The Weston leader. [volume] (Weston, Umatilla County, Or.) 189?-1946, 1917-01-19

Goth Houses Organize spsedIly-tsw
Blns AZ Vet Have Appeared In
House-sena,s bills Number rs
Work on "eens Dry" Amsndmsns---
Committees Consider Legislation
Before Observation-Disclosures sf
som. Commissions Considered,
salem, -whllc very little OF import
Ance was accomplished aside from
organization during tho first weeks
session of the state legislature, yet II
the celebrity with which both houses
organized is an indication OF the man
ncr in which the business Of the ses'
sion is 20 be conducted. Il augurs we'll
for successful session. r. y, Stan.
field. of Umatilla county, vas elected
presiding officer OF the house and
Gus. c. Moser. of Multnomah county.
selected to preside over the senate
without opposition, desk clerks chosen
and all details Of organization conf
pletcd without q bit of hlckcrtng
one of the remarkable features OF
the Initial week was the small number
Of bills introduced IN the house as
compared with previous sessions.
With four aud half days OF work
only 81 bills and few routine reSoiu'
t,ons appeared on the calendar, while
two years ago 10: bills appeared dur
ing the samo period. 10 the house
keeps up this record I, win have ap'
proxtmately $50 bills before II. where
as during recent sessions the bills In
troduced have Appropriated one thou.
sand. and should this proportion be
kent up during the session. the pres
eat house will have established rec
ord for having introduced fewer bills
than any house In the past decade,
Bills Come In slowly.
Hut all this seeming slowness is 10
the credit rather than the discredit
OF the house. for II is not the guam
ti,y but the quality OF legislative work
that the public is interested in. aud
q great multitude Of measures usually
means feverish haste, tumult. logroll'
inE and riot In the closing days OF the
session.
Speaker Stanficld has been urging
members 10 get busy and introduce
their bills, believing that II they are
going to introduce bills they should
Ee, them In and out Of the way before
the important work of the session Is
taken up,
In the senate no encouragement for
the introduction OF bills is needed. as
the record Is slightly greater than two
years ago. There were IS bills on
the senate calendar as compared with
a. at the previous session.
First Measure 10 Dry Memorial.
The firs, measure OF any kind con-
sidercd by both houses At this session
vas the Joint memorial, by Senator
Eddy, petiticning congress to vote the
nls,rie, az Columbia dry, The senate
pu, il through unanimously. but seven
representatives voted no.
None Of the important measures
that are sure TO come up made their
appearance during the first week.
The join, committees on alcoholic
traffic. roads and highways and in'
surance have been worrying over the
various relative problems confronting
them under this same plan. The com
raittee on alcoholic traffic expects TO
unity all the conflicting suggestions
and proposals tina, have sprung up
surrounding the proposed bone dry
measure. II will sit In open hearings
20 hear aud discuss the various argu-
nents that may be presented for or
against the measure, either by mem
hers OF the legislature, or the general
public,
Ns~ Insurance Code Scanned.
The insurance committees Of house
and senate have been scanning the in.
surance code prepared by Insurance
Commissioner Harvey Wells. and are
now EF&uA W nNtA RFNu hN@AAANS va
,ha, measure. section by section and
class by class
The committees Of the two houses
are following = new course this year.
Eers ot . reversal OF previous prae'
,ices. and IL s proving to be decided
improvement. The committees are
ecnslderlng th' proposed legislation
IN advance Of its introduction. This
IL true of the military committee. the
Insurance committee and. 10 . certain
extent. the alcoholic traffic commit.
tee, II always has been the practice
az the ways and means committee 20
discuss appropriations before the bills
for them have been intro
aneed,
The advantage Of this plan is that
time will be saved on the ficor Of the
two houses When the Insurance code.
he military code. the prohibition bin
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