Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1914-03-20
BRIEF HISTORY OF
LEGISLATION DONE
A Summary of Important Bills
Passed and Some That Failed
of Passage---Enabling Act and
Other Measures.

When the curtain fell a. midnight
Saturday the real drana of the leg.
islative session was over. During a
few dreary days remnant oc Tho
membership Of both houses will
meet in constructive session and the
presiding officers of the two bodies
go through the solemn farce of
signing bills, which they could well
be trusted to sign in private; but the
history of the legislature of 1914 has
been made, though it may be some
months before it will be fully writ
ten. Indeed, it is safe to say that few
of the members have any accurate
idea of what measures failed and
what succeeded. Since it is necessary
under the present system to do moth
ing at all or else to pass fifty or sixty
bills day without debate and with
out even time for examination, it is
should be sidetracked and that some
sinister and joke laden ones should
slide through in the confusion. 1t is
we'll, then, that the house by an al
most unanimous vote concurred in the
senate joint resolution for constitu-
tional amendment restoring the old
ninety day sessions, as recommended
by Governor Stuart.
of the session than the passage by the
house of the resolution for the initi-
ative and referendum by vote of 62
% %. 1t showed the effect of the
speeches of Senator Owen and Secre-
sary Bryan as well as the growth of
sentiment, for last session only a doz-
en- votes or so could be mustered for
such n plan. The resolution failed in
the senate, however, because of the
| opposition of some who did not care
to go on record, but made objection
20 its consideration.
The defeat of the coordinate COL
lege in the house was unexpected.
The debate was sharp and dramatic,
| involving the names of senator's and
representatives in congress and bit
ter talk of lobbies, together with pas
sionate appeals for the chivalrous
treatment of women upon one hand
and for the little ragged children and
Confederate veterans on the other
In the melee the women got the
short end of the roll call. There was
deep disappointment among the la
dies and other friends of the proposed
college who had worked so faithfully
for it during two sessions, but they
predict victory at the next session.
A good part of last week was oc-
cupied by the senate in filibustcring
against the anti-shipping liquor bill,
as well as against the bill to regulate
sales on commissions very earnestly
desired by the farmers; also on the
anti-vice bill.
The resolution for woman's suf-
frage obtained only thirteen votes in
the house, but there were many men,
bers who voted against it for policy
who approved the principle and were
willing to admit that it would be a
winning cause before many years.
The house adopted the primary bill
as it came from the senate, not so
much because the members did not
think it could be improved, but be-
cause it seeNed to be the best thing
in sight, as it had been rumored that
some members of the senate might
have been willing to let the bill die if
it had come back from the house with
any amendments, just as they killed
the primary bill of 1904.
The house late Saturday night
passed two extremely important bills.
one permitting juries to impose O life
sentence for murder in the first de-
gree, and the other raising the "age
of consent" TO sixteen years. 1t was
quite evident that some of the men,
bers who had fought the latter bill
for two sessions did not realize that
1T was being voted upon, and it is
probable that majority of the men,
bers of the house have been sur
prised to know that the bill passed.
The bill to revise the Code was one
of the important ones passed in the
last days. The revision is to be done
by commission of three appointed
by the Governor from list of ten
furnished by the Supreme Court of
Appeals. 1t is to be hoped that all
of those named by the court will not
be corporation lawyers.
Altogether, it may be said that the
legislature tnat enacted these meas
ures and also the enabling act, the
Diii reducing the bank tax, the re-
peai of the Buchanan land bill, and
provided Tor commission to STUDY
The lee system and imposing a max
imum Tor the compensation OF officials
wnlle approprlating over fourteen
doiars ana making provision for a
TAX revision and an extra session
Tor its tinai accomplishment-su a
legislature was indeed busy. Be-
siaes, there were hundreds of bills
more or less local in their character
and of minor public Importance that
were written upon the statute books.
moreover, about two hundred bills
perisned on the calendar of the house
and at least u fourth of that number
on the calendar of the senate merely
for lack of opportunity to vote upon
Them. Most OF them mad been care
fully considered by the committees,
and had cost much thought, labor and
speech that went for naught in the
final crush. Other hundreds of bills
were left in the committees, because
that happened to be the most con-
venient way to kill them and among
these were some of the most merito-
rious offered. Some day we will grow
too wise to permit all of this waste
of time and effort or to witness such
wholesale denial of popular govern
ment, but at present the people are
helpless and their representatives in
the legislature are bound hand and
foot with the fetters forged by the
lobbies. Only the ignorant and the
designing can uphold such a sys-