Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1921-04-29

MANY MEASURES
GET QUICK ACTION
LAWMAKERS IN NIGHT SESSIONS
IN EFFORTS TO CLEAN UP
LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR.
VOTE TO REPEAL SCHOOL LAW
House Also Passes Bill Defining As
Libel Any Attack Against
Any Religious Sect.
VOTE TO REPEAL SCHOOL LAW
(From STAFF Correspondent

4
bending every effort to get it's own
bills over to the other in time to per.
NIT action before adjournment.
Morning, afternoon and night SEES
sions of both houses were the rule in
the effort to clean up the calendars.
| of pending bills was such for a few
| days that members who had been op-
| posing efforts to save time by attach
| ing roll calls to bills against which
there was no particular opposition,
surrendered to the desire for speed at
last. AS a result the house cleanup
proceeded rapidly. On one day rec
ord was set for the house when ten
bills were adopted on final passage in
a space of fifteen minutes.
Ask Repeal James Law.
Among the big measures coming up
in the house on the final hours sched-
posed by Rep. George w. Welsh, OF
Grand Rapids. The first aims to re-
peal the James law, passed in 1919,
by which boys and girls under the age
of Is who have gone to work before
completing the regular school course
must attend continuation schools for
at least eight hours each week. The
operation of this law is both costly
and troublesome, declared Welsh. The
law was strongly defended by others,
but the house passed the repeal bill
by a vote of Ga to 33 and sent 1t over
to the senate.
A call of the house while this re-
peal measure was pending disclosed
that for the first time in the session
every one Of the one hundred men,
bers of the house were present. Three
were granted leave Of absence during
the debate, however, because OF other
important business and so did not
vote on the bill.
Welsh's second bill was entitled one
ito define and prohibit general liber'
and is aimed at the anti-Semitic cam
paign of the Ford weekly. Rep. Prick,
of Detroit, questioned the constltu-
tionality of the bill and said that pres
ent libel laws appeared sufficient TO
him, causing a spirited debate for an
hour. The house then voted rs to 10
in favor Of the bill.
Appropriation Bills Numerous.
At this stage of the session appro-
priation bills had the right OF way in
each house and took up much or the
time. It was thought two years ago
that the passage Of the budget bill
would relieve this situation in the
present and all future sessions, but
the failure of the budget system to
get into operation has resulted in the
usual crop of nearly a hundred diff
ferent appropriation measures, with
no certainty of what the actual total
appropriations will be until they all
have been acted upon. Renewed in
terest in the obtaining OF budget
system has resulted.
The senate has adopted the joint
resolution for an amendment TO the
constitution permitting the enactment
of legislation to create port districts
at Detroit and other lake points, in
anticipation of the lakes-to-ocean
waterway program going through and
making Detroit a seaport. The mouse
still has to act upon this resolution
before 1t Is certain that it will be
submitted to the people next year.
Legislators Want Pay Increase.
The proposed amendment to the
constitution to pay members or the
legislature $1,000 for the session in
stead of the present $500 was adopted
by a vote Of 20 to "a after having been
defeated and tabled twice. 1t requir'
ed a two.thirds vote to pass. If the
senate acts favorably on the resolu'
ton 1t will be submitted the people
at the election in November OF next
year along with the amendment to
limit legislative sessions to one hun.
dred days.
Efforts to get the Strauch bill off
the table in the house have failed. 1t
proposes a tax of five per cent on the
gross earnings of motor trucks oper
ating for profit. Also on the house
table is the proposed resolution tc
permit the state administrative board
to dispose of in legal ways the stock
of liquor in possession of the food
and drug department. Speaker War
ner ruled that this matter could not
be disposed of by means OF a resolu-
ton, as II involved a change in the
liquor laws.
Another liquor measure, the Hicks
bill designed to patch up the present
law to take care of the situation
caused by the supreme court holding
the search and seizure section uncon
stitutional, has passed the senate af
ter much debate on whether or not II
fills the constitutional requirements
laid down by the supreme court in its
decision.
Change Primary Election Date.
The house has adopted the Dunn
bill to change the date OF the primary
election every two years from the last
Tuesday in August TO the second
Tuesday In September, the bill getting