The log cabin Democrat., 1915-01-29
SPIRITED DEBATE
ON PUBLICITY ACT
MAJORITY OPPOSE BILL
PRESIDENT OF SENATE ADVO.
GATES MEASURE FOR FIRST
TIME THIS SESSION.

Little Rock, Jan. Following a
debate which eclipsed anything yet
displayed in the liquor fight, the SEN
ate Thursday afternoon voted down
the Edmonson bill to repeal the pub
Eelty act, II to %, and then the mo-
ON by which the bill was passed was
r2considered and laid on the table, eff
t2ctlyely killing the measure, and
preventing any of its parliamentary
ghosts to return to disturb the sena-
torial body.
For the first time of the session
President Lundy went on the floor in
advocacy Of measure, and for a
If hour he numerically poured ora
tory into the legislative funnel. He
a9sailed the publicity bill from almost
al angles, starting with its concep-
ton, which he declared was within
Il e chambers of the Arkansas Press
A 5soclation, and conceived by a for
elgn corporation which supplied much
o. the sinews Of war, at the same
ii ne wringing from the newspapers
Of the state untold sums in order to
secure tho passage of the bill. He
took up members of the campaign
committee of the Press Association
and paid his respects to them individ-
lly and collectively He read from
le tiers written by members of the
cC nmlttee to editors over the state.
aid declared that the people heard
OF y one side of the question, conse-
entity it had not been fairly put up
to them. President Lundy was fire.
quently applauded when he made
SC ne fiery assaults upon the bill
The opening statement was made
by Senator Edmonson, and in the
three hours debate which followed,
Senators Calvert, Lundy, Going and
A ahley spoke against the bill, and in
&C dition to Senator Lundy, Senators
Bush, Smith of Columbia and Great
house spoke for its passage. =.
The repartee was sparkling, and
az rplause followed many of the replies
which followed questions put to the
speaker on the floor. The debate soon
filed the galleries, where applause
broke out many times.
Senator Collins and Senator Bush
had quite a clash upon the PROPOSE
tions which constitute good Democra-
cy, to which Senator Bush replied
that he was willing to take the Will
liam Jennings Bryan standard, and
with the use of yardstick, measure
up with any of those in the senate.
The main argument against the bill
was that the people had adopted the
me asure and that it was without the
province of the senate to set aside the
voice of the voters. The supporters
of the bill declared that such an ac-
ton on the part of the general as
sembly was not unconstitutional, the
initiative and referendum giving the
ass emily and the people equal rights,
and that the people have the right to
initiate an act to repeal an act of the
legislature, hence the legislature can
do the same for the people.
The parliamentarians, likewise the
corstitutionalists of the senate, Sen
ators Moore and Futrell, did not coin
eide with this statement of those sup
porting the bill, and Senator Moore
declared that he had drawn up the
bill which would soon be presented to
the senate, correcting the publicity
act, as best it could be done, as he
saw it. His measure will require all
publications to carry at the head of
the publication, in heavy type, the
cost of the article which follows, to
the taxpayers. He said this would
let the people see what they were hav-
ing to pay, and he believed it would
socn influence them to act in their
own behalf. Senator Moore stated
he had been against the bill at the
beginning, and his county had gone
heavily against it, but he saw no
chance for the senate to make a
change.
The vote on the question was:
Aye-Bush, Cabiness, Edmonson,
Greathouse, Hamilton, Overman,
Smith of Columbia, Toler, Wagner,
White and Mr. President-11.
Nay-Adamson Ashley, Burgess,
Calvert. Collins, Davenport, Duty,
Ferguson, Futrell, Garrett, Going,
Harris, Jones, Kendall, Moore, Nc
Call, Owens, Ruff, Sims, Slaughter,
Smith of Union, Vann, Wasson-23.