Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1910-03-23
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ADJOURNED THURSDAY
The End of a Busy and Important
Biennial Session
MUCH LEGISLATION ENACTED
Several Far-reaching Bills Failed
of Passage

adjourned last Thursday morning
shortly before IL o'clock. The fol-
lowing resume of the work of the
session is reproduced from the COL
umns Of the Richmond Virginian:
1t is sometimes said, half in jest.
but also half in earnest that the best
part of the work of a Legislature is
that which il leaves undone: that it
performs better public service in
killing bills than in passing bills.
To those who take that view of a
Legislative body, the late session of
the General Assembly of Virginia
must have been pleasing, for of the
really important bills more were de-
feated than were passed. The
General Assembly killed the
Strobe State wide enabling bill;
the several bills to give the
State primary election Law; the
bill to change the lines OF the Baylor
survey; the Byrd oil tax bill; the
bill to change the working hours
of women; the Richmond, Frede-
and Potomac merger bill;
the joint resolution to ratify the
Sixteenth Amendment to
the Constitution of the United
States; and. be it said to the honor
Of the body, the bill to modify the
divorce laws of the State.
This is only a partial list of the
measures that we've voted upon, in
one branch or the other, or in both,
and defeated. or the vast number
Of bills that were proposed and re-
ferred, but never acted upon, are
they not written in the calendars?
Some of these would have been
passed, doubtless, had they come
to a vote, but the session was too
short for the work and many pet
by Leg slators from var
ious parts of the State we're left in
the rubbish of the committee rooms.
But 1t was by no means a negative
session. There we're acts of com
mission as well as acts commission.
With the exception of the Byrd oil
bill, all the revenue bills were
passed and it is understood that the
revenues of the State will be increas-
ed six to eight hundred thousand
dollars. At the beginning of the
session it appeared that it would be
to meet the obligations
Of the State without increasing the
tax rate. But the fact is that the
public schools, the public institu-
lions of learning and eleemosynary
and the expenses of
government have been provided for
rs usual. and liberal sum has been
appropriated for road improvement.
The General Assembly was also
liberal to charity work. Nearly ell
the charity bills, so-called, were
passed, and it is most gratifying
that provision has been made for
the care and correction of hayward
girls. In this connection we COM
mend the action of the body in max
ing special arrangements for the
insane and insane Grimm
ais. The measures providing for
his reform were reviewed by The
when introduced and
more than once given favorable
We commend the General Assem-
bly, for establishing a system of
bond examining and public account
ing and inspecting. We have con-
tended for both duringa long period
Of agitation, and it is gratifying that
the inspection system has been in
augurated.
The general Assembly has done
wisely in taking initial steps to
allow the cities of the State to adopt
> simplified form of government, and
the passage of Governor Mann's bill
10 coordinate the various agencies
IN the interest Of agriculture is, in
Dur opinion, q measure of profound
Importance and destined to work
great good for progressive farming.
Another wise measure of the
ordination is the act re-