The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-05
GOVERNOR MIXES PRAISE AND BLAME
 FOR LEGISLATORS
Tells General Assembly at It Close What He Thinks of
 Its Work
HITS LACK OF ECONOMY
Comments Compensation Act, Fund for Highways and Many
 Other Bills Passed

Hartford, June 5-Governor Baldwin in an address to the General Assembly yesterday afternoon, just before ad- journment, reviewed the work of the present legislature. He said:
 ''Mr. President Speaker and Gentle men of the General Assembly: The members of the General Assembly of 1913, as they meet today in joint con- Vent1on and meet to part, may be fair ly congratulated on the general char enacted. Had the time not been SO much occupied with the distribution of local offices and the consideration of local and special legislation. an ad- journment could readily have been made a month ago.
 It seems to me that there Is cause for sincere regret in the rejection of the am endment to OUT statutes, which would have placed the nomination to
 the bench of our municipal courts in
 the hands of the governor; and also of the report Of the House commit tee on constitutional amendments. pro posing amendment to our consti- tuition to preclude the appointment by future general assemblies of their own members in office.
 You have given the assent of this state to the amendment of the con- stitution of the United States which henceforth will place the choice of
 United States Senators directly in the hands of the people-a measure which can hardly fail to make for the pulp lie good.
 You have also taken the initiative in suggesting to Congress the proposal to the States for ratification of another amendment to that instrument which, if adopted the election of the Presi- dent of the United States by g. direct,
 popular vote would be secured, and secured without varying the number of votes to be credited to the respec-
 tive States in the final count.
 This session will long be rennem- bered in the history of Connecticut for it's work in framing and enacting a workmen's compensation act. It is a carefully considered statute; perhaps none the worse because in some re- spects it repr esents a compromise be- tween differing views. It seems well calculated to attain it's declared ob- ject, and to be wisely planned with respect to the classes of employers, and employed which comes within the scope of its operation
 By. a reasonable relaxation Of our ancient Sunday laws, you have rec ognized the general trend Of public sentiment in our ttnfess and relieved our prosecuting officers from an occa- sion of reproach for sometimes seem ing to tolerate acts forbidden by statute, but sanctioned by the prev a1ent opinion of the community. By an ACb SlVlnS SSIINIkA Q0W0AG to cities and boroughs you have made it no longer necessary for such Lnu- nicipalities to apply for special acts Isto enable them to issue bonds within reasonable limits, and have also given them power, with the aid Of the local referendum, to revise their own char ters from time to time, in some of the most material points. The principle of home rule has been thus more fully vinddcated.
 You have by your enactment of a general law for the incorporation. un-l der certain restrictions, of banks and trust companies, put an end, 1t is to be hoped, to the flood of applications for special charters for those purposes every, session, to clog the wheels of llegislation and when successful have often had their main effect in putting into the hands of a few favored indi- yiduals marketable commodity. You have relieved future general
 assemblies from the consideration of many applications fr0Bn particular charitable institutions for relief from the burden of legacy taxes, by grant ing a general exemption in favor of all of them. This is likely to have an important and enduring effect in pro noting charitable bequests.
 ssYou have made a. liberal provision for the Improvement of our highways, fettered by no unnecessary conditions. You have for the first time in the history of the State enabled any of our citizens who contemplate entering l into the marriage relation in a for eign country to know with certainty how the cer emony may be legally per formed I think that only g, single l State, Massachusetts, has preceded us