The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-07-21
CHAPTER VI


sheep, and headed with a large, num-
erous set Of numbers, looks very pom
derous after you have taken fee:
then you take the train and 20 10
Quincy before Judge Malone; General
Ellis and Alexander st. Clair Abrams
are on the other side; and everybody
debates and reads out of the English
Reports; someone brings up a text
book of Puffendorf, and the question
Of whether the legislature meant that
each alien should pay a license tax
on each boat he used-this question
is solely argued: the Constitution Of
the United States is lugged in and
the treaty with Greece and Italy is
referred TO; letter from Senior
Devilley y GarIicky, the Italian am
bassador, about the favored nation
clause" and all this bothering is
over the wording Of a statute that
Representative Hayseed, OF 5Finhol-
loway, introduced in the house. Il
was referred to Judiciary Committee
"B": it was considered with twenty
two other bills at the committee meet
ing: nobody listened 10 Cohen, the
clerk who read it; it was favorably
reported and passed the house; no
body heard it read. The bill was
worded by a tired stenographer who
did not understand what she was
writing.
This is one thing you learn at the
legislature. viz: TO pay no particular
attention to what the legislature
meant: it did not know what it
meant.
Six or seven hundred bills are in
troduecd. The legislature meets at
a. m, adjourns at /, reconyenes at ,,
adjourns at 5, reconvenes at S, adj
journs at II p. m. Committees meet
in the interium- How can you get
any head or tan out of this? And yet
the papers shout about unnecessarily
taking up time arguing. After the
first ten days nobody knows what
they are voting on, except where the
bills have been explained by the lob
byists.
The trouble is there is not enough
debate. Take the Williams oyster
bill: 1t covered about seventy printed
pages. | gave a copy TO the conscien-
tious Reeves to read, but even he did
not find time. The earnest members
said: Il will decide how | am going
to vote after hear the debate and
the debate is limited to five minutes.
If this kind of monkey business
goes on in our debating bodies, the
end of this sort of government will
come soon; the man on horseback will
show up; and would like TO be that
man, and probably would be if it were
not for a deeply ingrained cowardice
and an inability to stay on a horse.
The one redeeming feature is that
on important measures interested
people can lobby with the representa-
tiYes. am in favor of increasing the
opportunity Of interested persons TO
argue bills with members. Under
the gag rule made necessary by the
crush of bills, these interested lobby
lists are the only means by which the
member learns about bills. Person
ally consider it an honor TO be ar
gued with by distinguished lawyers
There ought TO be some way by which
interested parties could have right
to have formal hearings with mem
bers of the house, besides the com
mittees, and more time should be
given for a session. The New York
law is a good one. | understand that
the legislature there continues in ses
sion till the business is disposed of.
l tell you the association with sew
enty gentlemen like the last body Of
the house members is an honor Il
any man. Such men, except six, were
an honor to Florida.
For the first time you realize Flori
da as human proposition. Florida
consists of the people in it., rather
than that shapely index finger
which the northern half of the west
ern hemisphere extends southwark Il
show to an admiring world the jewe
of the continent, Jacksonville, glitter
ing and sparkling like the Hope dia
mond in the envious eyes of Europe
1t is the people of Florida, drunk witt
hope and intoxicated with ambition
the beautiful, happy people of Flori
da, all the way from where Represen
tative. Knight sits on his enchanted
veranda watching the stars that shine
over the straights between the Key
and Cuba, up past where Senate
Calkins, in exquisite Fernandina
thanks God for his graceful body ant
his distinguished face and his Lowell.
home and the charm of Nassau coun