The log cabin Democrat., 1913-02-06
SENATE WINS
 THE FIRST HEAT CALDWELL & DRAKE RACE
STATE CAPITOL CONTRACTORS ~ AFFAIR BEING THRESHED
 OUT AGAIN.


 nesday afternoon, and Senator John Ike Moore, who is also member of the State Capitol Commission, came out victorious by the indefinite post ponement of further consideration of the bill introduced by Senator Raney to pay the Pfeifer Stone Company of Batesville a balance due of S6,975.75 for stone furnished for use in the capitol building.
 Senator Raney stated the bill had been introduced by him by request, and thought it ought to go to committed to be considered in full. Senator Moore announced this was but an opening wedge for the claim to be presented by Caldwell & Drake for an alleged balance due for work on the capitol and if the state paid the Pfei- fer claim, it would have many other Caldwell < Drake debts to pay. He moved an indefinite postponement and Senator Covington offered as a sub stitute that the Moore motion be ta- bled.
 Senator Jacobson stated that the Caldwell & Drake claim had not been left to the board of arbitration sug- gested by Governor Donaghey during the legislative session two years ago because he desired to name the board and then require the contractors to file bond to abide by it's decisions. He claimed that the state had held back $69,000 of the money earned by the contractors, and had issued vouch- CTS for $19,000 which were never cashed. The senator stated he felt as though he was treading on stolen property every time he entered the capitol building. He read at inter vals from a pamphlet, and when ask ed what it was, admitted it was statement which Caldwell & Drake in tended to place before the senate. In this is statement that the contrac- tors had to mortgage their private property to pay claims for labor per formed on the state capitol
 The statute of limitations should run against the Pfeifer claim, was the contention of Senator CarlIee, who stated the state was in need of protection along this line more than the individual He stated the stone contractors claim was against Cald- we'll X Drake, and not against the state, and that it was not offered to the legislature two years ago. Sena- tor Moore asked if the contractors were not paid on the material every 30 days, and Senator CarlLee admit ted this was his understanding, by which question Senator Moore infer red the contractors had received pay , ment for this stone, furnished six years ago.
 The author of the bill, Senator Raney stated the Pfeifer Stone Con- pany was an honest concern, doing business in Independence county, where it had one of the finest quar- ries in the world. He stated the members of the concern were taxpay- CTS, not boodlers, and had never been run out of the state. He stated they could not sue Caldwell & Drake, be- cause that firm was insolvent, and that he did not claim the account to be due the Pfeifer company, merely introducing the bill by request, and , he was of the opinion a committee should go into it's merits, and if the bill should not be paid, he was not in- tending to vote for it.
 Senator Moore closed the debate on the bill, stating the commission has paid Caldwell & Drake more than it was entitled to, and the controversy should stop some time. He replied to the questions as to why the commis- sion had never sued Caldwell & Drake upon it's bond, by stating the act of 1909 which named Chief Justice Me Culloch, and Federal Judges Rogers of Fort Smith and Trieber of Little Rock, as the board of arbitration to settle the Caldwell & Drake matter, removed any legal way of settling the claim in any other tribunal. Senator Moore stated this board was compos- ed of the judges who must ultimately pass upon the case, no matter wheth- CT it was tried in state or federal courts, but Caldwell & Drake declined to submit its case to this board He