Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-02-26
LEGISLATURE IS
NEARING AN END
half Way Mark Is Passed And
But Five More Weeks Remain
OF The Session
AT WORK AGAIN TONIGHT
Accumulation Of Bills In Committee,
OF Both Houses Blocks Progress
Annexation Hearing Takes Place
This Afternoon.

When the General Assembly meets
/ tonight it will enter upon the fifty
sixth day of its session. There will
remain "a days into which must be
crowded the main work of the ses-
sion. The calendars of both Houses
are comparatively clear. 1t is the
committees which are delaying the
! work. So tardy are they that one
day last week Mr. Fisher, of Prince
Georges County, offered an order in
the House requiring members of com
mittees to attend meetings or resign.
The House is surprising all records
in promptness and dispatch with
which business is disposed of. This
gratifying condition is due largely to
the absence of daily ''talkfests." The
Senate is not as much oyerburdened
this year as two years ago with long
drawnout speeches on trivial subjects.
During the present week the bills
which will occupy the center of the
| stage will include city extension,
woman's suffrage, abolition of horse
race tracks and statewide bone dry
bills. Most of these measures will
come up in the Senate.
Tomorrow City Solicitor Field will
complete his argument before the
Senate Committee on Judicial Pro-
ceedings in behalf of the Nonpartisan
Greater Baltimore City Extension
Bill which has already passed the
House If practicable the committee
will hear the representatives of Bal
timore and Anne Arundel Counties on
the same day. 1t is planned to re-
port the bill on Thursday, certainly
on Friday.
Woman's suffrage will be the bone
of contention in the Senate for at
least a day. The Anti-Suffrage As
sociation will be given another hear
ing on Thursday.
The bill repeating the Wilson bal
lot law, which has already passed
the House, will have the right of
way in the Senate Wednesday.
The city delegation in the House
will give its final hearing today on
the bill providing for a constitutional
amendment to consolidate the courts
of Baltimore. This will be the last
hearing The bill will be then re-
ported to the House.
Owners and managers of notion
picture theatres will be heard tomor-
row on the bill to repeal the motion
picture censorship law and on other
bills affecting their interests Repre-
sentatives of the several theatres will
meet here today to map out their
course.
The home rule bill for the coun-
ties will pass the House during the
week
The Weimer Statewide bone-dry
bill may emerge from the House
Temperance Committee Thursday.
This appearance will be a signal for
the beginning of fight which prom
ises to tie up all local legislation.
Ahead of this bill in the two houses
are the city extension, election, race
track, women's suffrage, the budget
and a score of other important bills
which have not been acted upon If
these dry bills are pushed by the
Anti-Saloon League, members from
the counties will see their pet meas
! ures go to the waste-paper basket
Governor Harrington will submit a
! supplemental budget before the close
of the session. 1t will carry small
items not included in the budget now
in the hands of the two Houses. II
; will also make corrections in the pres
est document.
The Governors nominations will be
confirmed during the week