The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-09-21
legislature Votes
Referendum On
Soldier Bonus
Also Passes 21 Measures
Dealing With Election
Laws and Then Ad-
journs to Meet Again
on Suffrage = Clocks
Turned Back to Keep
Within the Law.
Especial To The Times)

Hartford, Sept. 21-With the
clocks in the Capitol turned
back to II o'clock standard
time, the Legislature today
passed 81 election laws provid-
ing for the making of women
voters and providing for vari-
Gus other things in the making
Of voters and Of matters dealing
with election. It also passed a
bill providing for referendum
at the November election on a
bonus for 500 for every SER
vice man in the state. and then
adjourned the session of Sep.
tember "A to Immediately con-
vene again in the special ses-
sion called for today to ratify
the Woman Suffrage amend
ment.
Governor Holcomb informed the
senate that he would veto the bill pro-
viding for referendum on soldiers
bonus on the grounds that it was out
side of the call for the special session.
The house and senate lobbies were
only partially filed today and not only
were there a number of house mem
bers absent but there were many less
women present than week ago today.
The senate rejected six bills unfavora-
bly, reported by the judiciary commit
tee at the first session and then re-
| cessed
At 1925. daylight time, Speaker
Walsh called the house to order
which without comment concurred
with, the sena te in rejecting the same
six bills, which had to do with ballot
boxes, new women voters omissions,
hours of closing the polls and making
a 70 md v1at oil dow h
days.
The house also concurred with the
senate in suspending the rules and
passing a bill providing for a referen.
dunn at the November elections in this
state on the soldiers bonus bill. theS
referendum to be in accordance with
the vote on license questions pro-
vided in Chapter 141 of the General
Statutes, the vote to be Eyes or "No{'
on the question of whether or not the
state shall pay a bonus of 500 toy
every legal resident of Connecticut
who was in the armed service of the
United States during the war.
When 21 bills relating to making
women voters and eligible to caucus
registration all of them substitutes
for the so-called Blodget bill which
ceived at the clerks desk, House
Leader William A. King said that
they were all the necessary prepara-
ton for creating new women voters
tell about them in detail in the TWEEN
ty minutes remaining before the sec
ond special session should convene.
He said there was no political issue
satisfactory to both Democratic and
Republican members of the judiciary
committee. He said that they
changed the law so that women who
We're now registered as school voters
become full voters, that in the linn
tied time remaining before the Oc-
tober town meeting, they provided
that women might become voters at
these town meetings and that they
observed the spirit as well the let
ter of the federal suffrage amend
| ment.
I'VE have carried it out as far as
voting. rights with men, said Mr.
king, speaking for the Judiciary COM
mittee.
The rules had been suspended and
the bills were about to be passed in
tact when a question by MIR. Lyman
that he was not sure that the bills
! would provide for women registering
for primaries because they were on an
absolute equality with men and he
doubted if new male voters might at
| this short notice be registered for the
primaries.
Out of the general discussion which
ensued Matthew Kenelly of Stamford,
| a member of the Judiciary committee
gave it as his legal opinion that wom-
| Ell w no SIIoilei icot ktui detS IOi ga
cuses were under today's bills, legally
| enrolled and on the caucus registra-
| ton list.
Among the bills rejected was chat
| providing for special deputy boards
| of voting districts and wards On the
ground that it was unconstitutional.
| The legislature also rejected the bill
permitting nonresident teachers
from voting in this state.
There was some discussion as to-
the new voting hours provided in the
bills $50 a. m. to 5 p. m, except
| in Windham which may keep polls
! omen until D. m. under the proviS-
| CONTINUED on Page. Six-)