The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-08
Conference Committees Agree
on Utilities Bill.
Only Few Words Changed in
Text.
BUT TWO OF ONE PARTY
Political Qualification Of Men,
bers Is Fixed.
Garden ity-COncOrdia NOrmals
Are Beaten.
UT TWO OF ONE PARTY

Are Beaten.
The house and senate conference
committees have reached an agree
ment again on the utilities bill and re-
ported to their houses this morning.
But little change was made in the con-
ference bill reported Saturday and &C
cepted by the house and rejected by
the senate. Section twenty five. the
snag relating to stock and bond issues,
is scarcely changed at all by the re-
port the only amendment agreed to
being that after the standard has been
set and acceded to rs that the COM
mission must ascertain the facts before
taking action. In other words, the old
conference report set high standard
for stock and bond issues. while the
new report requires the commission to
go carefully. over the presentation OF
facts and figures and make proof OF
their findings.
and had to do with the political faith
Of the commissioners. The old report
required that two should come from
the party polling the largest vote at
the last election and one from the
party casting the next largest vote
Speaker Buchanan attacked this para
graph as unconstitutional, as it barred
members of the Socialist. Prohibition
and Independent parties from eHgibil-
ity to the commission. So it was
changed to read. two, members from
one political party and one from an
other party, which comes to the same
thing in the long run
One of the members of the house
conference committee declared that
the agreement was reached in very
short time and that the senate COM
mittee appeared to be anxious to meet
the house more than half way in the
-, 4 ~
the bill were slight when it is con-
sidered that the two bodies had
deadlock over them that threatened
the death of the bill or a special ses-
sion.
Had the western members stayed
with Garden City and the Fifth dis
trict members stayed with Concordia
Tuesday afternoon these towns would
have won their normal schools. But
a roll call had been denied and the
members were not on record, so they
voted for economy. The friends of the
bill made a gallant fight for the new
normal schools and polled 4S votes on
a division. They believe they would
have won on a roll call or had very
close vote.
Carney, of Cloud. made a brilliant
speech for the normals, but made
bad break when he moved the previous
question after opening the debate. Tine
Meek, of Nemaha. moved that the bill
be sent back to the ways and means
committee and this was done by a
standing vote. Then Speaker Buchanan
rebuked the house for cowardice in not
settling the matter then and there out
in the open and not burying the bill
in a hostile committee. The house re-
considered and took the bill out of
committee. Then Turner, of Neosho.
moved that the enacting clause be
ufr q Turner
that the appropriations for the new nor
NAL schools would grow and advanced
the strange proposition that it would
be a bad thing for the state to estab-
fish new normals for the reason that
they would get larger and cost the
state more money
Wayman. of Lyon county, spoke
against the bill and he was called good
and hard by Davis of Kiowa, who
declared that opposition to normal
schools came with bad grace from a
man representing a county that had
asked and received from the state mil
lions for a normal school. Davis de-
clared that the west had been given
the worst of it from the east for 25
years in the matter of state institu-
1ionS; that the east was narrow and
selfish in it's viewpoint and he warned
the east that the fast growing west
would one day in the legislature return
the debt with interest
Thomas, of Wyandotte, a Democrat
lHdI the vote on CnlS norman
school bill was along political lines and
called attention to the almost solid Re-
publican vote against the bill.
1t was hard fight to lose. The de-
NAL by the speaker of a roll call in
censed the friends of the bill, and Davis
of kiowa had words with the speaker
over what he termed arbitrary rule in
the matter. 1t looked from the press
desk as though so hands at least had
been raised asking for a roll call The
speaker counted differently, however,
and allowed only standing vote The
bills only chance was roll call. as a
lot OF western members would then
have hesitated on go on record as OBJ
posed to the establishment of a new
western institution. 1t was a hard
fight to lose.
When the senate passed the appro-
priation bill for printing the statutes
and the constitutional amendments it
tackled on an amendment providing
that the amendments should be print
ed only in official county papers Sec
rotary of State Charles Sessions and
Walter Johnson, secretary of the SEN
ate, and Earl Akers. clerk and N. H.
Turner, sergeant-at-arms of the house.
all newspaper men, took the side of the