The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-19
CHAPTER VI

You know a statute written down in
the general statutes. bound in law
sheep, and headed with a large, numer-
Gus set Of numbers. looks very pom
derouS after you have taken a fee;
Quincy before Judge Malone; General
Ellis and Alexander ST Clair Abrams
are on the other side, and everybody
debates and reads out Of the English
reports; someone brings up text book
of Puffendorf, and the question of
whether the legislature meant that
each alient should pay license tax on
each boat he used-this question is
solemnly argued; the constitution of
the United States is logged in and the
treaty with Greece and Italy is referred
to; a letter from Senior Devilley Gar
licky. the Italian ambassador, about the
favored nation clause and all this
bother is over the wording of a statute
that Representative Hayseed, Of Fen
holloway, introduced in the house. 1t
was referred to judiciary committee
b.; 1t was considered with twenty
two other bills at the committee meet
Ing; nobody listened to Cohen, the
clerk who read It; 1t was favorably re
ported and passed the house; nobody
heard it read. The bill was worded by
a tired stenographer who did not un-
derstand what she was writing.
This is one thing you learn at the
legislature, viz: to pay no particular
attention to what the legislature meant;
it did not know what it meant.
Six or seven hundred bills are intro
duced. The legislature meets at a.
m, adjourns at l, reconvenes at 3, ad-
journs at 8, reconvenes at 8, adjourns
at IL D. m. Committees meet in the
interim. How can you get any head or
- L. I'D Fyaf fhA
pers shout about unnecessarily taking
up time arguing. After the first ten
days nobody knows what they are
voting On, except where the bills have
been explained by the lobbyists.
The trouble Is there is not enough
debate Take the Williams oyster bill:
it covered about seventy printed pages.
Reeves to read, but even he did not
ind time. The earnest members said,
Il will decide how am going to vote
after hearing the debate" and the de-
bate is limited to five minutes.
II this kind Of monkey business goes
on in our debating bodies, the end Of
this sort of government will come
soon; the man on horseback viii show
up; and would like to be that man.
and probably would be II it were not
for a deeply ingrained cowardice and
an inability to stay on a horse.
The one redeeming feature is that
on important measures interested peo-
pie can lobby with the representatives.
| am in favor Of increa sing the oppor-
tunity OF interested persons to argue
bills with members Under the gag
rule made necessary by the rush of
bills, these interested lobbyists are the
only means by which the member
learns about bills. Personally I con-
slider 1t an honor to be argued with by
distinguished lawyers. There ought to
be some way by which interested par
ties could have a right to have formal
hearings with members Of the house,
besides the committees, and more time
should be given for a session. The
New York law is a good one. I under
stand that the legislature there con-
tinues in session till the business Is
disposed OF.
1 tell you the association with sew
enty gentlemen like the last body Of
the house members Is an honor to any
man. Such men, except six, were an
honor to Florida
For the first time you realize Florida
as q human proposition. Florida con-
sists Of the people in It rather than
that the shapely index finger which the
northern half of the western hemis-
phere extends southwark to show to an
admiring world the jewel OF the con-
tinent: Jacksonville. glittering and
sparkling like the Hope diamond In the
envtous eyes Of Europe It Is the peo-
pie of Florida, drunk with hope and
Intoxicated with ambition, the beaud-
ful, happy people OF Florida, all the
way from where Representative knight
sits on his enchanted veranda watch
ing the stars that shine over the straits
between the keys and Cuba up past
where Senator Calkins in exquisite
Fernandina thanks God for his graceful
body and his distinguished face and
his lovely home and the charm of Mas
sau county; on westward to where
Speaker Jennings in the afternoon over
the fine roads out Of Pensacola is
taking Judge Francis B. Carter out for
a drive in the Winton six" motor car.
And here, in the hall OF the house in
Tallahassee surrounded by tall oak
forests under which 1t would not be
sacTiIigious to imagine God walking in