Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1889 — THE STATE LEGISLATURE [ARTICLE]

THE STATE LEGISLATURE

The Ben«te on the Sth nsared Bojrrl'i bill mak • Ini&HpMale judicial cljreulta of Hamilton im.l Madfeon -■nuuliea. Revere! •peeche* were made agsliißl' the bill nil account of the fxtra/expensa entailed. but only 12 Totes were recorded ajminat it to .44 in its favor. Bii-hotMki’* bill, rotating to drainage, waa also paw-ed. It in supplemental tn the art authorizing Circuit and Superior Court ludgea to order additional araeaamenta in pay for drainage. and provide* that hi conntiea with • voting population of 12,500 when the flrat aaaesament la liiauffieient another may l»e ordered by the court A resolution waa adopted oy a party vole providing for the employment of a clerk to copy bills Tor the printer. Hubbell's bill creating a Superior Court ip Elkhart county waa passed. The House, on the sth, considered the Curtis bill creating a Hoard of Public Works for Indianapolis The committee report favorable to its {Mtssage was presented The report waa concurred in by aves 51, nays .'l9. Cullen spoke against the bill and Curtis said that at tha proper lime he would reuly to Cullen. The bill waa then amended and ordered engrossed. The House, in Committee of the Whole, then began lonsldemtiou of the deficiency appropriation bill. The reductions recommended by the majority of the Committee on Ways and Means were approved without objection, until the item allowing the State Auditors thousand dollars for office expenses was reached. The allowance hns itsuallv been *6OO, and the minority recommended a reduction to that amount. Mr. Willard exphilnedthat It was from this fund that the Auditor bad paid the salary of Robertson as Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Adams said that he hut! honed “the old sore’’—for thst’s what it wm wonld not he opened ogn+n and reviewed the Lieutenant-Governor's contest at length. The bill, as amended, makes appropriations as follows: For the yenrs 1887 and 1888. for the Governor, *s,axi; Governor's Private . Secretary, $1,501; Governor's . Clerk, *1,000; Governor's Messenger, 1700; Adjutant General. JcaVr Adjutant General's Clerk, *64XI; Qnartermntter General *300; Governor's office cxt>eni>ea. $:«<•. Governor's civil contingent fund; 51,000; Governor*! military contingent fund. *2.000; .Secretary of Stale, *2,000; Deputy Secretary of state, 51.500: Clerk of Secretary of State. *BOO, Clerk of the Bureau of Printing and Stationary, ll.l’QOl'Otfiee expenses for Secretary of State, So00;_fnrthedistributlonofliiws and reports.B2so; State Auditor, »l,500; Deputy Shite Auditor, *2.300; Clerk <if the Land Department. *1,201; Clerk o( the Insurance Department, *1,200; State Treasurer, *3,ol»)tl)epttty State Treasurer, *1,500; watch matt Treasury, *720: Treasurer's office expenses, S.IXI The other items have not yet lieen passed jipon liy-tfie committee. The bill providing ton a supreme Court commission was passed; ayes 53, nays 41. The bill to elect three trustees for each of the State hospitals, was ordered engrossed. Several bills were introduced. In the Scnnte on the nth a message from the Governor announced the appointment of Henry Watts and and B. L. Smith as -trustees of the Soldiers' Orhans' Home. -The appointments were referred to the Committee on Executive Appoint pients O.tohnaoii and the Republicans protested against this action being taken and the fact that thiscommittee has as yet made no reports on tip pointniehts referred to it was criticised severely by the Republican Senators. The following bills were passed: Authorizing the construction n sewetaljlhe Mtchigaa City penitentiary; providing for the formation of fair associations and •giving them authority to borrow money; legalizing Hie acts.of Notaries Public whose rominis'ioiis iiavexiitpircd, and amenfflngSec. 1493 of the Revised statutes; to make the term of office of township trustees and asreesnrs commence on the Ist of August; relating to Justices of the Peace by adding a clause requiring the defendant to first file an affidavit showing good c.msc of action: to render uniform the assessment of personal property; Johnson’s bill to require that the death penalty shall only be-inflicted nt the penitentiaries. Committee reports, favorable: to pay n warrant issued by the Senate at the for mer session; to direct the copying, filing and indexing of certain land records; to make approprintionfor the Home for Feeble Minded Youths; majority and minority reports were reported on the bill to.allow Alonzo G. Smith the salary of' Lieutenant Governor during the last Senate; recommending an appropriation respectively of *IOO,OOO and *65.000 for the State Normal School. Traylor's bill To punish White Caps was passed: ■ also the bill providing that eight hours shall constftute a day's work by substitutes on highways € Other routine business was transacted. In thfc'House a few bills were Introduced —one to prohibit billiard tables for public use being placed in any room where liquor is sold, and another takes from the Governor the right to appoint a State Coal Oil Inspector. Bills engrossed: Concerning proceedings in civil cases; authorizing commissioners to construct ‘.free gravel roads on county lines; reducing tint number of jurors in eases tried before Justices of the Peace from twelve to six. The bill making eight hours’ a legal days' work was discussed •mil referred back to committee. The Reynolds local option hill was made the special order for the 13th Inst. Several bills were engrossed. Other engrossed bills were made and referred.. The deficiency appropriation bill was called np. Culler offered an amendment to increase the allowance to the State Auditor to 81,400; which includes the money paid to Robertson. On a motion to lay the amendment on the table the, ayes and nays were demanded and taken and it was found that there wws not a quorum present adjournment was had. The Senate, on the 7tb, passed the bill legalizing the Inearponition of Poseyville. The hill repealing section 5,1:9, Revised Statutes, which says that a wife cannot legally become a surety or guarantor on any bond or contract wns defeated y The Senate then took up the Andrews election bill and the, remainder of the day was consumed in its consideration.

The House, on the 7th, defeated the amendment allowine the State Auditor pay for Lieutennn Governor Robertson’s salary, by a vote of 53 to 42. The deficiency bill was then engrossed.. The Peyton-John contest was taken up and the majority and minority reports, both very long, were read. The majority report presented a statement of the testimony, showing who were the persons who had illegally voted for John. Thirty-four votes were counted as illegal, because'two persons who were named were nonresidents, minors, or had voted in the wrong precinct. The evidence ou the Republican side they deemed worthless, but conceded that there were two votes for Peyton hat might have ceen illegal. In additition to the thirty-four illegal votes for John, they reported that the ' evidence showed that in Silverdale township, Spencer county, there had been “a corrupt conspiracy” to influence votes by promise of rewards, and threats of visitation by White Gaps, and that on the night prior to the election, fortyfive negroes had been gathered in a barn, kept there all night, and marched to the polls in a drove and voted. They believed that these fortyfive votes should be deducted from the number credited to John, but were not clear on the law, and they left the statement for whatever weight it might have with the House. Their finding was that Peyton had received 2.699 legal votes and John 2,677, leaving the former a majority of twenty-two. The minority report discredited the testimony upon which the majority based their conclusions and recommendation. Giving Peyton v- the benefit of all doubts, not ’unre than eleven votes could be conceded to him. while they claimed, as an offset, seven votes for John, to which his right was •more clearly established than was Peyton’s lo the doubtful eleven. The evidence before the Committee, the majority'report stated, was mostly hearsay. Countercharges were made, supported by testimony, which was read, showing that John had a legal majority of eighteen. Mr. Zoervber, the chairman on the committee on elections, moved to lay the minority report on the table: and demanded the previous question, but the Speaker, ruled that the demand for the previous question was out of order. It was decided’that each side should have an hour and a half for discussing the case, and that at 4 o’clock a vote should lie taken. Mr. Zoereher, os Chairman”of the Committee on Elections, led in the debate, followed by Mr. Adams for the Republicans. The remarks of both speakers were confined to a discussion of the evidence. Other speakers were Adar, D.,’ Hess. R.. Hawell. D., Reynolds, R., Cullen R.. and Wilson, D. The minoritv report was rejected by ayes 47, navs 50. Kelly. Kabbe, Beasley. Lacy and Oppenheim i voting aye with the Republicans. The majorilfe report was concurred in by the same vote and Peyion was sworn in. Bills were introduced; others were engrossed. The Senate, on the Sth, devoted the entire day to the consideration of the election bill. In the House, on the Bth. a resolution providing for an investigation of the State Insane Asylum was laid on the table by a strict party vote. Bills passed: Oppenheim's,relating to promissory notes and bank checks: Willard's, prohibiting the 1 use dynamite by railroad companies inopeningof their tracks through the section of the State where the working of stone quarries are in operation: in relation to the Consumers. Gas Trust of Indianapolis, relating to county commissoners issuing bonds ior the completion of court houses; to extend the liability of .employers to employes; to establish a board of public works; to establish a State board of health; relating to the administration of the insane hospitals; relating to the duties of the State librarian; concerning the building of turn pikes instead of bridges by county commissioners; relating'to the duties and compensation of the Attorney General: to define the leth and creating the 53d judicial circuit » • In joint session. Speaker Niblack presiding, Jacob P. Bunn, Jr., was elected State Librarian, receiving 82 votes to 64 for Mrs. Virginia C. Merideth. Neither house had a quorum on the 9th, Tut they did not discover the fact The Senate returned, continued an i con-lnded its consideration of the Andrews eleriiou bill, but the vote on ita passage was postponed. Among the more amendments incorporated In the bill was one making it a felo;:-io .earn away election ballots or stamps wiu,.. -> vm&nt of the custodian An amend me l. -reviJifig for registration of voters was defeated uy a party

vote. The section of the bill requiring corporalions and railroad companies to suspend all work for four hours on election dsv created a lengthy Hwusaioti bulall citorta to amend it were futile. The House passed four hills: Senate bill giving cities authority to construct levees, Senate bill legalizing records of circuit snd .superior courts; House bill limiting bequests for charitable or religious purpose* to one-ftfUrtb the eatale, and Houm* Lili! amending the tub law. Several bills were read the second time. In tbe Senate on the 11 th bills were introduced, petitions were presented slid committee reports were read. Foley introduced a bill which authorizes School. Commissioners to levy a tax assessment of five cents on the *IOO for II rary purposes. A bill by Mulllnix provides lor the election of a Superintendent of. the State House by the General Assembly, whose salary . shall tit, *1,500 a year. A petition from 325 citizens of Henry county.asking for the enactment of a law prohibiting tbe sale of tobacco to persons under eighteen years of age, was presented by Grose. The majority of the Judiciary Committee recommended the indefinite postponement of Senator Johnson's bill authorizing the Supreme Court Judges to employ secretaries; and the minority reported favorably upon it. Two reports from the Judiciary Committee were presented on Crona's bill to repeal section 5,1117 of the Revised Statutes, the majority being adverse and the minority being favorable. Uriustoo introduced A bill authorizing the sale of the old State building at the corner of Washington and Tennessee streets. Senator Barrett presented a petition from the Young Men’s Dediocratlc Club of Franklin, ask Ing that theproposed new law should be made to apply to all elections. It Was represented that there was so much corruption in the elections in that county that there whs no.chanee for a poor man to get an office. The election bill was again taken up, and ns amended was read through. In tbe House the bill to amend the bill which makes it a criminal offense to intimidate men from working to intei sere with the working oi trains was engrossed. A bill legalizing the a. ts of J. B. Hutcli.a justit e of the peace, was passed. Beasley's bill limiting the power of township trustees was passed. The bill requires that trustees, before making contracts lor tbe purchase of supplies of any kind or for the construction of bull lings, shall .file with the county auditor at least Un days before the first session of the Board of County Com-mis-iiuiers, a statement of what may be needed, *tb which any tax-payer.may have the right to tile objections, which must be given considera- • b>- the conntv commissioners. Whenever a trustee issues a note, warrant or other evidence ...uuou-mikw be shall register it in a book to be kept for that purpose. Carroll’s bill amending the road low, reducing the toll, was consiuered.