Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1925-02-20
SESSION At OLYMPIA
COMPLETES ITS WORK
Legislature Falls to Override
Governors Veto of Seed
Wheat Appropriation.


Olympia, = Especially = The nine
teenth legislative session ended two
days behind the schedule fixed by the
joint rules committee Of the two
houses, but day ahead of the date
Governor Hartley had tentatively sug.
gested for adjournment when he asked
for time to make a business survey Of
state departments and institutions
The house, smarting under the failure
OF the senate to assist In passing the
100000 seed wheat bill over Governor
Hartley's veto, forced the legislature
into the last two days of meeting hop.
of the fifteen senators who were voting
to sustain the veto. The house had
passed the bill over Governor Hartleys
veto by vote of n to 20, but the
senate fell one short of the necessary
two-thirds, q favoring the bill and Is
standing by the executive The house
could not be convinced that, given
time, the friends of the bill could win
over an extra vote, eXpunge the rec.
ord of the senate's original test, and
make law Of the seed wheat loan bill.
Only after twenty-four hours of fruit
less pleading did the friends of the
seed wheat bill concede the hopeless.
ness OF their struggle and consent to
close up the business of the session.
The Incident furnished dramatic
finish to the most unusual session
ever held of Washingtons legislature.
Hartley's Program Followed.
The unusual began happening early
In the nineteenth legislature. Incom.
ing Governor Hartley threw himself
into the fight against ratification of
the child labor amendment to the fed.
eral constitution and it was decisively
beaten in both houses. A week after
he had delivered his inaugural address
the new governor again appeared be.
fore the lawmakers and proposed that
they give attention to matters suggest.
ed in his messages, then adjourn not
later than February IA. He proposed
II this was done to make business
survey of the state and recommend
complete program of legislative relief
for the public at special session to
be called in November The Hartley
Immediately dubbed
his "ten points," became an accepted
legislative program and was only de-
waited from to pass number of bills
that seriously affected different sec.
tons of the state and because of local
conditions were regarded as "emer-
gency" matters.
November Session Certain.
That the legislature will be recon
vened in November is accepted as GER
tain. Just before the house wound up
its affairs Representative Pliny Lee
Allen of Seattle asked whether Cover
nor Hartley had acceded to request
preferred by several members of the
legislature, most of them farmers, that
the session be hela in January instead
of November. Representative w. w.
zent replied that he could answer and
he emphatically declared that the ses.
sion would be held as annomced-in
November.
Bearing in mind the fact that fifteen
senators blocked the effort of the
house to override the only gubernator
ial veto TO reach the legislature, one
of the last acts of the house is of spe-
cial interest. The senate passed, on
the last day of the session, resolution
providing for joint committee from
the two appropriations committees to
inspect state institutions and recon-
mend future legislation. The house
rules committee interpreted this as an
upon Governor Hartley's |
plan for business survey and ordered
the resolution tabled. This was done |
by unanimous vote.
House Proposal Carried.
However, the legislature did carry
out house idea of recess committee
work. This was a rol sal from Rep.
resentative George f. Meacham, chair. |
man of the committee on revenue and !
taxation, which drafted the tax COM
bill, that legislative com
mittee be named and empowered to
employ an attorney to go over the old |
statutes and recommend to the legisla.
ture the repeal of any Anticipated or
useless legal rubbish that might be
found.
In spite of the flare-up over the seed |
wheat bill the legislature in its final
week accomplished just what had been
predicted for it. There was pending
when the lawmakers reconvened last