Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1919 — IT IS JUST AS CLEAR AS MUD [ARTICLE]

IT IS JUST AS CLEAR AS MUD

Addenda Added to Acta by Governor—More Dope by Stansbury. While The Democrat hopes- in the end to see some real good accomplished under the new so-called state highway law, the measure Is so full of mist and imperfections that the governor’s man Friday— Attorney-General Ele Stansbury—Is kept on the jump sufonHtling "opinions,” and the governor himself is breaking all former precedent by adding an addenda to the published acts, setting out the 10 amendments to this law which pasted both houses of the legislature but were omitted frotn the enrolled bill as signed. , The following clippings, taken from the Indianapolis News, a strong supporter of the present state administration and apologist for the "best ever” legislature, gives some idea of the blunders made: The acts of 1919 will be ready for distribution by next week, it was said at the oflice of W. B. Burford, state printer, today. The printer has had all copy set in type since last week, and Monday night the last proof was corrected and approved at the office of the secretary of state. Actual work on printing the acts, however, is being held up pending a proposal of Governor Goodrich to have an “addenda” inserted in the book, so that the book shall contain an explanation of the “lost amendments” belonging to the county unit road act. The governor has been In conference with Lieutenant-Governor Bush and Jesse Eechbach, speaker of the house of representatives, with, reference to having them sign the addenda with him. The addenda as proposed by the

governor calls attention to chapter 152 of printed acts, and, pointing out that it is the “so-called county unit road law,” goes on to say: “A critical inspection of the legislative records has disclosed, however, that owing to an error in enrolling, 10 amendments as adopted by the house, recommended by the conference committee, and subsequently concurred in by both the bouse and the senate, were inadvertently omitted from or not included in the enrolled bill.” The addenda takes up section by section the enrolled bill and shows where and how the lost amendments have been inserted and how section 2 of the enrolled act should have been stricken out. At the conclusion of the addenda is the following: “We, the undersigned duly constituted officers, authorized by the constitution and the joint rules for conducting business in the two houses of the general assembly of the state of Indiana to sign all enrolled bills, hereby certify that we have duly inspected the enrolled act herein set forth as chapter 152 and the legislative records pertaining to the passage of said act through the two houses of the general assembi” and have found that the above and foregoing amendments were regularly adopted by the general assembly, but were omitted from the enrolled act as signed and deposited in the office of the secretary of state.” The governor is taking up with the lieutenant-governor and the speaker the affixing of their signatures along with his to dhe addenda. William A. Roach, secretary of

state, when asked about the insertion of the addenda in the acts, said that it will not appear as a part of the acts proper. He said that it would be the last article in the book, even after the index. He explained that the law requires him to conclude the printed acts with a certificate showing that the printed acts are correct copies of the enrolled bills, and that since the lost amendments were not a part of the enrolled bill the addenda containing them could not be printed any place in the book except in the last few pages. Governor Goodrich is not in his office this week. As soon as the acts are distributed by the secretary of state and he has received receipts from each of the circuit court clerks in Indiana ' showing that they have received their apportionment of the books, the governor will issue a proclamation declaring the printed acts the law. The Inclusion of an addenda to the acts of a legislature is a new thing, it was said at the office of the attorney-general.—News of April 23. .

County commissioners can let a contract for more than the estimated cost of the improvement, where there is no statutory prohibition, according to an interpretation which Ele Stansbury, attorneygeneral, placed on the county unit road law Monday. The attorneygeneral held also that the act does not prohibit improving more than one highway at a time. The opinions are contained in a statement given Gilbert H. Hendren, chief examiner for the state board of accounts, by the attorneygeneral. Mr. Stansbury held also that the only way county commissioners may amend specifications after blds have

been received is by refusing blds and then amending the specifications after which the contract must be bid on again.—News of April 22. No “addenda” explaining the county unit road law tangle will appear in the acts of 1919, it was decided Wednesday at a conference of W. A. Roach, secretary of utate; Jesse Eschbach, speaker of the house of representatives, and Frank Litschert, secretary to Governor Goodrich. The decision was announced following a long distance telephone conversation the officials held with the governor, who is at French Lick. It is said the bills of the 1919 legislature may become laws in full force and effect by the latter part of next week or shortly thereafter. —Thursday’s News.