The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-16
CLEANS The SLATE.
Governor Finishes the Consider.
alton of Bills.
Legislature Therefore Is Of
ficialIy Adjourned.
AGAIN USES THE VETO.
Makes Many Cuts in the ApprO.
priatiOn Bills.
Lieutenant Governor Will Not
Act as Governor.

The 1911 session of the Kansas leg
islature has ended. Officially. it quit
at o'clock last night. but the clock
was stopped and, according to the
watches of all those in the state house,
except the members of the legislature
and the officials. it was twelve min
utes to eleven. The clocks in both the
senate and house of representatives
were stopped shortly before o'clock.
Governor Stubs found a lot of bills
left before him at o'clock that he
had not had time to consider at all
and he asked the speaker and lieu
tenant governor to withhold the time
Of adjournment three or four hours so
that he could give the measures some
consid Grafton before he signed them
The great flood of bills passed during
the last three days of the session
swamped the state printing plant so
that it could not get out the engrossed
copies in time to reach the governor
r. J. Hopkins. lieutenant governor,
will not have any opportunities to sit
IN the executive Office as governor dur
ing his present term of Office. A bill
introduced by Senator Glenn was
passed by both branches of the legis-
azure but failed to become a law. 1t
provided that whenever the governor
was out CT the state that the lieutenant
governor should become governor at
once and draw the same salary as the
governor and the real official would
be "docked" the amount
The bill was sent to the governor
Tuesday afternoon. Under the consti-
luton, the governor must be allowed
three days in which to sign bills or
veto them. If he does not act upon
them within the three days the bills
become laws anyway unles.; the legis-
iature adjOurns before the three-day
limit has expired This is what hap
pened to the lieutenant governor bill.
The legislature adjourned before the
three-day limit had expired.
Four other bills suffered the same
late One was senate bill No. 3, reIat-
ing to the publication of tax sale GER
tificates, another was senate bill SIS,
relating to the state board of medical
registration and examination and MAX
ng certain qualifications fo- the MEM
Ders of the board. another was senate
bill 536. regarding taxes for special
improvements in unincorporated cities
and another was house bill $50, MAX
ing certain requirements for crossings
over private roadways across railroad
tracks. All of the bills that We're al
lowed to slide without action by the
governor were of no great Importance
except the one to put the lieutenant
governor in the place of the governor
Only one bill passed by the legisla-
ture became law without the COVER
nor's signature. This was senate bill
SIP. 1t related to the sales of insur-
ance for burialS and limiting the age
Of persons for which such Insurance
may be written. The bill was in the
governors hands three days and he
did not sign it and as the legislature
was still in senSion when the three
1arf Ifv1afk -
law.
The first law which will get into the
courts probably will be the grain in
spection law. The Kansas Grain Deal
srs association and the elevator men
in Kansas City are now at work pre-
pairing the suit which they intend to
bring to knock out the law. The bill
as 1t was enacted provides that the
inspection fee shall be one cent for
each one thousand pounds, minimum
capacity of the car. The grain men
assert that this is going to work a
considerable hardship on them. Sup
pose a car has a minimum capacity
OF sixty thousand pounds, but only
contains fifty thousand pounds of
wheat. The fee would be sixty cents
This ten cents will amount to con-
siderable figure with some of the grain
firms that buy and sell large amounts
of grain.
be excessive. 1t was intended to put
the inspection department on a self
supporting basis. The gain men say
that if the usual amount of grain is
handled through the Kansas markets in
the future as in the past that the in
spection department will be able to
turn in many thousands of dollars to
the state in excess of the amount
needed to run the department The
grain men will attempt to show that
the state has no right to charge in
spection fees which will return a reve-
nue. and that all it should charge is
the amount actually needed to pay the
expenses Of the department.
The last bill to be signed by the
governor was the one making the ap-
preparations for the State Agriculture
college He cut out an item of $4,000
from this appropriation. This was for
coal which the college was to buy if
the penitentiary was unable to furnish
q sufficient supply. The legislature ap-
propriated $4,000 for 1912 and 1918 and
the governor cut out the item for 1913
and the $4,000 appropriated for 1911?
must be extended over the two years as
all unexpended balances are reappro-
priated for the ensuing year.
The governor cut from the university