The Green Forest tribune., 1909-04-09
LEGISLATIVE TALK.

Wlu0 llllpOTtduCe. several LII ltc young members of the House ave passed bills in the House of state wide effect. but none of such impor- tance and interest as the assessment bill by MT. 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- sessors 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 1 the Senate, should become a law, $350,O0O 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 ia connec- tion with MT. Bryan's visit and ar engagements for the event will be made.
 The bill by Senator Turner 10 ere ate system of drainage districts in Arkansas, which has passed the Sen ate, is said by its author to be one Of the best bills ever passed in the state. The bill does not interfere with any drainage districts now III existence and repeals no laws on drainage matters. It is so drawn that if a 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. It covers 32 printed pages and is in 34 sections.
 The bill introduced by Senator Win go to amend section 2S40 of Kirby's Digest, provides that an officer or sheriff who serves at the polls shall receive S1.50 per day, the same as the judges and clerks. When the law was amended two year sago, through inadyertance, 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 a 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 MT. Tyler oI Sebastian, providing for the regulation of ventilation of coal mines, ctipulates that the mini mum amount of fresh air for each coal miner in a mine shall be 200 cu bic feet per minute, and in mines where there is marsh gas or fire damp, 300 cubic feet. The bill pro- vides for inspections of the ventilat- ing systems and also stipulates that not more than 50 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. 1 am enthusias- 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''
 It is interesting to note an observa- tion 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 MT. 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 physician and name the physician if they want to, instead of 90 per cent, as first provided in the bill.
 During the discussion of Br. Bouic's bill providing the shooting of fish in streams and lakes in this state, MT. Hogan of Franklin wanted to know if the provisions of the bill extended to shooting frogs. "rm frog-hunter, myself" he candidly ad- mitted, land if it includes frogs, then I'm voting no'.' It didn't include frogs, explained the gentleman from Garland
 MT. Combs proposes to amend his bill passed by the legislature of 1907 and known as the Combs corporation act, being an act designed to increase the state revenues by requiring all corporations in the state to pay an annual tax, according to the amount of their capital stock. The change proposed is that companies with a capital stock of S1,000,00O or more shall pay $200 annual tax instead of $1Q0 as the law now stands and