OCR Text |
Show HE BILL CAUSES J STIR lOffi THE j LAWYERS I Governor Simon Bamberger today' received the following self-explanatory i telegram sent officially. Twenty-five members of the Weber We-ber County Bar association in a meeting today indorsed senate bill No. 3, known as the venue bill, and earnestly urge vou to sign the bill. Senator Joseph C. Chez, author of 'he bill which passed both houses of the legislature by a large majority Wenl to Salt Lake this afternoon, ac-1 companied bv sr-vrnl nth- n..hn : spirited citizens, and similar delegations delega-tions were going from other counties throughout the state, to personally .urge Governor Bamberger to sign the bill In the meanwhile an array of rall-1 rall-1 road attorneys and special pleaders are laboring with the governor to persuade per-suade him to veto the bill. Returning from Salt Lake todav, after aft-er a conference with Mr. Bamberger, a prominent citlsen said the povernor was uncertain on the venue bill and might be expected to veto it. Purpose of the Bill. The bill which is causing such an! uproar all over the state will completely complete-ly reform the present method of compelling com-pelling all persons suing B railroad to try their cause at Salt Lake. The n.-w law would compel the trial of all dam-' age suits and actions for claims against railroads in the countv seat whe re the suit is filed. The new law, as explained bv Senator Sena-tor Chez and many others, would take away from the railroads the club which their attorneys now drive all, it ,ni . f- i- ... . . Bu lK, .uiuii ouiise ineir claims at about ten cents on the dollar. When a person, or a horse or cow '" ":f" ' uniiii.il i- kill.-d bv a railroad train, or otherwise through the fault of the corporation, or if a person sustain sus-tain such damages from any cau-. the claimant at pres. nt must go to Salt Lake, together with the witnesses and attorneys, board at a hotel, endure the law's delays, thus incurring heavy expense, ex-pense, often far more than the amount of the damages or claims allowed and for these reasons the average claimant for years past has com pro-' rnised on a ten cent basis rather than undertake a lawsuit. Many Causes Waiting. Many suits for damages and claims 1 for injuries are now awaiting the governor's gov-ernor's decision and in each case five or six of which are in the district court at Ogden. the corporations invariably invar-iably petition for a change of venue on! the ground that their chief place ot business is at Salt Lake and under the old law they mUst be sued and cause must be tried at the place where they have their headquarters. Senator Chez and all nf ih ntiVm, Ogden lawyers, excepting two or three, declare that the venue bill is of the , utmost importance to the taxpavers , throughout the state; that the law'will Have the people many thousands of dollars annually; that it is absolutely Just and right and equitable. Initiative and Referendum. Hearing that Governor Bamberger IIS about to veto the venue bill, local : Democrats are alarmed, fearing the governor might also be persuaded to I veto the initiative and referendum which was made to apply to municipalities munici-palities b the Che amendment. The recall bill was lost. The initiative and referendum passed almost unanimously as a partv pledge measure. One of the prominent local Democrats Demo-crats said today. "I deplore the present turn of affairs, af-fairs, n i.s lamentable that the leiris. lature did not pass the initiative and referendum and recall and nothing else and adjourn allowing the , ,,),. to make their own laws." nn |