The Dolores star., 1919-12-19

Following is the governors message
In full:
To the members of the Twenty-Se
"nd General Assembly of the State
of Colorado, Greetings:
In issuing the call for ii special ses-
sion of the general assembly the exc
cutive is aware of the fact that such
gatherings of the law-mnking body
have never been very popular with the
people, but matters of such import
nnce have developed since last you
met that l have deemed 1t necessary
to call you together to give them Seri-
GUS consideration. Such is my conf
dence in the intelligence of the mem
bers of this body that | am free to be-
liere You will perform your duties eN-
peditiously and give unbiased consid-
GRAFTON TO the best interests of the peO-
pie.
Since it first became known that Il
| special session was contemplated, the
executive mail has been burdcned with
requests for legislation of various
kinds, and scores of citizens have call
ed al the capitol to make personal
pleas for various measures. All such
requests have been given candid and
serious consideration.
The matter of a blue sky" law has
been advanced by many, but as the
National Congress is giving attention
to this subject, with the prospect that
1t will soon pass sanitary legislation
along this line, it was decided best to
withhold state action until something
tangible as basis has been evolved
by the higher Legislative body with
which our state could cooperate by
appropriate legislnt on.
My thought is that when the next
regular session convenes the incentive
for making it political issue will
have passed away and there will have
been time for serious thought and the
formulation of a measure that would
accomplish the end desired and result
in action that would be worth while.
Likewise. the matter of the ''higl,
cost of living has been urgently sug-
gested as a subject for legislative ac-
tion. but 1t is believed that as this
matter is not condition peculiar to
Colorado, but rather is nationwide.
even worldwide in its scope-the rea,
son for high prices in Colorado, in
many cases, being directly attributable
to conditions in other states-it was
decided not to act on this matter in
Colorado until after the National Con-
) gress shall have suggested remedies in
the shape of enacted laws.
The Colorado commission appointed
a short time ago by the governor and
the attorney general to investigate
this subject has done IL tremendous
amount of work, investigating the sub
ject from various angles, and while
it has gathered large amount of data
and assembled a great many conflict
ing facts, the committee is not yet
ready to suggest even tentative plan
for SupprcSSing or regulating such
abuses as may exist, and for this real
son it was not considered wise to EN-
brace in the call II matter concerning
which it has not been possible to come
, to any definite conclusions.
AS to the matters embraced in the
call, kindly allow me to offer few
Recommendations:
Happily Colorado was the second
state in the union to recognize the
rights of its woman citizenship, and
they have capably exercised this right
for many years. ,
heartily recommend the ratifica-
ton of this amendment to the federal
constitution and trust that it Will be
brought about by II unanimous woe
of the members of both houses, so that
the prestige of our beloved state may
be increased throughout the land.
The imperative need of new ana al
ditional legislation on the subject oi
automobile stealing is keenly realized
by those who have made study of
The subject. Carefully compiled st;,-
tist,cs disclose some astound ng facts.
The automobile business is the EtrS
est business in the State of Colorado,
and whereas at no very remote day
the automobile was considered as only
n vehicle for the pleasure of the we'll
to-do. today it is recognized as one o1
the absolute necessities of the times.
Ii is stated that S250,O0O,OOo are i'll
vested in automobiles and trucks IN
Colorado, and most of this invtslnen.
Is for business purposes. There mas
been an increase in motor Neh clcs OF
22G per cent in 1919 over IBIS, ana
in the matter of thefts during the same
period there has been an increase of
about 100 per cent.
Further, it is stated as fnct that
delinquency among girls has increased
nt an alarming rate during the past
wear because of the use of stolen cars
Inv so-called "jOy-riders" who have un-
lawfully appropriated the same for
their temporary use.
recommend that rigid anti-nuto
theft law, with suitable penalties, be
enacted as one of the most important
measures which will be submitted for
your consideration.
The need for the enactment of leg
islotion to curb and eradicate threats
against our form of government by II
responsible agitatOrs has been brought
prominently before the public by the
events of recent days, and II is deemed
imperative that prompt remedial
and suppressive action he taken by
he general assembly in The form of !"
comprehensive, well-cons.dered meas
ure provided with MI of the penalties
necded for its practical and rigid en-
forcemcnt.
There Is vast difference betweeh
freedom of speech and rank ana un-
warranted license.
mis- is the United States of America Il