The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1913-01-18
STATE LEGISLATURE
IS STILL MILLING
Two-Thirds Vote For Rule Suspension
is Adopted

Oklahoma City, Jan. 1S.--The ef-
forts Of republican newspapers to
make it appear that the house of rep
resentatives of the Oklahoma legisla-
ture is irrevocably split by the speak
ershiy fight into a machine bound
majority" and an "insurrectionary
minority was pretty well disproved
by the house itself Friday afternoon
when a heavy majority of the men,
bership followed H. H. Smith in a
fight to put on the calendar a bill in
which the Pottawatomie statesman
would prohibit electioneering by ap-
pointive state officials, and then turned
round and by about the same majority
vote backed Speaker Maxey in fight
to change the house rules so that it
would require two-thirds instead of
majority vote to suspend the rules.
Mr.. Smith won his fight by a vote
Of II to 21; Speaker Maxey carried
the two-thirds to suspend rule by 6S
to 20.
Each fthe two leaders directed
their fight personally, Speaker Maxey,
as the chairman fthe committee on
rules, the one committee place the
speaker has under the legislative Gus
toms; Mr.. Smith as the author of the.
bill he sought to put on the calendar.
In each casse, they were opposed by
other dominant house leaders. Durant
of Durant took issue over the question
of putting Mr. Smiths bill ON the cal
endar after the criminal Jurisprudence
committee had reported it unfavorably
J. Roy Williams, one of the members
OF the rules committee who submitted
a minority report in favor of sus-
pension by majority vote instead of
two-thirds, was one of the chief speak
ers opposing the Maxey program.
No Definite Lineup.
In each case, also. large number
of the members popularity misrepre-
sented to be arrayed with one or the
other of the suppositious factions in
the house, voted contrary to their
speakership alignments. Some Of Mr..
Smiths most ardent admirers backed
the speaker to suspend the rules only
by a two-thirds majority; some pf
Speaker Maxey's best friends voted to
put Mr. Smiths bill on the calendar.
Neither of the fights were controver- !
sial, and in neither did the opposition
of Mr. Durant or Mr.. Williams reflect
any fractional feeling"
The house put the best part of the
afternoon into the two questions, and
it is the general opinion that two mat
ters of some general interest was made
clear The first point made was best
expressed by an observing state off
Ger as follows:
1T strikes me that this ought to
prove that the house of representatives
is not composed of hundred more or
less of wood Indians who topple over
the way they are pushed, but instead,
has a membership of ninety-nine in
dependent and rather above the aver
age legislators who will move the way
their intelligence and conscience di-
rects. And I think the republican
members are entitled to the same
econiums."
Able Debaters in House.
The second general deduction, as
heard around the lobbies after the ad-
journment, was that the present house u
has greater number of able debaters
and parliamentary generals than any
general assembly since the constitu-
tional convention, barring not even
the first legislature with its famous
speaker, William II. Murray.
It is a Tecognizer procedure of the
house that when member is dissatis-
fed with a committee report on his
bill, he may go to the floor at once
in its behalf. When Mr.. Smiths bill
was unfavorably reported, he made
the motion placing it on the calendar
which means that the house would
take it up as a bill fayorably reported. !
In a vigorous speech explaining the