The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-24
House Finds a Lobbyist in Its
Net.
E. A. Tennis Accused Of ViOlat-
ing New Law.
GOES TO CONFERENCE.
Attempt Will Be Made to Agree
on Utilities Bill.
Topeka Paving Measure Again
Goes Into Discard.

The first violator of the anti-Iobby
law passed by the last legislature has
been discovered, so it is believed, in
the person of E. A. Tennis, vice presi-
dent of the Garden City & Gulf rail-
way. Attorney General Dawson is in
vestigating the matter. He has been
informed that Mr.. Tennis has lobbyed
for the passage of a bond issue bill
affecting Scott county and that he has
not registered in the secretary of
states record book as required by law.
Mr Dawson is investigating the mat
ter.
Williams of Logan county declared
on the floor of the house this morning
that he had been approached by a
lobbyist in regard to the Scott county
bond bill and that he had turned him
down.
This Scott county bill provides that
majority of the votes cast at the cleo
ton may dispose of bonds heretofore
voted for railroad purposes, instead of
three-fourths majority now required
by law. The bill had been killed in
committee before, but in some man
ner appeared again on the calendar.
Following the Williams speech today
the bill was killed for good by the
house.
The counties of Scott, Logan, Fin
ney, Thomas, Sherman and Cheyenne
are all affected by this bill. These
counties have been asked to vote
bonds of $4,000 per mile for this road.
In many towns the bonds have been
voted by a majority. but not the nee
essary two-thirds. The road is to take
these bonds in blocks of so many thou
sands and pay for them at the rate of
5000 per block. The counties want the
road, but their representatives here,
notably Hines of Scott, declared that
the roads proposition in regard to the
disposition of these bonds is not a
square deal to the counties and they
opposed this bond bill based on a ma
jority instead of two-tkirds vote.
Resolved, That the house disagree
to the senate amendments to house
bill No. 1924. and it is hereby declared
to be the judgment of this house that
| in an adjustment of the differences
between the two houses on the said bill
there should be insistance on the prin-
ciple of home rule; on the high quail
fcations of commissioners fixed in the
house bill; on section of the house
BILL and on the objection at all times
to section 25 of the senate BILL
| The above resolution was adopted
by the house this morning and the
utilities bill goes to conference. 1t will
| likely have a stormy time. The three
principal points of difference are: local
control of local utilities, stock and
bond issue and qualifications of mem
bers of commission. The house wants
! local control of local utilities, while
| the senate bill provides that an ap-
peal can be taken from local control
to the state commission. The house
| judiciary committee believes that to
vest the commission with powers of
appeal is to give it judiciary powers
and that would be unconstitutional.
On qualifications the house has pro-
visions for strict regulations regarding G
the qualifications of members; for in
stance, requiring that one member
shall have served specified number
| of years as college president, another
that one member must be an engineer
of experience and ability, and another
that a member must have been man
ager of a transportation company. The
senate bill has no qualifications clause
except that one member shall come
from the minority party, as is the case
with the tax commission.
1t is said that the governor and the
administration leaders favor the SEN
ate measure over the house bill be-
cause of the qualifications clause.
The conference fight over this bill
will be long sustained.
The Topeka paving bill died the death
| in the house this morning when the
adverse report of the ways and means
! instead of the favorable report by the
claims and accounts committee. The
| chief reason the members gave for their
opposition to the bill was the fact that
it was an old claim. The city had cut
the claim in two in it's last PROPOSE
tion to the legislature asking for only
$4,000 in place of the original indebt-
edness of $63, 900.
Stone, Kelley and Olinger of Shaw
| nee supported the claim on the floor
of the house with all the logic and elo-
! quence at their command, and they had
| the figures, too, and the facts. but to
| no avail.
The members of the ways and means
committee opposed the claim and it
| was on motion by Mercer of Chase
county that the report of the ways
and means committee was accepted.
The debate over this claim develop
| ed the fact that the city had spent the
| amount of the claim for paving around
| the state house grounds and had never
| received one dollar of the states share
| of the paving tax, and yet the states
| policy has been to pay paving claims
4 against its institutions in other cities
notably Parsons, Rosedale and Olathe
l One item of the Topeka paving claim
in the sum of SO, 900 is only three years
old.
/ Why the legislatures have for many
/ years refused to pay this debt of the
state has been and always will re-
main a mystery. The claim is not dis
puted. One member gave as reason
for repudiating the debt that it was
too old to pay; that to pay it now
would be to cast reflections on previ-
Gus legislatures that had refused the
claim.
The ways and means committee o.
the house today reported adversely OF
the three bills by Davis of Kiowa tt
light the state house dome. provide fol
settees in the rotunda and erect storm
doors at the principal entrances. Ths
storm revolving doors are almost a ne.
cessity during the winter months. Get,
ting into the state house now from