The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1908-current, 1913-02-18
SHORT SESSION
SEEMS INADEQUATE
MUCH YET TO BE DONE
APPROPRIATIONS AND REVE.
NUE-RA1SING LEGISLATION
YET TO BE ENACTED.

ry as to the wisdom of the short leg
islative session of sixty days, includ-
in Sundays, which was voted by the
people and sustained by the supreme
court. 1t is not denied that the ses
sion will close with vast amount of
unfinished business, but that was
true in the historic 126-day session of
1911.
And then again, there are those
who still hold the old theory that
these countries are best governed
which are the least governed and that
we have enough laws anyway. This
class of economists believe that the
legislature should meet only once in
four years, and that each local COM
munity should have absolute control
of its internal affairs, so long as they
do not violate certain general fixed
principles or interfere with the rights
and prerogatives of other communi-
ties.
There are only three weeks of the
present session remaining. Not one
| of the appropriation bills has been
passed, although there are bills pend
ing that carry an aggregate of near
| ly S3,000,O00 for the next two years.
Where is the money to come from?
That is question that has not been
answered yet, and as no proposed So
luton has been suggested, it may
naturally be doubted that it will be
thoroughly solved The legislature
realizes that there is a scarcity of
revenues, for it has been wary of all
measures proposing the creation of
new offices or departments involving
the outlay of money A joint com
mittee is working on a revenue-rais-
ing measure and there is a Joint fin
ance committee to which is referred
all appropriation bills for the purpose
of holding down the aggregate with
in bounds. If possible they would
avoid throwing upon Gov. Robinson
the responsibility that Gov. Dona-
ghey had to face, that of vetoing
something less than a million dollars
in order to save the credit of the
state. There are rumors of a proba-
bic bond issue of about $3.50, 900 to
meet the deficit, although some main
tain that with economy this will be
unnecessary.
Up to the present time there have
been 1S9 bills introduced in the SEN
ate and $50 in the house Gov. Rob-
inson has signed 81 acts, of which not
more than half dozen are of a gen.
eral nature. All the protest against
and criticism of local legislation has
availed nothing and the records clear
ly show that the great bulk of the
laws enacted are of this nature.
One of the most important bills, in
the estimation of criminologists, that
has received the approval of the gov
ernor is that championed by two of
the young men of the house, Ragon of
johnson and Kidder of Pulaski, abol-
ishing hanging and substituting the
electric chair for the execution of
criminals convicted of capital of
fenses. The law becomes effective the
first of January, 1914, and provides
that after that date all persons con-
victed of capital offenses shall i'm
mediately be removed to the peniten-
tiary in Little Rock and there confin-
ed until electrocuted in a permanent
death chamber, to be provided for
that purpose. This will relieve the
rs sheriffs of the state of the respon-
sibility of executions, and throw it all
upon the warden of the penitentiary
or deputy designated for that pur-
pose, 1t is further provided that the
Executions shall be private except for
certain specified witnesses, and that
the newspapers shall be permitted to
print nothing more than the mere
fact that the man was executed. The
authors of the measure believed that
it is best to get such criminals out of
the world in the most expeditions, hu-
name and least spectacular manner
possible.
There has been considerable dras-
tic anti-saloon legislation, to such an
extent that this has come to be known
as a prohibition legislature. The en-
actment of the Friedell bill, prohibit
ing the sale of liquor within 10 miles
of the public school building of Tex
arkana, vas the entering wedge, and
this was followed by the passage by