The Clerk announced that Nicholas J. Whelan, having received a majority of all the votes cast for the office of Speaker, was duly elected Speaker of the House, and named as a committee to escort the Speakerelect to the chair, Messrs. S, H. Kelley, L'Esperance and Thompson. The committee performed the duty assigned it and through its chairman introduced the Speaker-elect, who then addressed the House as follows: Fellow Members of the House of Representatives: I do not propose to pester you with an extended appeal for a short session. The appeal has been made often, but it has always come to naught. We should simply rely for encouragement upon the staid old saying that "actions speak louder than words," and act accordingly. Michigan is a large State for which to legislate. Not large particularly in area, but large in the diversity of its interests and the magnitude of its achievements. Its leagues of shore line gives it facilities for shipping that make its needs identical with those of the seacoast states, and gives it a prestige that interior states do not possess; its broad expanse of farm lands puts it on a par with the leading agricultural states; its mines, rich with coal, prodigal with iron, and opulent with copper, places it in the category of the great mining centers of the country; and these, with its lumber, its dairy interests, its fisheries and its manufacturing industries, stamps it as a state of multitudinous interests, which require a corresponding amount of care and demand the soundest thought, the most approved judgment and the best energies of all in whom this great law-making trust is reposed. On account of this diversity of our State you will be called upon to consider a great many different questions, the correct solution of which will tend to its advancement, and without doubt you will accomplish a great deal. But no matter how much you do or how well you do it, you will not be given credit for half. Your people at home will hear only of the hours, the minutes or the seconds that the House is in session. Many will be of the opinion that then is the only time you work for your three dollars per. They are mistaken. That is not all. The real work is done in committee, and you will find that if you wish to do justice to yourself, to your constituents and to the State, you will have to put in many hours of arduous labor in committee room. Although you get no credit for this work, do it. One of the most important things we will have to do this session is to devise the plan under which the convention shall be called for a revision of the constitution. The present constitution has served well its purpose. Under it the State has made mighty strides in material progress. But the general belief that the State has outstript the constitution has prompted the calling of a convention to mark out the way of obtaining a new constitution, and it is our duty to so act that the best interests of the State are served. As this question overshadows nearly every other that is likely to confront us, I would suggest that the rules of the House be amended so as to provide for the appointment of a constitutional convention committee, this committee to consist of thirteen members. During the last session of the legislature an appropriation was made for the establishment of a tuberculosis sanatorium. This sanatorium is in process of construction in Livingston county, near Howell, and following the practice prevailing in regard to the appointment of a committee to inquire into the needs of each State institution, the rules should be amended to provide for the appointment of a committee on tuberculosis sanatorium, this committee to consist of five members. One of the best assets of a legislative assembly is an interrogation point member. That is a member who will closely question legislation. Many a time last session, when bills of doubtful virtue were about to be passed under suspension of the rules or upon third reading, a certain member, who is now in the Senate, would arise and ask a question, and usually when this interrogation point got through with the bill, it was referred to a committee or consigned to a timely grave. Sometimes as late as the third reading of bills an interrogation point can get busy and prevent legislation, which, if passed, would come home to roost on the next election day. I realize that it is not my province to assume to advise men who have forgotten more about legislative duties and legislative procedure than I ever knew. There are those among you who are growing gray in the service, and I'll not pretend to advise you. I'll simply refer to the fact that we should all work for the common good. We cannot please everybody. Those whom we do not please will make their dis pleasure known; those whom we please will, as a rule, refrain from expressing their satisfaction. But let's simply plod along and all do our best, realizing that the enacting of a few good laws rather than a multitude of indifferent ones should be our guiding motive. The Speaker announced that the next business in order was the election of a Speaker pro tem. The roll was called by the Clerk, and the members voted as follows: The Speaker announced that Charles E. Ward, having received a majority of all the votes cast for the office of Speaker pro tem., was duly elected Speaker pro tem. of the House. The Speaker announced that the next business in order was the election of a Clerk of the House. The roll was called by the Journal Clerk, and the members voted as follows: The Speaker announced that Charles S. Pierce, having received a majority of all the votes cast for the office of Clerk, was duly elected Clerk of the House. The Sergeant-at-Arms announced a committee from the Senate. The committee, through its chairman, informed the House that the Senate was organized and ready to proceed with business. The Speaker announced that the next business in order was the elec tion of a Sergeant-at-Arms. The roll of the House was called by the Journal Clerk, and the members voted as follows: The Speaker announced that William H. Quilliams, having received a majority of all the votes cast for the office of Sergeant-at-Arms, was duly elected Sergeant-at-Arms of the House. Schantz Scott By unanimous consent, the House took up the order of MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS. Mr. Morrice offered the following resolution: House resolution No. 1. Resolved, That the Speaker appoint a special committee, consisting of three Representatives, to inform the Senate that the House has completed its organization and is ready for the transaction of business. The resolution was adopted. The Speaker appointed as such committee, Messrs. Morrice, Willitts and McCarthy. Mr. Byrns offered the following resolution: Resolved by the House (the Senate concurring), That the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate be instructed to mail, in their discretion, copies of the daily Journal upon written request therefor; and copies to each person whose address shall be furnished them by a member of the House or Senate, but no Senator shall be allowed to furnish more than twenty-five names and no Representative more than fifteen names; and that the amount of postage on such copies of said Journal so sent out shall be paid by the State Treasurer on the warrant of the Auditor General on the presentation of bills duly certi fied by the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, showing that such stamps have been purchased and used only for the payment of postage in mailing copies of the Journal hereby ordered to be distributed. The resolution was adopted. Mr. Turner offered the following resolution: Resolved, That the Speaker appoint a special committee, consisting of three Representatives, to act with a committee of the Senate in advising His Excellency, the Governor, that the two Houses have completed their organization and that they will be pleased to meet in joint convention, at such time as he may designate, to receive his inaugural message. The resolution was adopted. The Speaker appointed as such committee, Messrs. Turner, Trabbic and Galbraith. Mr. McCarthy offered the following resolution: House resolution No. 4. Resolved, That there be paid to Charles S. Pierce. Clerk, and Paul H. King, Journal Clerk, of the House of Representatives of 1905, the sums of $25 and $15, respectively, for their services in organizing the present House, as required by statute. The resolution was adopted. |