The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-03-24
THE LEGISLATURE
Resolutions Endorsing Universal
Training Adopted by House.

Montpelier. March 22--The senate
today ordered 10 third reading the
house measure extending the authori-
ty OF the public service commission
to the manufacture. distribution or
sale OF gas or electricity distributed
directly to the public or to be ulti-
mately used by the public.
That the eyer-threatening war cloud
has not lightly been dispelled from
the horizon OF the representatives was
shown in the RESOLUTION adopted by
the house expressing the belief that
universal military training is neces-
sary to secure an adequate system
Of military preparedness in this coun-
try This resolution which was in
troduced by Mr.. Austin of Reading is
to be forwarded to the Vermont dele
CATION in Congress.
The house passed the bill making
necessary a declaration OF party aflili-
ations at the primaries. II provides
that when a man seeks to vote he
shall call for the ballot of the party
to which he belongs and if he is chal-
lenged as not being member of that
party he must take oath that he is
affiliated with it and intends to stand
behind its candidates.
The measure appropriating $4,000
annually from the maintenance road
fund for unsolicited highways. was
passed nthe afternoon by decisive
vote. after it had been explained by
Mr.. Puffer of Richford
1ba 1if ,.a1a+fpu n {practp1a,f ~
banks and extending their power of in
vestment OF state institutions until it
is practically equal to that of nation
al banks, was made a special order
for Wednesday afternoon
The measure introduced by Senator
Villas relating to the sale of opium.
morphine and other narcotic drugs
was killed by an emphatic vote. The
measure was sent to the house from
recommendation.
Representatives of the Vermont
branch of the American Federation of
Labor vigorously opposed the DILL
providing for the referring of all la
Dor and employer controversies to the
public service commission and making
1t Illegal for q brotherhood to call a
strike until 60 days after the COM
mission has published its report for
the case. Another public hearing
will be held before the commerce and
labor committee next Tuesday even
ing. Representatives from Barre
manufacturers associations and of
various Barre quarry firms spoke in
favor of the bill.
The labor representatives contended
that the bill was discriminatory be-
cause 1t did not apply to employers
and that there was not another like 1t
in the country. Supporters of the bill
admitted it should be amended in this
respect 1t was also contended that
labor was not a commodity and should
not be restrained in this manner.
Sentiment in favor of the principle
of the bill introduced by Amidon of
Halifax creating water power and
conservation commission to provide
for the development of water power
by the state was expressed at hear
ing on the bill held in the evening by
the ways and means and conservation
committees While ii was felt that
the state should make start in this
line, il was thought that the appro-
priation should be much less than the
two million dollars called for by the
bill The point was also made that
the state should not compete with
commercial companies.