The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-02-03
SENATE BEGINS
COURT DIVORCE
Without Warning, Upper House
Starts on Row.
Begins When Public Utilities
Commission Is Mentioned.
COLEMAN STARTS THE 0RATORY
Johnson County Senator De.
fends Present Court.
Many Interested Spectators At
tend TOday's Session. ~


Without warning, the senate this
morning upset several kettles of adj
vance dope, and swung into the indus
trial court divorce argument with lit
tie or no warning, ahead of the house
consideration of the measure.
All the indications had been that
the senate was to sit easy until the
house had had its say. The senate
wouldn't stand hitched. and when SEN
ate bill No. 217, which provides for
the re- establishment of the old public
utilities commission and the divorce of
the industrial and public utilities
functions of the present court of in
dustrial relations came up on third
reading on the senate calendar, Sena-
tor Coleman. of johnson county.
chairman of the committee on federal
and state affairs. which committee in
troduced the bill, signified that he was
ready to have it considered.
Coleman Begins Battle.
| Coleman laid down the preliminary
| barrage, laying stress on two factors
the pledge of the governor that IL
wouldn't cost any more to have the
industrial court and the public utili-
ties commission as well, and the over
burden of work which he declared
hampers the court in its work as a
real court of industrial relations.
| Coleman stuck to the established
lines of attack for the re-estabiish-
ment of the public utilities commits
sion, thruout his speech. He an
nounced at the beginning that the ar
gument for the bill had already been
exhausted in the governors message
on the opening of the session.
Brilliant Legislation.
a q al ha
the court as the most brilliant piece of
| legislation in the history of ciyiiiza-
ton, and let the senate hear the
echoes of the trumpet voice of the
eoyernor OF our state"-presumably
| when the call for the special session
which created the court was issued.
| The, court was forced to load on the
burden of the public utilities commits
sion, Coleman declared, against the
better judgment of the men who
framed it, because of the necessity OF
isaving money.
"Dou you think we didn't know it
was mistake. when we did it?'' he
asked the senators. He averred that
the work of the public utility regula-
ton prevents the court from fulfilling
the purpose for which 1t was created.
and listed three points in favor of Its
division at the close of his speech
1.-THE two factions now facing the court
are not germaine: the court cannot
function as it was intended to, under
present conditions, and the pledge of
the governor has been given that It
won't cost the people of the state any
more to have court and a commis-
sion, than it does to have the court
| An Economy Measure
Coleman spoke of the bills which
are already before the senate combin-
ling various departments under the in
dustrial court, and went into some de-
tail as to the economies which the pro-
posed merging would effect.
He took a slap at the house bill
which has been introduced for the
complete abolition of the public utfli-
ties commission and the establishment
of home rule for the cities of the state.
and said that If the honorable gentle
men at the other side of the state
| house swings the legislative axe on
that unpopular shrub, the public utili-
ties commission. / hope we will have
time to first untangle the court OF IN
dustrial relations from it. save the
court no matter what happens to the
public utilities commission, was the
theme of his remarks on thft phase OF
the matter.
An Issue In Campaign.
Coleman called the senators to wit
ness that the Industrial court was
made an issue in the last election and
that the people of the state had sent
the legislators to Topeka with a ma
jority of 10000. "They have handed
us the torch with the word to carry
on" Coleman declared in his perora-
| ton.
Coleman was followed by Kyle, of
Dickinson county, who was on the
fence wnen he started to talk. and
seemingly found considerable diff
Guilty in alighting on either side, before
he finished speaking. The only oD-
lection he had heard to the division
of the court before coming to Topeka,
Kyle said. was the expense. NOW we
have the pledge of the governor and
the chairman of the committee on
state affairs that it isn't going to cost
! any more to divide the court" Kyle
said But how do we know that all
these subsidiary bills which provide
for the merging of these departments.
will go thru? But then, IL it is to Sc
| cure additional efficiency for the
court, maybe we ought to be for II,
| even If it does cost more"
Taylor, of Hutchinson, who was at
one time attorney for the railroad
commission. twanged again the string
/ of "overwork," telling of the load
carried by the railroad regulating
body, and how their burdens had been
added to, a little at time, before
and after their formation into pub
lie utilities commission, and since the
constitution of the industrial court
4 Court Didn't Have Enough Time
/ Much of the criticism of the court
has come about because that body
didn't have time with all the mass of
work before it, to try the cases az
ithoroly as it should have done. Tay-
lor declared. He asserted that for this
reason there had been decisions
rendered raising municipal utility
rates and causing much dissatisfaction
with the court on that count.
Il Following Taylor's speech there was
la motion to recess, which was fought
/ -, -