Pocahontas star herald., 1925-12-03
Little Rock Letter

Little Rock, November 30.-Legisla-
tive methods have been much in the
limelight recently. Tom A. Hill, Speak
er of the last House of Representa-
tives. was acquitted in Pulaski Circuit
Court of charge of falsifying the ,e
cords of certain bills, but there are
several other indictments pending
against him. 1t was in evidence, and
not denied, that loose methods have
become prevalent in the Legislature in
recent years, due to the food of local
bills and general measures, which must
be considered in limited time. A 60
day session means not more than 40
working days, during which time 1000
or more bills must be considered. 1t
is admitted by all that it is physically
impossible to consider fully such a
mass of legislation within that time.
The whole situation arises over two
facts-the deluge of local bills and the
brevity of the session. In consequence
it has been true for years that bills
have been read by title, and roll calls
only partially called or not called at
all ON local bills in which no one but
the authors were concerned. In the
pandemOnium and the confusion that
always mark the concluding days of a
session bills are passed at the rate of
one a minute. 1t is a matter of COM
mon knowledge that the rolls are not
always fully called upon these meas
.ures. Many members of the Legisla-
ture testified that they could not
swear positively whether or not they
had voted on any specified local bill
The members are Indifferent to the
rOll-calls on local bills, and the calling
of the role is a perfunct0ry matter.
BY common consent this method for
years has been accepted as a coinpli-
ance with the requirements of the law.
1t is reported that Little Rock
attorney is preparing to attack the
validity of a certain local act on the
ground that the bill was not read "at
length three times" as required by law
As matter of fact, no bill has for
years been read "at length three times"
in either house. A general bill is read
the first time in full, and the second
and third times they are always read
by title. The reading of bill is al
ways a farce. as very few ever listen
to it, and confusion reigns all the time
the clerk is straining his voice to make
it heard above the uproar. Nothing
more wearisOme or less informative
can be imagined than the reading of
40 or 30 typewritten pages of verbiage
in some road district or fencing district
bill Congress does not read bills i'm
this manner Bills are dumped into
the hopper" by the member and refer
red to the proper committees, which
pass upon them and report them out
for action or administer a dose of
chloroform, as Governor Davis used
TO say. To read all the bills before
the entire body would be a profligate
waste Of time. The Arkansas Legisln-
ture is approXimating Congress in the
amount of business handled, and it
has less time to consider it. The re-
quirements for the three readings of
all bills "in full' is archaic and moth
eaten and entirely unnecessary for
proper deliberatiOn over any measure.
II is well known that the real work is
done. both in Congress and the Legis-
lature, in committees.
If all bills were read at length three
times, and all rolls were called at
length on every bill, about one tenth of
the amount of business would be trans
acted as now passes over the desk