Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1899 — STATE LAW MAKERS. [ARTICLE]

STATE LAW MAKERS.

Albert J. Beveridge, the nominee of the Republican caucus, was elected United States Senator on Tuesday to succeed David Turpie, Democrat, whose term will expire March 4 next. The two branches of the Legislature voted separately. The vote in the Senate was as follows: Albert J. Beveridge, 2S; David Turpie, 19; Alonzo fl» Burkhart, Populist, 1. The House voted thus: Beveridge, 59; Turpie, 37. Two thousand persons crowded the hall of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, when the two branches of the Legislature met in joint convention to canvass the vote taken the previous day and formally announce the election of Albert J. Beveridge to be United States Senator. The 3G-year-old Senator, looking like a man of not more than 25, was brought in and was welcomed with a demonstration lasting several minutes. He made an extended speech. By a vote of 45 to 4fi the bill under which, the State authorities hoped to proceed successfully against the Roby race track people and the persons and concerns wasting natural gas was defeated in the on Thursday. The friends of the measure say the clerks made a mistake in the roll call, and that later the bill will be passed. Mr. Mull and Mr. Manifold gave notice that they would ask that the record be corrected, and if this is not done they will ask for a reconsideration of the vote. Five men who are recorded as voting against the bill declare they voted for it. The chief argument against the bill was that it was too drastic. It makes any repeated violation of a penal statute a nuisance and authorizes any public officer .to bring suit for injunction without giving bond. The anti-Roby race track bill was killed in the House on Friday. A reconsideration of the vote by which the bill was defeated the day before was moved by Mr. Manifold, and the motion was lost by a vote of GO to 35. The House by a vote of 83 to 0 advanced the bill for the establishment of a county council in every county in the State. The third act of the House was to kill the pet bill of Gov. Mount for the teaching of agriculture in the public schools. Both branches of the General Assembly had half-day sessions Saturday morning and adjourned at noon. An attempt was made in the House to revive the bill introduced, by Mr. Barlow, at the suggestion of Gov. Mount, providing for the study of agriculture in the public schools, which was killed in the House a few days before. Mr. Neal introduced a resolution providing for “nature studies” in schools for a limited amount of time a week; and speeches were made in favor of the resolution by all the leading speakers for the Governor’s agricultural ideas. The resolution was referred to the Committee on Education. A resolution introduced by Mr. Hayes of St. Joseph County, caused considerable friction in the House. It expressed the opinion that the next Republican national convention should declare itself opposed to trusts and monopolies. Most of the Republicans voted to table the resolution. The motion to table prevailed by a vote of 43 to 2G. In the Senate the constitutional rules were suspended and the bill fixing the term of the Appellate Court was passed. It fixes the end of the term in March, 1903. S. E. Nicholson of Kokomo, chairman of the committee representing the allied churches of the State, brought to Indianapolis on Monday a bill for changes in the divorce law, and it was introduced in each branch of the Legislature. It simply provides that a divorced person shall not remarry within two years after being divorced. The new anti-Roby race track bill was also introduced in each house. It confers on the Attorney General only the authority to bring injunction suits without giving bond.