The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-01-23
ITS HERE AT LAST
Real Business of Legislature at
Hand.
Preliminaries Have All Been
Disposed Of.
THE STUBBS BILLS.
Question Now Is What Will Be
Their Fate.
Evidently Depends Upon At.
titude of Senate.

The preliminarieS of this session of
the legislature are about ended and the
main event will be staged beginning
this week and continuing until the last
minute of the term. The balance of the
house committees were appointed last
week and all the committees have set
tied down to work. About half a hun
dred bills have been introduced in the
house for consideration and many of
these have reached the general ordets
stage. The senate is still further along
SO 1t may be expected that serious af-
fairs of legislation will be considered
this week. When the houses go into
committee of the whole then big and
little bills will be properly labeled and
cared for.
In the senate the lines were drawn at
the beginning without any attempt ut
concealment. The old senate regulars
clipped the wings of the square deal
presiding officer. They may relent and
grant the administration a few laws,
but that will depend entirely on how
they feel about it. The. condition with
the minority gives them the balance of
power and they have not been bashfui
about rolling the bandwagon over any
one that happened to be in the way.
In the house there has not yet been
administrator
There have been one or two party
votes. but they were not strictly speak
ing test votes. The Republicans have
shown a disposition to hang together
pretty well. but there has been nothing
as yet to indicate how close they will
stick. The minority passed the Orr
resolution Friday. it is true but 80 Re-
publicans, regardless of faction. voted
with them. Not until some admins
tration measure comes up in the house
for a roll call vote can the complexion
of the house be determined. From
present indication the administration
is stronger in the house than it was
two years ago. But the session is early
yet.
The new members show up strong
and many of them are sure to develop
into useful and active leaders in de-
bate and council. One of the big fights
of the session is sure to come over the
selection of three constitutional amend
ments. The suffragettes. prohibition
lists and administration and anti-ad-
ministration men will clash in free
for-all on resolution days.
Malone. of Rawlirs county, took his
| pen in hand the other day and drafted
| a bill revising the law on marriage and
! giving in marriage; he also cut off six
| or seven legal causes for divorce and
| he presented his ideas to the house Sat
| Malone, ahone, ahone, would require all
couples who contemplate etrimony TIC
! publish the bans at least three weeks
| before the date set and file this pub
| LEGATION with the probate judge. This
| being done this couple can get married
| if no one in. the world objects. Once
| he would keep them SO until the enc
| of time. The present statute permits
| divorce for unfaithfu1ness abandon
ment fraudulent contract, extreme cru
| city, habitual drunkenness. gross neg
! Maine wipes out these causes as in
! sufficient and leaves only three out OF
| the ten present causes.
! The committee on state affairs re-
| ported on Cones anti-tight bill Satur-
| day, recommending to the house thai
| it be not nassed Cones has threatened
To try to bring the bill out of the com
| inittee discard and place it under gen
eral orders. The debate on his motor
| to this effect will be pretty one.
The judiciary committee reported
| between the black and white races IA
| vorably. But the committee on educa-
ton recommended that his bill estab
fishing separate schools be not passed
/ There was a fight last session over tbs
separate school bill and there Will be
another this week if Herr tries to ge
his bill under general orders
Shearer. of Marshall county, has al
amendment to the primary law that L
passed would practically do away witt
the party declarations. The amendment
simply provides for a blanket ballo