Pocahontas star herald., 1911-06-16
The LEGISLATURE
IS NO MORE
By Clio HARPER

waiting to be called before the tul-
aski County Grand Jury, an empty
treasury, and few officials and
committees working on the journals
aud the enrolled bills, are all that
is left of the extra session OF The
3sth General Assembly. 10 these
however, should be added feeling
of intense relief on the part of the
people aud state officials and the
members themselves that it is all
over if not forgotten.
1t is doubtful If in all the history
of the state there has been a more
unpopular and less fruitful session
of the Legislature, one that accom-
plished less of actunl good. The
two sessions held for a total of l45
days, at cost of about $3.50, 900.
Gov. Donaghey is authority for the
statement that more of actual good
was done during the twenty days
of the extra session than during the
1875 days of the regular session.
He declares that the regular session
did practically nothing, and that it
was only by the adoption of vigor-
Gus measures toward the so'called
Regulars of the Senate, that any
thing was done in the extra session.
He is well satisfied with the results,
but is convinced that much more
might have been done. However,
those who have feared a call for a
second extra session need have no
alarm, as there will be no more
in Arkansas until Janu-
ary 1918, a little more than IS
By that time, with the
election of new members interven.
ng, the state should have recover
ID from its recent distressing ex-
)erience.
A great deal of useless work was
lone by both houses. Many bills
we're introduced iu both houses that
we're ruled out of order as not
coming within the purvlew of the
governors call Had bills for the
of the capitol, for the
appropriation of various items We
loed by the governor, and for rails
ing the tax on wholesale liquor
dealers, life insurance policies, old
bachelors and maids, and such like
dutiable subjects, the worried Sol
ons would have welcomed the first
frost of winter.
As it was, all were ready and
anxious to 90 home and resolutions
for adjournment sine die began to
appear in both houses the second
day of the session. The members
themselves generally admitted that
the session was useless, ill-advised,
and wanton waste of public funds.
For this reason, President Toney
and Speaker Milwee held out of
order many bills not expressly pro-
vlded for in the call.
Each house passed numerous bills
that were thrown out by the other.
Mere perversity was the cause, very
often, of these actems, and retalia-
ton frequently was the actuatinS
influence.
has been said that no Legislative
session in the history of the state
has been productive of 50 much
political boom material. 1t was
charged openly on the floor that
many of the bills under cousidera-
tion were only for the purpose of
helping elect some one or defeat
some one else. 1t Is undoubtedly
true that Governor Donaghey and
Attorney general Norwood will
both extract much campaign thun-
der from the session. Whether
Governor Donaghey's position with
the people has been weakened or
strengthened depends much on the
personal inclination of the observer,
and will depend more on the de-
velopments of the next few months.
For 1t will be only a few months
until the next campaign is on full
blast.
Several candidates for attorney
general NAV GROW ont of the session