The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1910-02-03

lions unless some way is provided e
get the morley to pay them. He says
he is not antagonistic to the majority
in the legislature and will gladly ap
prove any reasonable appropriation
for things needed by the state insti
buttons # some method to pay them
Is adopted.
He urges the legislature not 10
abolish the board of control, and To
let IL remain bipartisan as IL now is,
as it has accomplished a great work
He says the reports show that the
board has saved $4,000 in two years
out of the per capita income. which
sum they applied to buildings and i'm
proved machinery at the asylums.
He recommends that the peniten-
tiaries and house of reform be put
under the board Of control. which
means he wants the prison commits
sion abolished.
He says the present governors
mansion is practically unfit to live in
and urges the Legislature to appropri-
ate 100000 to erect suitable man
sion for his successor near the new
capitol, and that the present mansion
and square of ground be turned over
to the penitentiary for hospital pur-
poses.
He recommends that the buildings
and grounds of the old capitol be sold
/ to the highest bidder, and estimates
that it will bring 100000 He says
to sell 1t would do away with con
stantly recurring schemes to use It
for some expensive and unnecessary
institution to be created by the legis-
lature.
The fact that several state banks
have failed and lost all the money of
hundreds Of widows and orphans in
the past two years has created
strong sentiment in favor of having a
system by which state banks can be
examined every few months, as ma
tional banks are now examined. by
expert accountants. Several bills
looking to this end have been intro
duced, and IL is likely that one OF
them will be passed. The bill offered
by Senator Arnett of Jessamine. who
is a banker himself. provides for the
establishment of banking depart
ment with a bank commissioner at
the head of il, with an assistant com
missioner and three bank examiners
to do the real work. This bill is IA.
vored by the bankers generally. and
as it will cost the state nothing to
carry out its provisions, It is meeting
with much favor.
The increased cost OF living in the
past 10 years has induced the senate
to pass a bill that in roundabout
way increases the salaries OF circuit
judges from $4,000 a year to 5000 a
year. The constitution provides that
the salary of any officer can not be |
changed after he has entered upon
his duties. and as all the circuit /
judges entered upon their six.year
terms on the first OF this year 1t seem /
ed as though they would be unable TO !
get any increase for six years at /
least A bin was introduced how |
ever. providing that regular circuit 4
judges should serve as special judges /
I'm other districts than their own when /
no court was In session In their own |
districts. and for this extra work they |
are to be paid an additional 81 200 a
year. OF course this plan will serve
to reduce materially the amount paid
out each year for special judges and
will not work any great hardship on
the regular judges. The bill passed
the senate by a vote OF 20 to and Il
Is almost assured Of passage in the
house.
The members Of this legislature
seem to be more philanthropically in
clined than most legislatures have
been heretofore. for they are showing
4 keen desire to put the prisons and
,onvicts on a better basis than they
have ever been before. Senator Thorn
as Of Bourbon has introduced three
bills on this subject and
hey have already passed the senate.
rhe first bill passed Is known as the
ndeterminate sentence law, and pro-
iides that the circuit judge must fix
he sentence of the convicted man af-
er the jury has pronounced him gull
y. and says further that the judge |
hall not fix a sentence for a shorter ,
period than the minimum penalty nor
me longer than the maximum pen
lily. The second bill provides for a ,
more comprehensive system Of grant e,
ng paroles to convicts who have