The Harrison times., 1911-03-18
Our Little Rock Letter.

stand as beng a suit against the
state 1t was further contcndcd
that labor fur iShed itcr the cXpir-
alton of the contract was not Sut-
hCientlv connected with the case to
be made subject for cross complaint.
"The findings of fact by the chan
celor include the failure of the state
to furnish the convictS as agreed,
SAYS the court, and a damage in a
sum in excess of the amount claimed
by the state" This finding is sus-
tained by the court, and It is upon
this the company will base its act
ion for an appropriation The
right of the state to be held exempt
from the recovery of judgments
against it is no clearer than the
right of a defendant, in a suit by
the state, to avail himself of all and
every character of defensive pleas,
except limitation"
The court holds that the convict
labor furnished after the expiration
Of the contract is properly part
of the cause of action, since "the
defendant considered they were al
lowed to remain to make up some
of the states deficit in men furnish
ed, and this could not be separated
from what had gone before,
The court cites many precedents
to prove that the claims of the com
pany had not been impaired, but
that it could have no right of suit
against the state, The Auditor
would not have been authorized to
undertake the liquidation and set
tlement of a claim for damages, and
had the company exhibited its claim
to the Auditor, and he had allowed
it, his act would have been idle
1--WE cannot hold" declares the
court, that the right to recoup in
this case was in any way affected
by the failure of the brick company
to first exhibit it's claim to the au-
dltor of the state, y
The Legislature is demonstrating
its friendlncss toward the cause of
education in many ways, and has
passed, or is passing, number Of
laws that will be OF great vahe to
the schools of the state having al
ready been passed, The Legislature
has shown its good faith in the
work of the Arkansas Education
Commission by passing a commend
atory resolution, which will prob
ably have the effect of continuing
it's work for the next two years, al
though no appropriation has been
called for 1t is supported by the
Southern Educational Board, This
Commission has recommended the
passage of three bills One of these,
for the consolidation of common |
school districts, has passed both |
Houses The Others, for the crea-
tion of a state Board Of Education
and for state aid to high schools,
has good chance of passage.
The fight over the preservation of
the old state house is resting quiet
" and neither side shows much ofI
a disposition to reopen the contro-
vcrsy. Those who would sell the
old capitol "for few paltry hun
dred thousand y appear to be afraid |
to call it up, for there is no denying
the fact that their cause has not
been gaining very rapidly, There is
no general demand for the sale Of
the building and grounds, while
there is a demand on the other hand |
that it is preserved as relic Of the
states early days, The friends of
the old capitol, on the other hand, |
realize that if no definite action is
taken by the Legislature, it will be
preserved for another two years
anyway. The Farmers Union is
the latest to join the ranks of pres
crvationists, who have declared |
that they " favor the preservation
Of the old state capitol, and CON
vertng same into a museum for the
exhibits Of the products Of agricul-
ture, mines and manufactures
The members are being lombard |
cd with resolutions, memorials, pc.
titions and personal appeals for the
preservation of the old building, |
and one of the latest is a poem writ
ten by Laura Luton, aged H. of
the Lonokc schools, concluding rs
follows:
"Ah, better that her shattered hulk
Should fall to earth with crash,
Than sell her TO the merchant man
For paltry sum of cash,
Nail up the doors and windows
And inside leave its tale,
4