, the charges made aRaInat tho
State asylum for the insane nv the
special commission appointed bv firm
er Governor Smith. was passed bv ths
Legislature shortly before anai ad.
tournment. The resolution provides
that the committee do its work durin :
vacation and report next year.
That one-seventh OF the patients 80
the institution had died during the Ia ~
five years Of tuberculosis and that
nearly all who died were infected aftsr
they reached the asylum that patfeofs
have been mistrsEted physically: thai
some of the female patients were as
sisted in escaping and aHterward used
for immoral purposes; that the class al
attendants is unsatisfactory ana that
the asylum Is little better than a death
trap are some of the charges made by
the Commission.
The Legislature continued to anao.
bills after midnight. the constitutional
hour for adjournment. with newspapers
hiding the faces OF the clocks.
An employers liability act was
passed permitting the recovery OF
damages up to $4,000 in case of death
of an employe when contrtbutory neRli-
gence is proven.
The last bill introduced was in the
Senate and provided for Confederate
veterans riding free on railroad trains
1t was long after midnight when ad.
tournment arrived.