The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-03-08

With lust another week to go, the
Kansas legislature must dispose OF
492 bills now on the calendars and IN
the committee rooms. In eight weeks
the legislature has passed, beaten or
buried 799 house and senate measures
Now. with but another week of the
active session ahead, the law makers
must clean the decks and throw reams
of perfectly good typewriter propos-
ais for laws in the scrap heap.
Next week the legislature will try
to give the governor a little something
as final remembrance. The two
houses have not decided as yet just
what the present will be- 1t may be
the land tenantry proposal and 1t may
be nothing in particular. To date the
legislature hasn't so much as sent the
governor a bunch of engraved calling
cards Such laws as the governor gets
next week will be net profit. Today
the administration workers began
Acharging all uncertain items off the
books. No man is wise enough to
foresee what a Kansas legislature will
do in the final week.
Agree on 115 Bills.
To date the legislature has agreed
on lis bills and some ten or a dozen
Joint and concurrent resolutions. But
nothing on which the house and SEN
ate have agreed have occasioned par
ticular alarm or concern in the state.
~ The one law, perhaps, which is really
OF StateVlQe importance dDOilSnSS the
old tabltshed tax rebate system. For
wears the big corporations and heavy
tax payers were able to block repeal
of the law. But this year the legisla-
ture slipped the enactment out of the
statute books.
OF the lis bills passed by both
houses, ninety-one have been signed by
the governor, while the veto has been
exercised just once. Today there are
twenty-three engrosSed bills on the
ures will become laws after their sig
nature by the governor and publica-
tion in the session laws or official
state paper.
Behind 1917 Record.
The legislative record is in many
ways behind that of two years ago.
The law makers made the state happy
by introducing a minimum number of
bills-1,2 ,291 as against 1922 in the
first eight weeks of the 1917 session.
Two years ago 45S original bills had
been passed and 634 bills had been
> slain by house and senate committees.
This year the mortuary record is 4OS
bills Killed by committees and 27 on
the floor. A total of 36S bills have
passed the house in which they orig
mated. The number of new laws two
years ago was 1O3 as against lis
signed or ready for the governor at
this time.
Long hours of hard work face the
legislature week. II Is the
plan of both houses to cease consid
Grafton of bills at midnight next Sat
urday. Sine die adjournment will
come Wednesday, March 19 The
work of the session, so far as consid-
Grafton of bills is concerned, must be
handled IN the next week. After that
time a half dozen members will stay
in Topeka to receive messages from
the governor.
Important Bills Coming.
Many important bills must be taken
care of before adjournment. The farm
tenantry resolution will be back to the
house for a second test. The bill
creating the new state board of indus
try and labor will be called up. The
state reserve bank bill awaits action
The social disease bill and the big pub
lie health measures are yet a long dis
tance from the session laws The two
houses must get together on the fees
and salaries bill if state employees are
to be raised above the 1898 wage
scales
And always and ever there are the
state administration bills which de.
mand action. To date no administra.
tion measure has passed the two
houses. The farm tenantry has ar
outside chance. 1t was beaten in the
house two weeks ago. but might pas.
next week. And that will he about al
which the legislature will give at thi,
this sitting.