Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1911-03-29
SLAP COMMITTEE
BY THE ASSEMBLY
Sleeping Car Bill Fathered by r.
J. Nye Is Advanced.
WILL STOP VOTE-SWAPPING
Without Word of Debate the Assem-.
bly, Passes Measure Fixing a Pen
atty Among the Members Of
Legislature for Log-RoIIing.


| Mad1son.-Another slap at commit
tee was delivered by the assembly
when, despite the transportation COM
m1ttee's recommendation to the con-
trary, it advanced the sleeping
car bill fathered by Assemblyman r.
J. Nye of Superior. The bill was on
| the calendar with recommendation
for indefinite postponement, the
committees action on the measure
having been unanimous. When the
bill came up for action by the house,
Mr. Nye made a brief address in which
he said that the bill followed the lead
of several other states and that it
was designed to overcome an adverse
decision of the supreme court on a
similar bill passed at his behest four
years ago. The assembly by an over
| Whelming vote refused to kill the
measure and then sent it to engross-
ment
The Nye bill is designed to give
more air and more room to occupants
! Of lower berths. The following clear
language Of the bill explains it's pur-
port:
whenever a person shall engage
and occupy a lower berth in a sleep
Ing car, and the upper berth of the
same section at the same time be
neither engaged or occupied, the up
per berth shall not be let down, but
shall remain closed" The bill i'm
poses penalty of $50 to 500 for VIC
lat1on of the act, the punishment be-
ing inflicted on a company that per-
mits its porters to ignore the act or
on a porter who violates the law.
The engrossment Of the Nye bill
emphasizes the fact that this assem-
bly, has set precedent of not accept
ing committees recommendations
Without word Of debate the as
sembly passed the Merlin Hull bill
which fixes a penalty for log-rolling
and vote-swapping among members of
the legislature. On previous occasions
the bill has been the subject for de
bate, but it has been advanced and
now has been passed and sent to the
senate. Several of Mr.. Crowell's bank
bills were passed, but the assembly re-
fused to pass his bill relating to du-
ties Of bank directors. This bill was
re4referred to the banking committee
on motion of Mr. French. The objec-
ton to the bill is that it would cause
complications in cases where non-resi-
dent directors controlled bank in
Wisconsin.
The assembly was in session for
two and a half hours, the length
of the session being prolonged
by a debate on the LeBudde COM
munication to take from the table At
torney General Bancroft's letter ad-
monishing the legislature for not fol
lowing the law by sending him notice
Of pending action OF bills appropria-
ting money for past services. The
motion in the first place was to have
the attorney generals motion printed
in the journal. This motion was
tabled and LaBudde tried to have it
taken from the table. The assembly
refused to do so and the matter now
rests about where it did before the
discussion began. Another long de-
bate was held on the Kahn bill rela-
ting to the appointment of election Of
ficers. The bill seeks to take these
appointments out Of politics and to
place them on a more practicable
footing After long debate the bill
was sent back to committee
After a running discussion in which
the assemblymen displayed their
knowledge of oil paintings, the house
advanced the Harper bill appropria-
ting money for portraits of former
Governors Schofeld, La Toilette and
Davidson to be hung in the executive
offices. The remark was made during
the discussion that some of the state
paintings in the historical library were
no more than mechanical blotches"
and that they cost the state much
more than they we're worth.
The Golf joint resolution providing
for the installation Of sanitary drink
ing fountains in state buildings was
adopted and messaged to the senate
and the Dorner bill empowering cities
of the first class to establish NUM-
pal loan departments was advanced.
The senate reconsidered the vote
that was given Senator Killeen's reso-
luton calling for an amendment to
the constitution striking out the
words NOR shall he be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness
against himself" and passed the reso-
luton by the required two-thirds vote
! that was lacking before.
Several new bills came in the SEN
ate by the committee route. Among
] Q. /. HoILister. President.