The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-01-25
Administration Measure Will
Be introduced in the Yer
mont House on Friday
ELEVEN SUPREME
COURT JUSTICES
If Passed, 1t Would Mean
That One of Present Supe-
rior Justices Would Go


administration measure for changing th'
Judiciary system of Vermont will be in
troduced in the House tomorrow b,
| Representative Joseph /. Stearns of Bur
| lington. The bill provides for the ap
| pointment of nine supreme court jus
tice and the abolishing of the positions
OF superior judges. Inasmuch as this
reduces the number of justices tsupremt
and superiorl to nine, this would near
that one of the present list OF eleven
would have to be dropped from the
bench. There is already one vacancy in
the list of eleven through the voluntary
retirement of Chief Justice Loveland
Munson, followed by the promotion Of
the other supreme court justices and the
raising OF Judge Willard w. Miles to
the supreme court. II the bill should
pass the legislature and if the usual
method of promotion from the lower
court to the supreme court should he
followed. ii would lop off Judge Leigh
ton 7. Slack, the last superior judge at
the present time.
Two public hearings are scheduled for
to-day, the joint revision COMMITTEES to
hold meeting in room at 1880 O'Clock
aud the committee ON temperance VIII
meet directly after adjournment in the
afternoon in the supreme court chamber
to consider House 81.
House ~ is the bill introduced BY Mr..
Fenton of Rutland City which would
take away the power now held by the
assistant Judges to appoint town or city
license commissioners and have the COM
missioners elected BY the voters.
Ten more bills appeared in the House
yesterday afternoon making a total OF
l34 and the House adjourned after they
had been referred to the proper commit
tees.
MIR. Williams Of Pawlet, author of the
bill to repeal the primary, springs into
the hmelight again with q bill to change
the time of holding the annual town
meetings from the first Tuesday in
March to the third Tuesday In June.
Mr.. Belknap of Royalton proposes to
look after the probation officers in the
state for his bill, H 100. would give to
that officer one half of the money earned
by prisoners in county iails.
Perhaps the most important measure
Of the afternoon and one OF the most
important introduced to date is that pre-
sented by Mr.. Perkins of Waterbury for
the committee on highways and bridges
which will enable the state to take adj
vantage of the federal appropriation for
the Improvement of roads. The bill as
sents to the federal act which was passed
last wear. Vermont Is entitled to S22,-
600.
That many committees worked vfgor-
ously and with results yesterday after
noon and evening was manifested in both
this forenoon. for nearly two
score measures were considered during
the sessions.
Barnet Representative Unseated.
The town OF Barnet viii be without
for the remainder of the
session, the committee on suffrage and
elections returning an unfavorable report
IN the seating of Leslie II. Thornton and
he House concurring. The committee
'ound that Mr. Thornton was a postmas
.er at the time of his election and there
ore ineligible to serve as member, but
hat there was no evidence of lack OF
rood faith on the part of Mr.. Thornton |
Ind that the constitutional requirements |
we're not fully considered by him at the
ime of his election. A resolution was |
Idopted providing for the payment of his |
,er diem and mileage from Jan. 3 to 25 |
The first bin providing for woman suf- |
rage was introduced in the House this |
orenoon by Mr.. Metzger of Randolph, |
| 1877 giving women the same rights as
men to vote for presidential electors.
Senator Chalmers of Rutland intro
uced q measure to-day aiming to stop |
ecretaries of the boards of license com
nissioners from making such sums as
ave been made under an act of the last
legislature which netted secretaries in
Iutland and Burlington between two and
hree thousand dollars for their services.
AZ amends the 1915 act so that the sec
ctary shall receive 10 cents only for the
anne of each person to whom licensees
re forbidden to sell or furnish intoxicat
lg liquor. notice of which is required to
G given licensees and takes out of the
wv the part which enabled secretaries toA
iake sums out of proportion 10 their
uties and which the state had to pay.
Insurance Premium Rebate Bill Pigeon
Holed. il
The House indefinitely postponed con-
Iteration of Senate 6, relating to re-
ates on insurance premiums.
Mr.. LaFleur of Middlebury vigorously
pposed the bill, claiming that its main
biect was to stop rivalry between |
gents. that il merely affected the right
, contract. and that we ought to have
he same right to contract for insurance
! in any other business. He insisted
rat the bill did not affect state policy I
/ the morals of anyone. He believed ;
iat il was gotten up in the interests of Z
me individual or firm, and called atten- )
on to the fact that a bill OF the same \
nport became a law in 1906. but was re- I
saled in zoos. Mr.. Smith Of st. Alhans &
ty thought Mr.. LaF1eur had misstated '
cts. perhaps unintentionallyH and told I
how the bill came 10 De presented.
e said the bill was legislation for the
any and not for the few. He believed 5
lfsir and It-throat competition should
II be allowed. Mr.. Stearns Of Burling- e
n read a communication from a con /
ss-.*.4 fnVo-Srr4 FHa hill n