The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1911-11-17
Mississippi
Legislature
WILL FlGHT APPROPRIATIONS
OPPOSITION WILL TRY TO PREVENT
LEGISLATIVE QUORUM.
Treasurer Edwards Gives Out Statement
of No Money on Hand to Pay Per
Diem on Legislators.

Jackson.-The leaders in each house
~realize that. difficult as it is to hold
members down to attendance, it Is I'M
perative that extra efforts must be made
to secure q sufficient attendance in the
house to insure a constitutional quorum
in order to pass the appropriation bills
which are necessary in order to gave ct
feet to pending administration measures.
To give effect to the Bird bill for the re-
demption of the 1910 bonds by direct
repayment OF the principal and inter
est an appropriation measure will be nee
esary. Another appropriation will be
needed to provide for the increase OF tine
executive contingent fund, out OF which
il is proposed 20 meet outstanding inter
est on the first six months of the 1910
bond sale. The opposition forces are
dead set against this, and the policy of
the leaders will be to fy-blow the prop
osition as strong opposition against the
appropriation as possible.
There is a bitter fight ahead, and no
one is wise enough to forecast the out
COTE with any degree of confidence.
Conspicuous among the events of Fri
day was the message of Gov. Noel, in
which he recommended amending the
code chapter of crimes and misdemean-
ors SO as to include bribery along with
gambling, and provided that no witness
shall have the immunity provided by the
section except n witness who is either
summoned by an order of the court or
who ,.F.-o. - ,,-4,f- --l :. o. z..l
immunity for SO testifying before the
grand jury by an order of the court en-
tered or the minutes.
Treasury Depleted.
An unexpected condition faced the
solons Friday, when, on presenting their
mileage and per diem warrants. which
We're issued from the auditors office,
they found that there was no cash bal
ance in the treasury available for meet
ing their drafts Treasurer Edwards
had given out a statement to that effect
that he had no money on hand, and that
TO warrants could be met until further
revenue had been counted into the de
p~ositories.
The military appropriation bill, pro.
Vlding for an appropriation to pay for
tae services and subsistence of the Ma
ton Guard at McComb and Water Val
ley, is ready for the signature of the
governor. The Franklin "~refunding BILL
which provides for the issuance of six
hundred thousand dollars worth of new
state bonds to replace those issued un-
der authority of the last legislature, is
also ready for the signature of the gov
ernor.
A resolution was offered by Senator
Franklin of the Thirty-first, as follows:
Whereas, the cotton growing states
of the south are suffering a financial de.
preston unparalleled because of the low
price of cotton; and,
Whereas, with an indication of more
than 900, 900 bales raised this veal
than last, this crop will not bring the
south as much money by millions as the
smaller crop of last year; and.
Whereas, on account of the national
government permitting estimates and re.
ports to be made by the department of
agriculture, which adds to the depres.
sion in price by furnishing the specula-
tors with this additional information;
therefore, be it
Resolved, by the senate, the house
OF representatives concurring, That con-
gress be memorialized to curtail these
reports for the benefit of the southern
farmer and the cotton industry, and that
the senators and representatives from
Mississippi be asked to work and vote
Tor a cessation of said reports"
Senator Thigpin introduced senate bill
1.5o6 and 1,414 of the code, so as to ia.
cilitate the prosecution for bribery and
remove the bar of the statute of limi.
tation against bribery.
The resolution of Senator Cunningham
for adjourning both houses sine die Sat
urday at 3 o'clock was defeated by one
vote, Senator Franklin of the Twenty.
fifth district changed his vote and broke
the tie.
The warning factions in both branches
Of the legislature INDUCED in parlia-
mentary jousts Saturday, and once more
the administration majority welded the
whip with facility. This was especially
the case in the senate wing, where sew
eral members Joined in a minority re.
port against the Introduction of the
Iauch-discussed legislation which is said
scandals which We're rampant in the
1910 session, which revolved about the