The Daily Alaska Empire

SEEN FROM
SIDELINES

"Senate Sidelights"

during the
tension-filled hours of the hectic
"Sixtieth Day" included many an
instance that will help to keep the
legislative session just closed very
much alive in the memories of
those present for the final scenes:

There's the "pretty problem" that
was presented to Senate President
Edward D. Coffey by the spite action of the upper chamber in rescinding its vote of approval on
House Bill 30, the "Chiropractors
Act." By implication, President
Coffey ruled "out of order" the vote
to rescind, which was taken after
the bill had left Senate possession.
Without comment, President Coffey put his pen to the bill when
the enrolled copy was presented for
signature.

Then, too, there's the independent
spirit displayed by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jack Silver when, at 3:15
o'clock yesterday afternoon following the fizzling of the Senate's
second or third attempt to adjourn,
he marched off his post, declaiming: No more pay-no work!

Senator O. D. Cochran's outburst
of disgust when it was ordered
that the clock be shrouded as its
hands approached the "fatal hour"
of midnight: "That's a wholly idle
gesture and a ridiculous thing!"

Senator Howard Lyng's disgruntled declaration that he would
"vote NO on everything," following
disclosure that the "free conference" committees on the General
Appropriations Bill had pared $25,000 off the expense allotted for administration of the Department of
Public Welfare.

The lack of more than even a
ripple of comment when Senate
concurrence to House amendments
to Senate Bill No. 64 completed
enactment of perhaps most widely
effective measure of the session-
the "Consolidated Schools" law.
House amendments to limit powers
conferred by the bill on District
Court judges were designed to remove a possible reason for veto of
the bill by Gov. Ernest Gruening.

The final gesture of appeasement
to fishermen-passage by the Senate of House Joint Memorial No.
20, by Reps. Peratrovich and
Krause, asking Congress to cut a
canal through Prince of Wales
Island.

Senate refusal to concur to
House amendments to the "Basic
Science Bill," Senate No. 16 followed by boiled-over tempers when
the House not only would not recede from its position, but ran
the measure up a "dead end street"
and parked it there by not even
asking for "conference."

Recollection of the valiant battle
put up by Senators Andrew Nerland and Howard Lyng for salvage
of something from the "salmon
pack tax," Senate Bill No. 53. Their
repeated arguments to take the
edge off Senate resentment at
House chicanery in trying to put
across proposals that the upper
body had already voted down when
it defeated House Bill No. 35.