Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1921-04-28
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 A.
Libel Any Attack Against
Any Religious Sect.
(From star Correspondentl

AfTDm Ctdu Correspondent
Lansing-The closing rush of the
legislative session found each house
bending every effort 10 get its own
bills over to the other in time 10 per
NIT action before adjournment.
Morning, afternoon and night ses-
sions of both houses were the rule in
the effort to clean up the calendars.
The mammoth size OF the house list
OF pending bills was such for 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 a 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-
ule for definite action were two pro
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 SO and sent il 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 libel
and is aimed at the anti-Semitic cam
paign OF the Ford weekly. Rep. Frick,
of Detroit, questioned the constitu-
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 20 to 10
In favor OF the bill.
Appropriation Bills Numerous.
AT this stage Of the session appro
priation bills had tho right Of way in
each house and took up much of the
time. II 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 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 a 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
authorization OF the lakes-to-ocean
waterway program going through and
making Detroit a seaport. The house
still has to act upon this resolution
before Il is certain that it will be
submitted to the people next year.
LEGISLATORS Want Pay Increase.
The proposed amendment 10 the
constitution to pay members Of 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 to
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 1t 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 il /
fills the constitutional requirements |
laid down by the supreme court in its
decision.
The house has passed the Glaspie
bill to restrict the paroling of life |
term prisoners, without waiting for |
the report of its committee inquiring
into paroles given in the past. The /