New Britain herald., 1923-03-17
ASSEMBLY IS PAST
 ITS HALF WAY POST
tcontinued from First Page,


 as near the New York line aspossible,
 The plan provided for 6 commissioner
 to be appointed by the governor the salary of the commissioners to be ST.
 800 a year, the proponents of the bill bringing out the fact that it would bring q great deal of money to Conn., ecticut,
 | The judiciary committee listened rec speetfully to the proponents of the bill and, although there was no oppo- sion. 1t was acted on unfayorably be- fore the distinguished counsel had left | the Capitol grounds.
 No Tolls On Bridges. If the house follows the action of the senate when the bill comes up for consideration there next Wednesday, toll bridges will be permanently abol- ished in Connecticut.
 This measure failed of passage two years ago when the house rejected the proposition freeing the bridges from toll. The senate had passed the bill despite the opposition of Senator John N. Brooks, then as now. the represent tative of the 30th district. In the Il lNhibbS aHselpili iiii hbtt III iil' iiphsi was very close, the representatives from New London. Middlesex and a part of New Haven counties voting as a unit in favor of it's passage.
 This year the bill comes in with the strong support of the finance com mittee of which the chairman is Sen ator John II. Trumbull of the fifth district. When the discussion of the bill came up in the senate on Wednes- day, there was no opposition, Senator Brooks merely stating that he appre- ciated the fact that the bill was going through and only wished that it's pro- ponents could go back a while to the time when they had to pay tolls on ferries. He appreciated the fact, how ever, that opposition would be useless and did not even call attention to the fact that the action taken by the pres- ent legislature will cost the state ap- proximately 8 quarter of a million dollars a year, which will have to be made up by some other form of tax ation.
 People pay old taxes as a matter of course, no matter how inconvenient. ANt" iiltlllouo VI ttlbriLioiI ways liiSil with great opposition. No substitute way of raising this fund to help pay the expenses of the state has been suggested. When the matter comes up in the house for action, the advo- cate of the bill will be Representative E. W. Christ of New Britain, who is an able speaker and who will have substantial backing from the towns which are principally affected. It is doubtful if any strong movement will be made to defeat the bill and toll bridges in Connecticut will therefore be abolished after January l 1924,
 Highway Commissionership.
 That there will not be any change 1 in the method of appointing a high | way commissioner within two years | has practically been settled. The hear | ing on this subject was held on Tues | day and the talk in the committee ! since has been along the lines of fol- lowing the suggestions of raising a | commission to thoroughly investigate | the highway department and the man. ner in which it can best be run and 1 report to the next general assembly.
 In the meantime the governor will 1 appoint q highway commissioner to succeed Charles J. Bennett, who has declined reappointment. The mem oers of this commission which will in- sestigate this department and decide IS to the future policy of this state, will probably number either five or seven, whichever way the commission on roads, bridges and rivers decides.