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Show anti-gTgaret bill if BECOME LAW BOTH HOUSES APPROVE THE I MEASURE AND IT IS NOW UP TO THE GOVERNOR. Reform Members of Legislature Put Over Measure Which Conservative Members Characterize as Freak Legislation. Salt Lake City. Better begin to cut down on the "pill" habit, fellows, for the cigaret lias been given it body blow-by blow-by the Utah legislature, laboring long past the scheduled working time. The cigaret lias been placed in the same class as "booze," and, should the governor gover-nor sign the measure passed by the members of the thirteenth legislature, you will become a criminal should you continue the use of the cigaret or acquire ac-quire the habit in future. Characterized as freak legislation, class legislation by the more conservative conser-vative members, the reformer members of the house of representatives on March 14 passed the Southwick anti-cigaret anti-cigaret bill by the narrow margin of two votes. If the senate, which already al-ready had passed the bills concurs in a slight technical amendment made by the house, and Governor Bamberger attaches at-taches his signature, the thirteenth session of the legislature will go on record as having regulated the smoking smok-ing habits of Utah .adults, an. advanced step in the line of radical legislation that heretofore has not been put into effect. While advocates of the measure confessed con-fessed that they had little or no experience ex-perience in smoking, those who opposed oppos-ed the measure were almost evenly divided between smokers and non-smokers. non-smokers. The opponents of the measure meas-ure tV-'clared that in their opinion it was an improper invasion of a man's personal liberties. The reformers shouted that the same arguments had been used against prohibition. representative Charles M. Croft of Morgan, one of the house s roreniosc spellbinders, gave what was, perhaps, the most extraordinary display of oratorical ora-torical calisthenics while he pleaded for the salvation of Utah's youth from the demoralizing effects of cigarettes by passing what he called his "pet bill.". He brought another astounding and new bit of information to light when he informed the house that every great criminal was a cigaret smoker, and that the beginning of these criminal crim-inal careers could be directly laid at the door of the terrible "pill." Representative Arthur Welling of Murray, school teacher and educational reformer, declared that the people of Utah, despite liberal contributions to tobacco funds for the men in France, resented the fact that the smoking habit was encouraged during the war. Governor Bamberger signed two legislative leg-islative measures on March 14, senate concurrent bill No. 5 and senate bill Xo. 42. The concurrent bill provides for a committee of five to report to the next legislature upon the arid lands of Utah, the committee to serve without with-out pay. The other bill establishes the limits of the Third judicial district by counties as follows : Salt Lake, Tooele, Summit and Daggett. All conflicts now defining the limits of the district are repealed by the new measure. A sensation was created in the senate sen-ate when Senator U. T. Jones sought to amend a bill providing increased pay for employes' of the legislature, by abolishing the office of chaplain in both houses. Not only was the amendment amend-ment killed, but the entire bill was killed. . . . Willi a long calendar of bills still facing them, the house members voted on March 14, to appoint a siriing committee, com-mittee, at the suggestion of Speaker Iiichards. The committee appointed by the speaker is composed of representatives repre-sentatives Heppler, Morris, Seegniiller, Greenwood and IX D. McKay. Masters' house bill providing that the records of meetings of city com missioners may be pruned m either newspapers or pamphlet form was passed by the senate on final reading without change, after Senator McKin-ney McKin-ney had sought to have it amended to provide that nothing besides the minutes min-utes of board meetings and financial statements should be published. |