The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1911-02-08
THEY URGE THE PASSAGE or
FULL CREW AND THE EFFIc-
lENcY BILLS.
PROHIBITION BILL
PROVOKES FIGHT
Amendment 10 Make Enforcement
Less Difficult Stands After Hard
5attie-Barefoot IN the Chair De-
cides Fate Of One Section.
Special by United a4ess.

Special by United lress.
Oklahoma City, Feb s. Railroad
union men are beseiging the legisla.
tors today with their demands for
the enactment Of the "full crew. and
efficiency" bills. The former pre-.
scribes the minimum crews that may
handle both freight and passenger
trains. No action has yet been taken
on it.
The efficiency bill requires engi.
neers to have three years experience
as firenlen and conductors must have
served three years as bralemen.
AT the morning session the house
briefly considered the good roads bin
It was discovered that the bill carries
an approximation and it was therefore
referred to the general appropriations
committee The bill creates the two
offices Of state highway commissioner
and state highway engineer, each with
salary Of $4,000 a year and ex.
penses.
Warm Fight in Senate.
Under a section Of the new prohi-
bition bill, adopted by the senate
Tuesday afternoon. the possession Of
liquor in any place Of business or
amusement or in any club or resort
for any purpose is made a criminal of-
Tense. and conviction under the Sec
tion disfranchises the person 50 con-
victed for five years.
Neither the section itself nor the dis
franchisement provision, which was
added as an amendment, was adopted
without hard fight, the vote on the
section itself being ~ to is. The sec
tion was denounced as being an inva-
sion of personal rights, and was de-
Tended as being the real bulwark Of
the law. which would enable the ON
GERS to shut off the bootlegging which
is being carried on in pool halls. lunch
rooms, livery stables and other places,
where the proprietors can now inter-
pose as a defense when liquor is
seized on their premises that 1t was
intended for their own personal use.
Bill Is Modified.
A modification Of the provision was
secured, however, By the striking out
Of the words s'whether intended for
personal use OF not" the effect or
which on the remainder Of the section
seems to be somewhat in doubt. The
lawyers Of the senate were much di-
vided on that proposition Some or
them contended that the words add
nothing to the strength Of the section,
while others thought that they should
be retained. and that they would pre-
clude the raising Of that defense. In
any event the burden of proof is
placed upon the possessor OF the
liquor to show that it was intended
for ms personal use and was therefore
| legally in his possession, while under
the law as It now stands the burden
Is upon the prosecution 20 show that
the defendant has inc liquor in hts
possession for an Illegal purpose.
That one section, which Is section 4.I
Of the bill. was the only one considered
during the afternoon. It's considera-
tion had hardly been commenced when
Senator p J. GouldIng Of Enid offered
motion to strike out the section.
Senator Thompson, one Of the authors
of the bill, Senator Horton, chairman
OF the prohibition enforcement COM
mittee. and Senator coifey spoke for
the provision az it stood. Horton cited
a provision Of the Kansas law throw
ing the burden Of proof on the liquor
sellers and stated that the law had
been sustained by the supreme court
Of the United States.
Barefoot Cast Deciding vote.
The disfranchisement amendment
was proposed BY Senator Potter. al
avowed anti-prohibitIonist. who arrest
Cd that the bootleggers All voted for
prohibition at the last election. and
that he wanted to set them out Of
politics. The extremists on both sides
were able to get together on that
amendment. which was ADOPTED by d
vote Of 1s to z. Senator Williams pro.
posed q substitute which would have
made the disfranchisement effective