Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-01-16
Adoption of Rules Is by Strict
Party Vote and DryS Are
Unable to Guess What Il
Means for Them
AMENDMENT AT MERCY
OF THE COMMITTEES
Senator Clark of Las Vegas
Introduces Resolution CAL
cuIated to Danish Booze in
1919; Other Measures,
tBy r.. l.. d. McAllister, STAFF Core
spondent.)


spondent)
Santa Fe, Jan. 15.-The first strate-
gic move in the legislative fight lor
statewide prohibition in New Mexico
was made this afternoon in the house
of representatives. 1t came up by a
division over the adoption of the rules
of the house, and was decided along
strict party lines.
The play today means one OF two
things-either theirepublicans have de-
cided to frame their own amendment
and to put it through to suit themselves
without the aid of the minority, or the
anti-prohibition forces have gained
control of the majority in the lower
house, Whatever the significance Oh
the move, the republicans VIII De
compelled to take the responsibility
for such results as may follow
upon it.
Rule 49 of the house as submitted
by the committee reads as follows:
After a bill or resolution to amend
the constitution shall be ordered to
same shall be in order without unan-
imous consent; but any such bill or
resolution may be recommitted prior
to the final reading thereof"
Under the practice of the house.
all bills and resolutions are read twice
by title only Immediately upon their
Introduction aid are then referred 70
committees Upon being favorably re-
ported they are ordered to third read
ing. The practical effect of the rule
is to give the committee to which a
measure providing for constitutional
amendment is referred supreme power
to shape it as the committee may see
fit. 1t may amend the measure to 1t S
hearts content, but after it reports 1t
to the house, no further amendment
is permissible The only alternative
that the house has is to recommit or
kill.
This section was part of the rules
of the house of the second state leg
islature. 1t will be recalled what be-
came of all proposed constitutional
amendments in that legislature. Pro-
selves if history is to repeat itself.
Rule 40 An Exception.
Under rule AZ, all other bills
and resolutions except those relating
to constitutional amendments may be
amended at any time before final pas
sage. Nobody explains why an ex-
ception should be made as to those
measures providing for constitutional
amendment.
At the conclusion of the tedious
process of reading the rules in both
English and Spanish, Representative
Pardue of Guadalupe county, the
democratic leader in the house, moved
to amend by striking out rule 40,
but did not make any speech in sup
port of his motion. Representative
Mares of Colfax county moved to lay
Mr.. Pardue's motion on the table. A
roll call vote was taken and the mo-
ton to amend was tabled by vote OF
20 to Is.
Many Bills Introduced.
With the appointment of the house
committees both branches of the leg
islature got down to hard work this
afternoon. Twenty-one bills were in
troduced in the senate and thirteen in
the house. Adjournment was taken
on both sides of the capitol until to-
morrow afternoon at o'clock in or
der to give time for the committees to
consider the bills that have been re-
ferred to them.
An important measure introduced
in the senate was the bill of Senator
Tully of Lincoln county to provide a
fund for paying the expense of the
prosecution of the boundary dispute
between New Mexico and Texas and
to put former Attorney General Frank
w. Clancy in sole charge of the case
to the exclusion of Attorney General
Harry L. Patton. The bill carries an
appropriation of $50,0O0, of which
amount $4,000 is to be paid
Mr.. Clancy as a fee. 1t is ex-
pected that the bill will be opposed as
an unnecessary expenditure of state
funds for the employment of special
counsel in a case which should fall
under the Jurisdiction of the attorney
generals office.
Another Dry Resolution.
Another prohibition resolution was
introduced in the senate today, this
time by Senator Clark, the republican
leader in that body. Mr.. Clark's res
olution would have prohibition go into
effect on January l, 1919. 1t omits
the provision for change of venue con-
tanned in the Mcdonald resolution and
permits the shipment of liquor into
the state for personal use. Otherwise
the two measures are quite similar.
In the house Judge r. P. Barnes in