The Ronan pioneer., 1917-03-02
STATESMEN WERE
AT A DEADLOCK
SENATE BACKS LEGISLATIVE
RULE ADOPTED EARLY
in SESSION.
Provided That No Bills Should Be
Transmitted After the Fiftieth Day
of Session; House, Caught With
Many Bills in Grist, Roars; Com
promise Expected.
Legislative Bureau Of
the Montana Newspaper
Association. Helena


The two chambers of the Montana
legislature found themselves in an
extraordinary situation upon the fif-
ty-first day of the session. On the
third day of the session the senate
and house adopted a joint rule for
bidding the transmission of bills
from one house to the other after
the fiftieth day, unless such bills had
reached the joint conference COM
mittee. On the fiftieth day, Monday
February 19, this rule took effect,
and although the house at that date
had over 100 bills it was anxious to
pass and send to the senate for con-
currence, the upper legislative body
refused to accept any but appropria-
ton, tax Or revenue and state board
consolidation measures.
On the fifty-first day it was an
nounced by some of the members of
the senate that 28 senators had
signed an agreement to adhere to the
rule above described. On that day
the house appointed a joint confer
ence committee of three members,
Fliel, Mason and Rainey, instructed
to meet with a similar committee
from the upper chamber, and arrive
at working agreement by which
the transmission of bills should be
resumed. When notice of this action
reached the senate that body declined
even to consider it, Senator White
side moved the appointment of the
suggested senate committee, but no
other senator would second the mo-
ton. so it could not be entertained.
Immediately after this incident, the
senate, having finished it's business
for the day with brief session, ad-
journed to the next day, thus cut
ting off further overtures for the
time from the house.
In the lower chamber that after
noon Representative Kemmis of
Richland county moved that the
house temporarily confine it's con-
sideration to appropriation and rev.
enue bills, and declared that it was
in duty bound to pursue that policy,
since it had agreed to the joint rules.
The house rejected the motion.
That morning Speaker O'Connor in
an interview stated that the house
would not submit to dictation.
LII V1CW VI IAAo SluUoI ~ Oll InC
further transmission of bills on the
fifty-first day of the session, consid-
erable speculation was indulged in
as to the manner in which legislation
of the indispensable appropriations to
maintain the state government was
to be accomplished, and at that time
the senators were freely declaring
they would not recede from their po-
Il. xl,..11
along on miscellaneous bills, and
making no efforts to expedite the
legislation demanded by the senate.
There was talk of an extra session of
the legislature on one hand by peo
pie who believed the deadlock would
last, while on the other hand it was
prophesied that both bodies soon
would make concessions and come to
terms.
This session seems doomed to be
marked by the feeling stirred up by
newspapermen, newspapers and COM
mentors on the conduct of members
of the house. The latest person to
come under the displeasure of the
lower chamber is Rev. Joseph Pope,
active in the anti-saloon league
movement, and he is also the latest
individual against whom resolution
of exclusion has been aimed. In
his case, as in the other two, the
resolution failed of passage. Repre-
sentative Husser of Hill county read
to the chamber an excerpt from
bulletin issued by the league named.
in which the writer, said to be Mr..
Pope, asserted that it was rumored
that members of the house had trad
ed votes against prohibition meas
ures for votes to support herd laws,
tax measures and other bills and in
that had violated the constitution
committed a felony. The writer add
ed that there was substantial proof
to induce him to believe in the truth
of the rumor.
Representative Husser, who is a
physician, rose to a point of personal