Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1912-11-01
their power to handle as the night

their power to handle as the night
passed.
"1here was no attempt to engross
the measures. The rule to engross
bills was suspended. and bills recon-
mended by committee of the whole
were considered engrossed and placed
on third reading without comment.
Committee meetings on bills, too, were
early abolished on the last day. The
way the measures were acted upon In
committee rivalled the performance in
The houses; the chairman Of the COM
ports and present them to the house
or senate. In the senate some senator
weakly protested that committee
had not acted upon bill that had
been favorably reported. Immediately
a motion to dispense with such meet
ings was made and carried, and then
committee action became an endorsed
formality.
1.-THE steering committee resolved It.
self into the chairman OF the two
sections. They gave up the entirely
superfuous work of making reports,
and merely wrote the number OF the
bills that they desired acted upon on
the blackboards of the house. tossing
the bills up to the clerk, who read
them in committee o. the whole at the
order of the chairman as they were
reached. 1t was as good as show
to watch Senators Galway tpresiding
ofticer) and Edwards tjoint commit
tee chairlnan) work together in this
fashion on Thursday night Edwards
would drop bunch of bills on the
clerks desk, and walk over to the
blackboard and write the numbers;
Gallwey would glance at the black
board. picking up the numbers with
his eagle eye, and call them off one
after another with lightning speed;
the clerk would humble through the
title at ripping rate. and the bill
would be before the senate. Some
senator who had caught the number
would move that the bill be recon-
mended Gallwey would put the mo.
ton, there would be a grunt. and that
bill would be up to third reading.
THAT any of the senators knew
what measures were washing through
on this stormy tide Of meaningless
words and numbers. save bills they
had been pursuing for personal rea-
sons, and which exclusively occupied
them and the perfect horde of lobby
lists who filled the aisles, lined the
walls, and occupied the seats OF men,
bers and guests, is quite impossible.
/; Besides, the senate was helpless to
! change the proceeding and block the
work OF the bosses. There was an
ocean of bills that all knew must be
got through to keep the obligations
with members and lobbyists. and any
effort to consider these measures So
berly would simply leave ninety per
! cent Enacted upon.
! In the house in the morning, the
situation was perhaps as bad or
! worse than in the evening. for the
| chamber was more than half deserted:
! the members had SO many personal
irons In the fire which had to be at
tended to that they could not remain
| In their seats to consider bills OF in.
terest merely to the people Of Mon.
tana. The result was. that. in COM
mittee OF. the whole. the title OF a bill
would be read, and somebody would
move Its recommendations: the motion
would carry. and that would be all. A
dozen times members. suspecting that
the bill before the house might be OF
interest to them in some personal
way. would arise and ask for the mum.
her or the title again. The motions
were carried with half dozen ayes,
and on third reading the absentees
would number almost as many as
those voting. All around the cham
Der and gallery comments on the pro.
cednre. grins indignant criticisms. and
cynical remarks were uttered by as
founded and shocked spectators.
! Besides the utter lack of sane OF