Omaha daily bee., 1919-01-26
LEGISLATURE
WRESTLES With
"CANNED" BILLS
Blame Reference Bureau for
Large Amount of Measures
introduced; 60-Day SeS-
sion Impossible.
By a staff Correspondent.

ROOl NO. SO-ana-SO, WHlle y0I
wait, is one OF the conditions witt
which the present legislative assem-.
bly, is wrestling.
Twelve days of the Legislative
ses sion have passed and during thai
time there has been a perfect flooc
OF bills, some of them with rea
merit, but most of them of doubt.
full value, and in many instances
duplicates, that have been poured
into the legislative hopper.
Eight more days remain for the
introduction of bills and it is safe
bet that the number of bills that
will be introduced during the re-
naming days OF the session will be
more than equal to those that have
been reported since the beginning
OF the session. .....
A 60-day session will be impossi-
bic and the chances are that the
present assembly viii drag until
some time in the spring if some
method is not devised for trimminq
out or sitting the deadwood and
duplicate bills,
Blame Incubator"
Many members blame the legisla-
tive reference bureau, which has
thus far incubated 234 bills, for this
condition. A member who has a
half digested idea for some reform,
or some curative measure, can take
il to the bureau, and while he waits
he can have it drafted into the form
OF a bill Many of these measures
when they come from the bill in
cubator," as it is called are crude
and defective, being without enact
ing or repeating clauses, and some
of them unconstitutional Most of
them fail to define limitations Of
power and are so broad in their
scope that they are impossible.
They clutter up the records, take
time Of the house in an effort to
amend defective clauses, or cause
irritation in the committees while
they are under consideration in the
sitting phase.
Reynolds Of Douglas, introduced
a resolution to have the tempo
rary employees" of the legislative
bureau and its workings investigat-
ed He and Jacobson and Jenison
have been appointed a committee
for this purpose. A. E, Sheldon,
who. under the authority Of the
board of regents of the state uni
versity, has been in charge of the
work, is just home from France.
During his absence the work of
the bureau has been in charge of
Mrs. Cyrus Mason, who is soon to
move to Omaha. Two nonpartisan
league workers are in the employ
of this bureau and Gley are to
come within the scope of the in
vestigation.
Capitol Bill Tuesday.
Tuesday morning the capitol bill
will be the special order of busi-
ness. Those who do not favor the
erection of a new capitol at this
time will be given opportunity for a
hearing. The plan is to raise a
fund of about $5,000000 by a spe-
cial levy to be spread over period
of five years. Mcclellan of Grand
Island, is working to have the
clause providing for the erection OF
the proposed building on the pres
ent site" to be stricken out and a
referendum vote on the location of
the capital submitted to the peo-
pie at the time the vote on the con-
stitutional delegates is taken next
fall, on a referendum ballot to PERM
anently settle the question of loca-
ton. He says he is getting consid-
cradle support in his plan. .-
Tuesday, too, in the senate COM
mittee Senator Sears bill to prevent
the imparting of sex knowledge or
information of social diseases to
children under 10 years of age, ex-
cept by parents, guardians, or per-
sons employed for that purpose. will
come up for hearing.
The matter was deferred to that
date at the request of Mrs. Claflin,
PRECEDENT Of the Woman's club, and
Major Settles, a representative of
the federal health department. They
favor instruction on sex knowledge
and hygiene to children. Senator
Sears, in discussing his measure
with some OF the enthusiasts who
are opposing it told the homely
story of the power of suggestion.
Suggestions Dangerous.
Suggestion is a dangerous thing"
said he, so far as children are con.
cerned. They are as curious and
as irresponsible as little animals.
One day a good mother, with large
brood of children, had occasion to
leave her home to visit a neighbor
she had some beans on to soak
and before she left the house she
called the children together and ad-
monished them: Now, when | am
gone, don't any of you children put
a bean up your nose like little John
ME Jones did. His mamma had to
call the doctor to get the bean out
and it hurt Johnnie awful bad
up to that minute the children
had given no thought as to expert
menting with the beans, but as soon
as mamma was gone they tried the
trick, and when she came home she
had to call the doctor for all OF
them. IL is more than probable
that indiscriminate instruction in
sex knowledge to children whose
ages range from 9 to 10 years. as
the enthusiasts propose, may result
the same way.
II is more than probable that the
old-fashioned folk who are opposed
10 teaching such things publicly
may have something to say before
the committee.
May Increase School Levy.
The passing of the saloons in Ne
braska has reduced school revenues
-, an alarming extent and with the