Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-06
WORK PILES Up
AS LEGISLATIVE
DAYS GROW FEW
Leaders Recognize They Must
Work at Sternest Pace To
Pass Most Imperative Bills.

When the General Assembly con-
venes tomorrow morning there will
remain just SO working days of the
first session ahead.
Thirty eight days will remain of
the 5o-day limit, but five of those
days will be Sundays, and will not
count.
From the total of 80 working days
left, moreover, five Saturdays, which
are given over exclusively to local
legislation, II the House does not ad-
journ over them entirely, must be
taken out, which reduces the total
Of working days upon which general
legislation may be handled to 2s.
1t therefore may be seen that when
President Anderson and Speaker
Burweu call the Senate and the
House to order tomorrow, the sum-
mer session of 1918 viii be practical
ly half gone.
Within the remaining time, the
General Assembly must pass a gen.
eral appropriations bill, several tax
reform bills and dispose of the va
rious new county propositions to be
brought before 1t, or fail in the legis-
lative program mapped out for it by
the Governor and the leaders of the
two Houses.
Not a Bill Reported.
There have been already introduced
in the two Houses something more
than 200 bills, and not one yet has
been reported back to either House
from a committee, with a recommen-
dalton.
No bill yet has been read a second
time, although one general bill, pro-
Viding for Senator Bacon's election,
was passed, and received the Cover
nor's signature, in the record break
ing time of five days.
That the Senate and House leaders
realize that time is slipping away
from them, despite their inclination
to push things along as rapidly as
possible, is evidenced in the fact that
there is a feverish desire perCeptible
among the committees to get busy
this week, and send such bills as
come before them back to the two
Houses for action as soon as posi-
BILE.
The Governor has placed the Gen
eral Assembly on notice that he ex-
poets. and thinks he should have, the
general appropriations bill in the ex-
ecutive office a good ten days before
adjournment-or exactly four weeks
from Monday.
That will mean that the House
must dispose of it, send it to the
Senate and then meet the Senate in
conference for the adjournment of
differences, all within less than A
month.
After the Governor gets through
with it, If he decides not to sign it.
it must go back to both houses for
further consideration, and with not
more than five or six days left for
that.
While the appropriations bill and
the tax refor mmeasures are being
considered, too, there will be some
thing like 300 or 400 local bills to
consider, and not less than 100 gem
eral bills of importance.
Legislature Ready for Work.
There is an evident disposition upon
the part Of the General Assembly not
to declare any dies non" during the
present session-that is, non-legis-
iative days. which are not counted in
the so days limit, and for which the
members received no pay-and ad-
iournment, therefore, confidently is
predicted on August 10.
There are signs in plenty, however,
notwithstanding the fact that so
much of the first session already IS
gone. that the Legislature is fully
prepared to get right down to hard
work from to-day forward, and DO
the things expected Of It.
Every committee Of both the Sen
ate and the House has been called to
meet Monday at hours calculated as
nearly as possible not to cause con-
fusion among the more important.
Tuesday bills will begin coming
back to the two houses from the com
nnittees, with recommendations, and
within the week some general lesis-
lation should be well along the road
to enactment.
Chairman Crawford Wheatley has
promised to get the big general ap-
propriations bill out of his committee
within ten days, and the Ways and
Means Committee will take the mat
ter of the tax act Immediately IN
hand for speedy disposition.
1t is not likely that either afternoon
or night sessions will be called soon.
as that time Will be needed by the
members for committee meetings.
Afternoon sessions win come along
about the last ten days of the ses-
sion and night sessions the last three
or four days.
one OF the DIS sure u SASe~SC ILAS
immediate attention of both the
Senate and the House is Senator Fos-
ter's bill to provide for prison inspec-
ton in Georgia
Prison Complaints Frequent.
Complaints of wretched prison con-
ditions throughout the State have
been getting more and more frequent
of late years, and some of the State
prisons are said TO be in unpardon-
ably unsanitary condition.
Senator Fosters bill provides for
rigid prison inspections, at stated in
tervals. and sanitary reform wherever
indicated.
Another bill that will attract con-
siderable attention is the one by Mr..
Adams, providing for a central place
of execution of all criminals convict
ed 70 capital offenses and sentenced to
death.
This bill has the Endorsement of