The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 31, 1899, Page 2

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, TUESDAY, JANUARY 31 1899 ORATORY OVER THE COMMITTEE REPORT. GREAT ORATORICAL FLOW ON THE FLOOR OF THE ASSEMBLY Grove L. Johnson Takes Occasion to Display Himself Again. WRIGHT AN EXAMPLE OF IMMORALITY. Burnett Holds Up the Ex-Speaker to the Gaze of the Young Men of the State as One Whose Methods Are .10 Be Avoided. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—Much oratory was, indulged in on the floor sembly this afterncon with the adoption of the report of the of the As- on to discharge the committee and shut off further investigation into alleged illegal acts of members. A verbatim report of some of these seciics are given herewith: A FEW REMARKS BY JOHNSON. Johnson of Sacramento—Mr. 1 agree, for one, entirely with remarks of the gentleman from San ancisco, Mr. White, the gentleman from Angeles, Mr. Valentine, and the gen- tleman from San Luis Obispo, Mr. Bur- | nett: but I broader plane a higher and 1t agree than upon either of them. this investigation, sir, consumes all the | time of this session, if it blocks the | of legislation so that no law will passed at this session, and it results | in finding who is guilty, the people of the | State of California will “Well done, good and faithful servants,” to us. (Ap- use, | for ’Hn?. sir, am in favor of having this investigation continued until we trace | down every charge that has been made in ny mannér in reference to the election of ed Stat Senator by this Legisla- | ture Mr. Green is not the only witne: who is recalcitrant. Why are you gentle- n delicate in mentioning other names? am not. A witness, ent of San | Francisco, a man of power and influence, a man of wealth, a man who owns and | publishes a daily paper of large circula- | tion, who Has be bpenaed as a_wit- ness and has d N C demned the authority of this Assembly, do_you pro- to let M. H. de Young pass? Do.you to cond his offense? He has hed in the columns of his paper daily that twenty-flve members of this Legislature have been bought to vote f > 1 man for Senator. Let him | ssent his proof. Speaking one of t band that he has mentioned, I say t 1 hope he will be called upon'to tes- elf, let him ave heard. give any hearsay evidence that or, if the skirts of any man who and, speaking for m with me and whose name i in- scribed in that list have been tainted in this in et it be made manifest. There is another man in San Francisco of greater wealth, a m claiming to have great power in this State, a man also owning a great paper, one John D. Spreckels, who has published in the col umns of hisgaper that these same tw ty-five men who have voted as 1 have voted for a United States Senator have | been bought to do so. Why did not this committee subpena that man and let him glve his testimony. For o ir, T wan! this investigat to continue. I am op- posed to dis Let the galled jade wince, re unwrung. I m not afr tigation, and I want it continued, and 1 want these men who say that these evil practices have been going on to come forward with their proof and not take refuge in the cow- ard's plea of being sick—with no refer- ence to M 1 Now, 1 at it will be doing wrong to dis o this committee. We will be doing_wrong to ourselves and to the people. The - of this State in the ugural address that he deliv- | red in this hall said that he believed, or at least that he wa willing 10 be- lieve, that gl meet only "once T t be so, then we are not injuring anybody if we do not pass any laws. A wise man has said that that country is governed the .best that is governed the least. If, then, this | blocks legislation, it will do us no harm provided investigation is conducted courageously and fearles and that members do not fall down when they run | up nst the proprietors of great new papers published in San Francisco. For one, 1 say that we ought, in_ the lan. Usge of Mr. White of San Francisco— fe ought not to make fish of one and flesh of another. 1 do say that we ought to attempt o punish Milton J. Green for contumacy | fere Minless we aiso punish M. H. de Young for his failure to obey. There is another gentleman who has not obeyed the subpena. What do you propose to do with him? Dismiss him’in silence? T will not mention his name. You know who 1 mean. No, gentlemen, no: you will be doing, in my judgment, wrong. You will be doing a wrong to yourselves if you dis- charge this committec. And 1 appeal to my friend from San Diego in the interests of his candidate, in the interest of his party, in the interest of something higher and greater than that—in the interest of his State—to withdraw his motion and let this committee stand as it is, and let the fnvestigation go on, no matter who may be Injured; and I know, sir, that you do and, therefore, I ask you to withdraw your motion. Let the {nvestigation go on. Let the committec probe everything. Let this Mr. Green an- swer the question: ¢ swer hig question answer questions put to him, and let us find out whether there is anything in this ‘widespread denunciation of members of the Legislature that they have been bought, arg being bought and are willin to be bought in the election of a Unite States Senator. If we can establish in this investigation that anything wrong has been done, we will have accomplished & great good. The only way to accomplish it is to continue the committee. I hope the motion will be withdrawn, and if not withdrawn, 1 hope it will be voted down by the Assembly. (Applause.) BROWN GIVES HIS VIEWS. Johnson was followed by Brown of San Mateo. He said: 1 do not think, Mr. Speaker, that this committee should be entirely discharged from the consideration of this question. 1 sgree with the gentleman from 'Los Angeles that we do not want to lose juris- Qlction of Mr. Green and of this subject matter, and, therefore, for that purpose if for no other we should continue the committee in existence until time is fixed for reporting him at the bar of this House. But I am not willing that the time of this House and the timg of this committee shall be consumed in assisting any member, or any number of members, in this House in gemng even with any newspaper whom they do not like. We have so far carried on this Investigation as already to have followed every legiti- mate channel that has been opened u? in the investigation. You havedlh]nc{.h, ohe that comittee all of the candidates who here as aspirants for the Senate of the TUnited States. You have had before that commi ttee e er reporter who has Pn any reach © not fear the inqui . in connection | stigating committee and the propo- | mittee. Then why is it necessary to bring here men who slmsly edit those papers, and who undoubtedly have no personal knowledge of the matters which have been reported in the papers? I do not believe in shielding those men. I believe that they should be brought here In answer to the subpena of this House the same as you have brought Milton Green; but let us act now and let us have our ser- eant at arms execute the warrant of the | House. But if this investigation is to con- | tinue 1 for one. am not willing that only those districts shall be investigated whicl have returned Republican members of this House. I believe in carrying it into every district, and I do not believe that the Democratic members in this House have won their election any fairer than the Republicans. I do not believe all the virtues reside in the Democratic minority. 1 do not believe the Democrats exercise any gore honesty in their elections than the Republicans.” Men who are familiar with the history of the elections of United States Senator from this State knows that there has never | been an election that there have not been aspersions against, the sugcess- ful candidates, and I for one, Mr. Chair- man, If this investigation is goin shall insist that we investigate crats as well as Republicans. MEAD FOR THE MINORITY. Speaking for the minority, Mead of Los Angeles had this to say: *‘Mr. Speaker, I want to say, in reply to my friend from San Mateo county, that I am in favor of this investigating committee going into Democratic legislators, and I will guaran- tee the gentleman from San Mateo, if he finds anything improper in the elections of Democrats from those districts we will show him something improper in the at- tempt to elect the Republicans in those districts. My friend from Alameda coun- ty says the Republican party has some- thing at stake, and then he hoists the fla, of distress and says: ‘Let us go no furl ther with this investigation.’ .1 say, Mr. Speaker, let us go on with this investiga- fion. Leét us investigate every district in this State, whether it be Republican or Democratic, and I will vote in this house to expel any member of this Assembly who_has accepted assistance from any candidate for Senator, thereby pledg- ing his vote in advance for that man. MELICK FOR THE COMMITTEE. Melick of Los Angeles, one of the ac- tive members of the investigating com- mittee, spoke as follows: The scope that this debate has taken shows to my mind conclusively that this committee ought to be discharged. There is no line of Investigation but what I am willing to go in; but I believe, taking the high and broad view as indicated by As- semblyman Johnson, that committee has gone there. It has produced its findings, | and now, as it has produced those find- | ings on that broad ground, we and you | have accepted them. It §s no time to go | in for personal malice. When he says that | this committee is afraid to bring- (Mr. Johnson—No, no; I did not say so.) Mr. Melick—Here Republican editors or great editors, -I say it is false, for this committee is willing to bring any man on earth here if there is something to be got- ten from him. Now, then, I agree that those great newspapers have no business to have that blacklist in their papers, but that is no reason why they should be hauled here to answer for malice. John D. Spreckels was not subpenaed by this committee because we did not belleve he had anything to say. M. H. de Young was subpenaed, but he sent a doctor's certificate, which was sufficient for the time, and then we got the very informa- tion that we wanted, as has been indicat- ed by Mr. Lardner, from other sources. | Therefore, there is 1o reason in the world ,’R;:‘}:_)e' these gentlemen should be brought | Take the line of i emo- nvestigation tha been suggested by Mr. Moad, Mr. Barmoi and these others—if you continue this in- vestigation it is only a question of per- sonal malice, and that has been the only reason that the investigating committee had to be 80 long in its sittings: there was | thig personal malice in these things that were brought before us, and we investi- gated and we tried to sift them out. Now, Mr. Valentine says that this com- mittee ought to be continued unti] we have the testimony of Mr. Green. I don't think it Is necessary for it to be continued even that long, for this reason: The In- vestigating committee is for the purpose of bringing to this House certain infore mation. Now Mr. Green comes before the bar of the House. These questions are propoufided to him; any additional questions may be propotnded to him. We et the information that way first hand. here is no reason, then, that he should be sent back to the committee for: fur. ther questions. Mr. Green is before the bar of the House; you get yourinformation without any committee. Now, then. T dp not shrink from further investigation bee cause I fear something, but because I think that it had bgen continued as far as Justice requires, and if you continue 18 there is no telling' when some newspaper may bring up some other charge.{nis charge or ‘that—and you send us on ali sesslon. And as has been indicated. we have been sent here for other busifess and T think that we have done our fuif uty. "The report is before you. Thoge and T don't believe there is any furiher use for this committee. You that you have a good thin, In“{i s lcha‘:'nlf mittee and want to hold it as sweet mm‘"spl umxier your tongue, but think. as far as I am concerned, 5 ing for us to do. fheee {5 o= DIBBLE'S CAMPAIGN SPEECH. Dibble of San Francisco, while segk- lpg utw make capua:il for Burns, ;:\l:e Vent to a very good Democratic - paign speech. He sald: sl Mr. Speaker: As the mover of 5 inal resolution, I desire to say, n!w;i o‘réfi. tleman will kindly not press’ his motion for the previous question, a few words ng‘nncluuhlmt.1 R e resolution, as introduced b provided for the approval of the ¥eprg:f of the committee and for the continuation of that committee for the Purpou of hear- ing the answer of this witness, who has not appeared at the bar of the House as commanded to do., The gentleman from Contra Costa, Mr. Belshaw, {aroposed an amendment to my resolution, the effect of which is simply to adopt the report of the committee as a partial report. That would leave it in the power of that committee to continue its work if it should become necessary and would leave the committee in existence to deal with this witness. ‘I was ‘'satisfied with the amendment pro- posed by Mr. Belshaw and accepted it, S0 that is the original resolution. The amendment proposed by the gentleman from San Francisco, Mr. White, Is in the form of an affirmative resolution directing this con’mmee to continue its investiga- on, tion. T am opposed to that resolution or to that fim‘engmem for the reasons that I bave already expressed, and for other considerations which I desire now briefly to submit. To that amendment the gen- tleman from San Diego, Mr. Works, has proposed a substitute which is to be treated as a second amendment propos- ing the discharge of the committe wholly. I am opposed to this second amendment and hope that it will be voted down. It would not_eonform to the dignity of this House to discharge the committee and al- low a witness, who has been commanded to appear at the bar of the House, to escape in that way. It would be a_ sur- render of the pdwer and dignity of the House and it should be voted down. Now, as to the amendment of the gen- tleman from San Francisco, Mr. White. I trust that the House will not adopt that amendment. 1 believe by doing so the House will express its opinion that the work of this, investigating committee should now cease, except so far as it may be necessary to deal with these witnesses, if there be more than one, who have not appeared. in response to the subpena of the committee and the command of the House. I believe that the work of this committee has been of very great service to the State of California. 1 believe that it will result in the adop- tion by this House and in the passage of the Legislature and in the approval of the Governor of this State of the bill which 1 have propased as Assembly bill No. 349, making it a felony from this time for- ward for any candidate for the United States Senate to attempt to debauch the politics of California. And that has been the curse of this State for twenty vears. It did not commence in the year 1899 or 1868, It commenced, so far as I know. and it may have commenced earlier, but it commenced within my recollection in 1880, when a candidate for the United States Senate, belonging to the party to which T belong, began a campaign of corruption to secure the election of candidates in the different counties of this State to the Legislature who should be pledged by an implied agreement to vote for him for Senator of the United States, That campaign was followed by another campaign four years afterward, when another candidate belonging to the party to which I belong made his campaign on the same lines and secured the election of a Republican Legislature. The Legisla- ture was convened and another per- son was chosen in his stead, but the practices which we mnow con- demn were pursued in that campaign, within my recollection and within the recollection of many of the members of this body. And in 1886, two ¥ ter- ward, when there was existing a vacancy in the office of Senator in the Congress of the United States, a_distinguished and T will say pure-minded gentleman belong- ing to another party in this State, secured the election of a Democratic majority by spending thousands, and, may say, hundreds of thousands of dollars of money in this State—corrupting the poli- tics in every county in California. T don't say that this was in violation of the law, and T don’t say it is a violation of the lay to-day, but I do say that It was an evil practice, that it was a vicious prac- tice, that it resulted in the debauchery of the politics of California, and I believe that the investigation that has been weld in this Assembly by the committee wnose report we now propose to adopt will bring about a cessation of these evil practices by the adoption of a law which will pre- vent millionaires from buying the election of legislators upon the express or implied agreement that they shall be elected Senators in the Congress of the United States. But it did not stop there. Four years later the term of the Senator who had been elected in 1884 was about to ex- ire and there was carried on fn_this tate 2 campaign of corruption and de- bauchery, and a man who had been known as a great political boss spent money like water in every county in California and cured the ‘election of a Legislature hich should re-elect the gentleman who was chosen in 1884 in this hall without the expenditure, I belleve, of so much as a cigar. But the evil was carried on dur- ing the primaries and in the selection of candidates for the Legislature in the vay rious counties, and the Legislature of 1891 was the product of the money that had been thrown into the campaign by the gentleman who was managing the cam- paign of the Senator in Congress who was then absent in Europe. 1 speak but the truth. I speak that which is known to every man familiar with the politics of California. And from that day to tn these practices have continued. In 18! another campalgn was made on the same fines. - In 18% ‘another campalgn, pe haps not on so gigantic a scale— a cam- paign managed by the gentleman whose presence we are demanding at the bar of this House—was conducted for the elec- tion of a Senator and for the choice of a Legislature whose members should be pledged by an implied or express agree- ment to vote for that gentleman for Sen- ator in the Congress of the United State And so these evil practices have co! tinued, until to-day and here we have the testimony produced before the House howing that another campaign of de- Eanchery has been carried on and that a gentleman came here expecting to be elected Senator in the Congress of the United States because his managers had assisted in electing members of the Legi: Jature in the different counties of Cali- fornia. Let us stop these evil practices. Let us make it a felony for any candidate for the United States Senate to pay any money to a candidate for the Legislature, whether he has been nomi- nated or not, and let us make it a felony for any candidate for the Legislature, whether he has yet been nominated or not, to recelve money from any person who expects to be a candidate before the Leglslature for United States Senator upon the express or implied agreement that he will vote for that person for the high and exalted office of Senator. Now, I do not intend to cast reflections upon those gentlemen who have been chosen to the high office of which I speak. They found those practices in vogue. They have pursued them. There were no laws upon our statute books making it a crime to pursue these practices. Nevertheless, it is a crying evil, which It is the duty of this Legislature to stop now and forever. Suggestion has been made by the gentle- man from San Francisco, Mr. White, that this investigation might bring about the passage of a joint resolution in this Legis- lature in favor of the election of Senators by a popular vote. I was, in my own mind, somewhat undecided as to the merits of that proposition. I now know that it was wrong. I do not wish to see these practices transferred to the political conventions. I do not wish it made poss ble for millionaires to debauch the litical conventions of California. I lieve that as I propos other bill which I ve introduced, we can prevent this evil in the future. I will not discuss the question of the election by the popular vote at this time, because it is scarcely pertinent. 1 only throw it out as a su@gestion. But I say now that all the good that can be has been ac- e the enactment of laws such , and hfi the passage of an- a complished, and if it were not for the Impropriety of discharging the committee when a witness has re- fused to answer, I would be willing to vote for the immediate discharge of the committee in order that we might go on with our legislative work. But I hope now that the good‘'that has been ac- complished will be registered by the pas- sage of laws making it impossible to re- peat these evil practices. I hope that the resolution as amended by Mr. Belshaw, which amendment I have accepted, will be adopted, and that the pending amend- ments will be voted down. BURNETT DENOUNCES WRIGHT. Burnett of San Luis Obispo intro- duced a resolution expelling the dis- graced Speaker from the Assembly. In support of it he spoke as follows: Mr. Speaker, 1 desire to sa¥ a few words on this resolution, and in rising to speak upon this resolution I wish to say that I am not animated by any feel- ings of bitterness toward the ex-Speaker of this House; byt I believe that the find- Ings of the report of the special commit- tee justify this action. I believe that the only logical action upon the report that has been ndgfted by _this lgfiuse is the expulsion of Howard E. Wri fir, Speaker, the charges brought against Mr. Wright were not charges in- Volving his standing as Spedker. The; were not charges that involved his stand- ing as the presiding officer of this House. They were charges Involving his standin, as a man. They involved his manhoo They were questions involving his honor, and 1 submit to the Sgeaker and gentle- men of the Assembly that those questions are guestlons that appertain to a man's standing as a member. The main question to be considered in this connection is not the punishment of Mr. Wright or any other man. Just as, in the prosecution of criminals in our courts, the main ques- tion is not the punishment of the criminal, but the grotectlon of life and property, so, Mr. Speaker, In this connection the main question i{s not the punishment of | Mr. Wright or any other man, but the preservation of the integrity of this body and the honor of California. That, Mr. Speaker and gentlemen, is the leading question, and I submit that if that man, by his Kersonal acts, has rendered him- self unfit to preside over this body he has by those acts unfitted himself to be a member on the floor of this House. Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, you have no right to create in this body a privileged class, and I want you gentlemen of the Assembly to weigh' that matter. If the Speaker of this House, or the Speaker pro tem., or any other member occupying a position above the common level, has a tight to permit Mr. Valentine to resign or. rather, to do those things which would require expulsion of a member not occu- pying a position of that kind—that you create here a privileged class. What I wish to make plain by that is this: You have decided to prosecute this investigation; you will call Mr. Green to the bar of this House and compel him— if this House, by the power invested in 1t, can compel him—to answer certain ques- tions. Those questions involve the honor of certain members on the floor of this House. They may involve the honor of some man who does not hold a position separate from his membership, and in that event that man would be expelled; but in case it should be shown that some men—we will say Mr. Valentine here— that questions were raised against him that his honor was questioned and that those charges were proved to be true; would it be right, let me ask—would it be right to do those things with impunity— the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee and thus maintain his position on_ the foor, when perhaps I, 1f the charges were made agalnst ' me and proved, would be expelled? Why? Be- cause I occupy no position except the po- sition of a member. I would have no no- sition to resign. The Speaker of this House has resigned the position of Speaker, and, in my mind, has done it to escape the full penalty of has gone abroad over this land that a mnan can, without sacrificing his honor, take the course which our late Speaker has taken, the sooner this Assemoly places the stamp of disapproval upon that idea or upon those ideas the better it is man from San Francisco has told us that these practices were common, nd he says, “Let us_stop them.” 1 agree with him there. If they are common, so far as I am concerned, I will say that I have run for the Legislature the second time, and 1 have never taken a dollar from a Sena- torial candidate, and that man who takes a dollar or any sum of dollars upon the express or implied understanding that he 4s to vote for that candidate that man has accepted a bribe; and a candidate for United States Senator who advances financial “ald to any candidate for the Legislature with the idea of obligating that man to him, that man is a briber, I care not who he is or where he came from, and the bribetaker and the bribe- giver should be damned together. If the State of California has any representa. tives in the United States Senate that have abused their duty to the extent of buying their way to the United States Senate, those representatives should be breaking rock at Folsom instead of repre- senting this great commonwealth upon the floor of the United States Senate. Those are my sentiments, and I believe Mr. Speaker and gentlemen of the Assem- that those are the sentiments of the great common people of California. Poli- ticlans may overlook what I deem brib- ery. Politicians may call it by some oth name; politicians, perhaps, have got too used to those methods; but they have been denounced, and they have always met the disapproval of the great masses of the people. They have always been looked upon by the great _masses of the people as bribery, pure and simple, and no amount of sophistry, no amount of argument, can ever convince the people of this State that it is anything but brib- Now, gentlemen of the Assembly, I you to adopt this resolution. I ask upon this day when the eyes of the e upon you—I vou, whole State of California ask you to lay aslde every consideration except the interests of California—this great commonwealth that I love and that I believe all of yvou love. ““Consider the interests of California. Do not be swayed by any s 3 ¢ for any individual—an individ- at his own rascalfty; but if you have any sympathy to give, if you ave any sympathy, 1 say, you ought to extend that -sympathy to the hundreds and hundreds of young men throughout the State of California that are enterin, upon_public life. Let the young men o the State of California understand that that man who goes crooked; that that man who can stoop to such methods as the late Speaker of this House stooped to— that that man will be damned pofmca!ly and socially. Let the young men of the State of California understand that they cannot trifle with bribery; that they can- not trifle in that matter. Gentlemen of the Assembly, I ask you, in the name of this great commonwealth, in the name of the honor and the honesty and the virtue of this great States—I ask you to-day to set milestones along the y of this State—upon the highway time—to set a milestone there that the young man passing along may read upon it that it does not pay to be crook- ed: that it pays to be straight; that it to be honorable; that it pays to be t. GROVE TALKS AGAIN. After the speech making was at an end Johnson of Sacramento again de- manded the floor, this time on a ques- tion of personal privilege. He spoke as follows. Those who know Mr. John- son’s reputation for truthfulness may give whatever they please to his re- marks: Mr. Johnson—Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of personal grlvflexe. In_the San Francisco Call of the edition of Sun- day, January 29, 1899, in the reéport from The Call headquarters, as it is called, in Sacramento, in reference to the bill No. 400, known as the bill in reference to pre- venting the publication of portraits and caricatures without the consent of the person whose portrait or caricature is published, occurs the lolluwlng: “John- son, however, has not stopped at using his influence as chairman of the Judi- ciary Committee. He has come out open- ly on the floor and traded votes with other members who have bills on the file they want passed. When he has not been able to trade he has threatened. He ap; roached Cowan of Santa Rosa and told BinGhat if he did not vote with him he Beed not hope to get the bills passed that he now has before the House. He told the same thing to McDonald of Alameda and to Radcliff of Santa Cruz, and he or 15 followers have made the same threat o other members on the floor.” ~Mr. Shealker, that statement Is absolutely, un- qualifiedly, wickedly and mallciously false. It was known to be false by the person who wrote it. He wrote it knowing it to Be false, with the intention to try and in- jure myself and the members who favored the bill, and with the intention of injur- ing the chances of the bill in the Senate. I do not expect to be treated with de- cency or with fairness by any man repre- senting either the San Francisco Call or the San Francisco Chronicle, but I do ex- pect_they *will tell the truth, at least by accident, once in a while in regard to me. Now I most earnestly protest in the name of every member of this Assembly, against such base lles being published in reference to a member of this Assem- bly, and I state now that if these lies are continued it will be the duty of this As- sembly to take action in reference to the matter. 2 Mr. Cowan is here, Mr. Radcliff is here, Mr. McDonald i here. They know that that statement was false. Nelither of them was asked in reference to the matter by the man who sent it, and they are all here and they will all unite with me in saying the statement is absolutely and unqualifiedly false. Every man upon this floor knows that I have not done any- thing of the kind and knows that the statement is false. And I make this state- ment because friends of mine and friends of the bill in the Senate. friends of mine and friends of the bill in the House have said to me that they thought I ought to do it, not because of myself but because of the influence it might have in reference to the bill. Discussing the Debtor Law. CALL HEADQUARTEDS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—The Assembly Judi- ciary Committee met this evening and discussed bills 432 and 433, which relate to the éxacting of money by law from debt- ors and imprisoning them for contempt n they refuse to pay the same, pro- viding they have an income exceeding $12 a week. Bill 432 provides for the male debtor or head of a family and bill 433 makes a wife responsible for the debts of the household where she has money in her own name and where the husband is ungble to pay. President Hammond of the Butchers' Associatlion and Pr Nobmann of the Retail Grocers' Associa- [y ckly sentiment of | tion appedred before the committee and spoke in favor of the bills. Attorney Armstrong, representing a number of merchants’ organizations, also spoke in favor of the measure. The committee took no_ action on the matter and will wait until a representative from an organiza- tion who was unable to appear to-night can come before the committee with his views., It will come up again Trursday evening. HEATED ARGUMENT OVER CORPORATIONS CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA. MENTO; Jan. 30.—The Senate Committee on Corporations is certainly made up of some of the fighting members of that body. The committee has hardly had a solitary session to date that has been strictly peaceful. To be true, no fisticuffs have been features of the committee gatherings, but wordy wars have been numerous. This afternoon the committee met and held a session which will be recorded as a historical one. Senator Shortridge of Santa Clara and Senator Braunhart of San Francisco contributed to the gayety of thé occasion. Senator Shortridge was good-natured at all times, but Senator Braunhart got rather warm because he supposed that the junior Senator from Santa Clara had termed him “a sand- lotter.”” This imputation he indignantly denied with considerable heat. The matter under discussion this after- noon was Senator Langford's bill “‘to regulate the granting of telephone and telegraph, street railroad and electric light, heat and power and other fran- chises by tHe municipal authorities of in- corporated cities, cities and counties and towns within the State of California, and repealing conflicting acts.” his bill provides that all franchises of the character named above can only be secured by the party or parties deafr(ng it by him or them filing a petition with the io\'ermnf body, the City Council or the Board of Supervisors, which body shall advertise the franchise for sale in a daily newspaper of general circulation for ten days, or, if it be a weekly news- paper, for four weeks. The franchise is to go to the highest bidder, or all bids may be rejected. A bond is to be required of the successful bidder that he will faith- fully carry out the terms of his franchise. The first clause in the bill that was ob- jectionable was that giving to the governing body the power to specify whether the successful bidder shall pay a lump sum for his franchise or pay an annual percentage of not less than 3 per cent of the gross receipts. This clause was stricken out and the only condition according to the bill upon which a fran- chise can be sold s for a percentage of the gross receipts, Then the next fight came over a section requiring the governing body to adver- tise the sale of a franchise as soon as a petition was filed with them signed by a majority of the frontage on the streets. Then in the original bill there was a pro- viso that the governing body could prior to the advertising change or alter the route proposed by the applicant for the franchise. This clause had its horns amputated by the addition of these words proposed by Senator Leavitt: *“If the change be in like manner asked for by a majority of the property frontage affected.” But the great fight of the afternoon came on Senator Braunhart's proposition to make the limit of the life orany fran- chise granted under the conditions of the act twenty-five years, and providing that at the end of the life of the franchise all the line and property used to operate it réverts to the (‘1(?’. To this proposition Senator Shortridge made a fine oratorical objection. He sald that the Ee"pm were becoming very grasping when the name of the corpora- tion was mentioned. He stated that no street railroads in California outside of Francisco were enrnln¥ money for their stockholders, and that it was to the great shame of the State that the Los Angeles streetcar bonds had been hawked in every city in the country and refused. “Instead of passing bills against news- paper men,” said the Senator, indignant- ly, “this Senate should hire a few news- paper men to do thelr work for them, so that bills would be put in in proper lan- guage, without unmercifully murdering the English language. ‘“‘As far as the proposition of my dear friend, the Senator from San Francisco, is concerned, I want to say that it is noth- ing more nor less than ‘veritable confis- cation of property. If the property of the corporation is to be confiscated at'the end of twenty-five years, the just thing to do is for the city to guarantee an income to the corporation for 1ts property, which it is going to take at the end of a quarter of a century, just, perhafis. as it is about to become a producer. This is nothing but miserable sandlotism under the thin guise of municipal reform.” Sepator Braunhart replied to Senator Shortridge in heated terms. He said that his only desire was to exclude from the bill those features which would bring it in conflict with the provisions of the San Francisco charter regarding the matter of street car franchises and how they should be obtained. Senator Shortridge insisted that bicycles had ruined streetcar properties where a city had decent roads. . The question was asked who drew up the bill, and Herman de Laguna, who was present, stated that he drew it up. He added that he had prevailed on Senator Langford to introduce it. Senator Langford came in afterward, and sald that he knew nothing about the bill. He had introduced it by request. He then retired. “Herman de Laguna is well known in Los Angeles,”” said a prominent citi- zen of the Southern California metropolis to-night. ‘“He had been bartering and at- tempting to barter in franchises of vari- ous kinds for years. We look upon him as a faker, and if Senator Langford has in- troduced any bill he drew, the Senator, whom I know to be an honorable and an upright man, has simply been imposed upon The bill will come up for discussion later by the committee, and It has a promising prospect of being laid upon the table. sy BURNETT’S RESOLUTION A CAUCUS SUBJECT CAuL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—The resolution declar- ing Wright's seat in the Assembly vacant which was offered this afternoon by As- semblyman Burnett was the subject of a minority caucus during the noon recess. Mead of Los Angeles opposed the plan and argued that such a resolution should properly come from the majority. After selecting candidates to_ place in opposi- tion to Anderson and Dunlap the main question- was dropped, leaving Burnett to do as he saw fit in the matter. The Insane Asylum Law. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—A delegation of the As- sembly Committee on State Hospitals and Asylums_returned last evening from its trip to Napa, where it went in company with Secretary of the Lunacy Commission Cariere, to inspect the proposed site of the dam, for the construction of which & bill {8 now before the Assembly. The desire of the asylum officials is to have sufficlent water to run an electric light lant and to also have enough water for he needs of the asylum. y damming the river they can have a natural reser- voir holding 3,000,000 gallons, and they claim the expense will not be great. The bill asks for an appropriation. Amending the Political Code. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—The Senate Committee on Elections reported favorably upon Sen- ator Stratton’s ptimary election law this afternoon after having made a number of amendments by inserting portions of other laws made by other members of the Senate. The bill has not heen very materfally changed and is considered a very necessary and important addition to the Yolmral code. - Bill 28, introduced by Senator Sims, was also passed favorably upon. It is an act amending certain sections of the political code and relates to alections and provides for declaring the rgsults of the vote on constitutional amendments. ——— Defining Investment Associations. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—Senator Taylor has introduced a Dbill defining buildin, loan associations ~ so they . of any h'. _include all kl== or character conducted on a plan. or associations +Q ANOT HER R ballot was decidedly the thing of 1 ber to-day. His motion was at once carried. Even the intergst of the Senat made glad possibilities under the C cussion over their division. The ballot resulted in absolutel ters were the same at its finish a the following schedule of the vote d BARNES ESTEE BULLA BURNS FELTON GRANT SCOTT .. . DE VRIES . ROSENFELD BARD .. WHITE .. HCHO+OICH OO0 40404040 4040 H+04+ 040404+ 040404040404040 imilar to that of any feature of which is a building and loan association. The Building and Loan Commissioners are given jurisdiction over all of these insti- tutions and are to declde whether or not they are subject to examination and in- vestigation at their hands, the same as straight building and loan sccieties are. ———— NEW AND UNIQUE ELECTION LAW CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—Senator Smith of Kern County has a brand new addition to the election law. It is a bill which does awa; with great registers at the time of elec- | tion and which is claimed to make illegal voting impossible. The Senate Committee on Elections took the matter up for consideration this af- ternoon, and after much discussion the committee concluded to amend the meas- ure in a number of ways and to insert it in the Stratton primary election law, which is now before the committee. The bill is an act making it necessary for the voter, when registering, to make and sign a duplicate affidavit of registration, one copy of which will be sent to the polling place of the precinct in which the voter is registered and the other will be retained hy the County Clerk. The affi- davits are not more than ten inches by | four in size, and the coples sent to the | polling place will be bound in book form. After having been used the affidavits will be returned to the office of the County Clerk, who will keep them with the dupli- cate coples to be used in other elections. Senator Smith claims that by making the voter sign his name when voting, posi- | tive means of identification can be had by comparing the signatures. Another clause in the bill gives authority to the Justice of the Peace ®f the country in which the voter resides to take registration affidavits. At the time the clerk sends the duplicate affidavits to the election officers, he will also send an index of the names in the book, giving | the name, age and nativity of the voter. The author claims that there will be con- siderable expense saved in printing, and that it will make registration less com- plicated and MExmflcuu?g perfect. SAN FRANCISCO’S BUILDING BILL CONSIDERED CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—A bill came before the Senate Committee on Public Buildings other than Prison Buildings this after- noon, which ecalled for an appropriation of $300,000 for the construction of a build- ing for the offices of the State officials having headquarters in San Francisco. The bill was favorably considered, but no action was taken, owing to some proposed amendments. The State offices having headquarters in San Francisco and who are now quar- tered in a number of places in various portions of the city are: The Attorney General's office, that of the Insurance Commissioners, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court Commission, the Rail- road Commission, the Bureau of Labor Statisticians, the Yosemite Valley Com- mission, the State Mineralogist, Fish Commission, Bank Commission, Board of Immigration, Horticultural besides numerous other minor offices. Those interested in the proposition claim { that this will be a much needed addition to the State buildings and will fill a long felt want in San Francisco. The committee met again this evening and reported favorably upon bill 206, which is an act to provide for an appro- priation for the completion of the main building of the California home for the care and training of feeble-minded chil- dren, which is at present in an incomplete condition. Sl JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CLEANS UP ITS WORK CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 30.—The Senate Judiciary Committee accomplished considerable work at its meeting this evening and STILL NO CHANGE CALL HEADQUARTERS, Sacramento, Just one was taken and when nothing startling happened as a result of it, Cutter of Yuba got up and moved an adjournment. the developments In the Wright case and tacked on to this was a Sen- ate caucus on the patronage proposition. out and the members in the upper house are having some bit of a dis- section of | Commission, | 0+0+0+0+040+C40+0+040+0HGH010+0+040+0+0+0+H OLLCALL, Jan. 30.—The joint Senatorial east interest in the Assembly cham- e end of the Legislature centered in The jobs that have been utter bill have not yet been doled ¥ no change in the status quo. Mat- s they were a week and more ago, as emontrates: V404040 + 0404004040404 04 040000+ O 40404040 Seowme N o s y - CHO40+04+0+040+0 +S+EB l(‘leaned up several bills that have been | hanging fire for some time. Those report- | ed_favorably on were the following: l Bill 114, with some minor amendments, treats of the appointment of officers and | employes by the San Francisco Board of vHealt:: bill 242 is ap act authorizing a | person ‘required to glve bonds or under- | taking to agree with his sureties for the | deposit or withdrawal of any or all | moneys or assets for which such sureties are or may be held responsible; bill 270 re- | lates to erroneous tax assessments and | sales; bill 303 relates to the disposition of | moneys belonging to deceased inmates of | public institutions, supported in whole or | In part by State aid and under the con- trol of boards appointed by the Governor; | bill 2687 is an act relating to guardians and | wards; bills 33 and 337 are acts adding new sections to the Penal Code, making it a misdeneanor for any person cutting | telegraph or telephone or electric wires when not authorized by those owning the same. Bills 276 and 288 were reported unfavor- | ably upon. Bill 276 was an act to establish | a tax on collateral inheritances, bequests | and devises, to provide for its collection ianf‘l to direct disposition of proceeds. Bill | 228 relates to divorce proceedings. | |TO REGULATE SAN FRANCISCO'S CHARTER SACRAMENTO. Jan. —Registrar Biggy arrived from San Francisco to- night and brought with him a draft of | the bill that Is intended to rectify mis- takes in San Francisco charter, relative | to electlon registration, so that regular municipal elections may be held and the necessary legislation legaliy effected. The bill lays out a_decidedly economical :'PIF('HO“ plan and . Registrar Biggy says | that if its provisions are adhered to mu- nicipal elections will not cost over $40,000 each, as against $100,000 and over as un- | der the present law | _He expects the original bill here to-mor- row and it will be introduced in Senate and Assembly at the same_ time—in the Assembly by Cobb of San Francisco; in the Senate by Senator Bulla. Must Account for Moneys. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- | MENTO, Jan. 30.—Senator Dickinson de- | sires that officials of the various asylums | and prisons in the State shall give an ac- | count of every dollar they receive from | outside sources other than the State to the State Controller .every thirty days, | and for that he presented to the Senate a bill covering the subject this morning. | By the terms of the bill all trustees and | commissioners of any State hospital, asy- {lum, prison, school or any State institu- | tion are instructed te turn all the money they have received during each month over to the State Controller at the close | of each month. The Harbor Commissioners are excluded | from the general operation of the act, | and they are not required to turn over all | money ‘they receive, but may retain a sum not exceeding $6000, any part of ‘which they can use for necessary repairs. | The boards of trustees of asylums, hos- pitals and prisons are authorized to give | a discharge. inmate assistance when he { leaves the institution in the shape of | money or cloth but the board must | make an itemized statement thereof to the State Controller and show where every dollar went to. e Califora Municipal League. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- | MENTO, Jan. 30.—Senator Taylor has presented a bill providing for the | creation of the League of Cal- ifornia Municipalities. Under his bill = the. league is to - be made up of the several cities and towns incorpo- rated under the constitution of the State. The league may provide for the support of its officers, which it may elect as it sees fit. Whenever the league requires information or data from any city offi- clal he is, by the law, instructed to give it. The league is to Submit biennial re. ports containing the information and data it Mas collected to the Governor and the Legislature. e To Cure a Cold in One Day Take Laxative Bromq Quinine Tablets. druggists refund the money i 2%c. The genuine has L. it 1t fall s alls to cure. B. Q. on each tablet. 'SAVE ME. For a few days of the Baldwin clo are selling this week at half-price, th $5 00 boys’ suits for $2 50. Items marKed with an X men’s suit, size 37, to match, boys’ suit, age 16. Also one at 35 cente. This clipping is taken from The Call of Tuesday, 31. come and pay for same very soon a. lot. THESE ARE A FE “BOYS' BOYS' w thing stock, which I understand vou at is $20 00 men's suits at $10 00, and pants Wwhite shirt, colored front, siza 15%, I will nd will want other things from same OF THE PRICES. merked $5 00 we accept $230 for the same thing. MEN'S " MEN'S E BOYS 2-piece suits, | 3-piece suits, | dark suits, overcoats, ‘LI'I;SSIEOE‘QYS 3 to 14 years. |11 to 18 years. | 34 to 40. 35 to 44. 5 to 10 yee{és. 1 00 | 88 50O 5 00 R #1380 4 00 3 00 1L 2 00 X5 00 7 50 e Z B8O ¢ 00 8 00 o 3 00 7 50 10 00 375 3 50 These are with| 10 00 These are i _|_Fine Gooas. | BIGGER =% Boys’ BOYS' BOYS' Io Buye overcoats, knee pants, long pants, top coats, 11 to 18 years. | 3 to 14 years. |11 to 18 years. §.t0 10 years. 83 00 15 cents. | % 85 3 50 205, cents. 1 00 00 40 cents. 1 25 5 00 50O cents. 1 50 | 4 50 75 cents. 195 5 00 ket | WE HEAR SAID: 3 This stock is new, fresh, late style, and all 3 right! Where clothing house had goods Best line of men’s wool pants you ever saw; $3 00 1s outside price for goods marked at $6 00 to $7 50, Notby cuits and specialties of every kind. Furnishing goods, including Coine and see us. white shirts, from 35 cents up. CASH STORE 25-27 Market St., S.F.