The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1909-04-08
LEGISLATIVE TALK.

| bill in either branch of unusual state
wide Importance. Several or the
young members of the House lave
passed bills in the House OF state
wide effect, but none of such impor-
lance and interest as the assessment
| bill by Mr.. Hurst His distinction is
made the more pronounced by the
| fact that his bill was lined up against
a bill which was endorsed by the as
! SCISSORS of the state, and also by
measures of the same character In
troduced by other members OF the
House.
If the Martin state capitol bill,
which has been under discussion In
/ the Senate, should become a law,
| S350,000 will be appropriated for the
completion of the building. The pres
ent contractors, architect and COM
mission will be retained, and there
will be three new members of the
commission.
William Jennings Bryan, who has
been invited to be in Little ROCK
April 16, will address the legislature
in Joint session. President Martin
has appointed a committee in connec-
ton with Mr. Bryan's visit and ar
engagements for the event will be
made.
The bill by Senator Turner to Gre
ate a system of drainage districts in
Arkansas, which has passed the Sen
ate, is said by its author to be one
g = in
state. The bill does not interfere
with any drainage districts now IN
existence and repeats no laws on
drainage matters. 1t is so drawn
that if number of small districts
are formed in contiguous territory,
they will not only be working under
the same general law, but will have
the same general scheme of drainage.
The bill goes into every detail OF
drainage 1t covers 81 printed pages
and is in "a sections.
The bill introduced by Senator Win
60 to amend section 2S40 of Kirby's
Digest, provides that an officer or
sheriff who serves at the polls shall
receive $3.50 per day, the same as
the judges and clerks. When the law
was amended two year sage, through
inadvertance, no provision for paying
officers of election was made.
The bill by Senator Montgomery to
regulate the use Of velocipedes, tri-
cycles and handcars on railroads,
which has passed the Senate, does
not prevent the use of the machines
on the right of way, but provides
that no person, except an employe OF
the railroad company, shall run ma
chine of the sort over the main line
of track, without first obtaining the
consent of some one in authority in
the railroad company. The author
of the bill contended, and many sena-
tors agreed, that the passage OF the
bill would tend to prevent wrecks.
The bill introduced in the House
by Mr.. Tyler OF Sebastian, providing
for the regulation of ventilation OF
coal mines, stipulates that the mini
mum amount of fresh air for each
coal miner in a mine shall be 200 Gu
bic feet per minute, and in mines
damp. 800 cubic feet The bill pro
vides for inspections of the ventilat-
ing systems and also stipulates that
not more than so miners shall be
worked to one split" of air.
The insurance bill introduced by
Senator Freeman makes the burden
of proof of erroneous statement fall
upon the company and forces them
to prove that the wrongful informa-
tion was given Intentionally.
The passage of the bill for four
agricultural Schools" said one sena-
tor, means the first step in getting
away from the old, slip-shod method
of farming which has prevailed in the
South for a century. | am enthusiast
tic over the prospects of the agri-
cultural schools, and believe it will
be the best investment, dollar for
dollar, that the state ever made"
1t is interesting to note an observa-
ton made by the state capitol engi-
neering experts, with reference to
the retention of Architect Mann for
the work of completing the new state
house. The engineers express doubt
as to the right of the state to use
the designs of the architect, should
he be debarred from the service OF
the state in this connection.
The bill introduced by Mr.. Toler
of Grant prohibiting corporations
from employing physicians against
the will of the employees has been so
amended that it provides that the
majority of the employees can elect
to have a physician and name the
physician If they want to, instead OF
80 per cent, as first provided in the
bill.
During the discussion of Rr