Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1911-05-23
Jefferson County Senator
Continues to Hold the
Reins in Senate
HAS NO OPPOSITION
Governor DOnaghey Said TOney Had
No Right to Remain in the
Presidents Chair.

Little Rock, Ark, May pat high
noon today the General Assembly of
Arkansas met in extraordinary ses-
sion pursuant to the proclamation Of
Governor Donaghey issued ten days
ago, calling the members together to
consider revision of the revenue sys-
tenn and sundry other matters, among
them the further completion iof the
new State Capitol and the adjustment
of the appropriation bills to the rev.
enues of the State.
Practically all of the members of
the Senate We're on hand and res
pended to roll call, while in the
House seventy-two members answer
ed to the initial roll cal. Without
any delay the two branches were Or
ganized, the old officers holding over
for the extra session, the only change
being the discharge of committee
clerks.
I The feature Of the reconvening Of
I The legislature was the fact that
Senator Kemp Toney, of Pine Bluff,
who presided as chief officer of the
Senate during the regular session,
was named president of the Senate
without opposition for the extra SEES
sion.- For some time there had been
discussion of the question of who
should preside over the extra session.
Senator Rodgers Of Howard had tscn
elected president pro TEN of the Sen
/ate before the conclusion of the reg
ular session and some of his friends
insisted that he should preside during
the extra session. Senator Toney
and his friends insisted that the pres
ident of the regular session should
also sit Gurlng the extra session.
So acute did the discussion bee me
that Governor Donaghey who favored
= Senator Rodgers, gave out several
statements relative to the presidency
of the Senate, declaring in one Of
them that Senator Toney had no right
whatever to assume charge of affairs
as president of the Senate, and that if
Senator Rodgers did not want to con-
test for the place he should resign as
president pro tenn and let the Senate
elect another temporary president.
Rodgers Makes No Fight.
In the meantime Senator Rodgers
took no especial interest in the mat
ter one way or another, saying that it
was a matter for the Senate to de-
eide, and that he would not start any
fight for the office. In his address
to the Senate today after it had con-
vened he stated that he preferred the
welfare OF the state to any personal
honor, and that while there seemed to
be some Question as to who should
presid1he~ preferred to allow the SEES
sion Of the Senate to move along
with dispatch from the first without
doing anything to raise "a contest,
His address to the Senate was as
follows:
Gentlemen of the Senate: Upon as
sembling in extra session today we
are confronted with the question of a
presiding officer. There are some
who think the president who was
elected at the beginning of the regul-
ar session should preside, while 9TH
DIS think the one elected at the
close should take the chair The
question is not free from difficulty
since number of members of the
Senate as well as lawyers of recognize
ed ability contend differently on the
proposition. have not given the
matter any particular study myself
for the reason that an opinion from
me would be, neither dignified nor
graceful. But paramount to any per-
sonal privilege of presiding is the
good name of the Senate and the in
terest of the state. We are called
in extraordinary session to consider
ABOUT half dozen measures and this
after a very extended session of the
regular term. The business of the
State which lies bef,re us demanding
cur best thought and Judgment should
E sfka }