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INDIANA'S LEGISLAlUR
Absence of Legislators Hampering Busi-
,ness--Six per cent Interest--Business Slow—Some Important
Bills.
From some unknown cause there has
been a great dearth of legislators at certain periods during the past week. Nevertheless some important bills have been
considered. The bill in reference to placing; the red, white and blue banner upon
thi |School houses of the State was brought
up Tuesday. It was violently oppossed
by Senator Magee and finally defeated.
A bill was before the House Wednesday,
to make the legal rate of interest nix per
cent.   Hut it was finally tabled.
The bill in reference to placing the red,
white and blue banner upon tho school
houses of the State was brought up Tuesday. It was violently opposed by Senator
Magee and finally defeated.
The House after a great deal of debate
has "engrossed" a number of drainage
bills; also one by Mr. Oldham, requiring
grain dealers to use a standard measure.
Petitions were received from the F. M.
B. A., of Vigo county protesting against
any "World's Fair appropriation.;
Mr..Brown offered a resolution charging
the Union Stock Yards, of Indianapolis,
with-undue discrimination 'to parties selling stock there and demanding an investigation. - The resolution was finally Withdrawn but we understand Is to be resus-
citatedf and we believe that it should be
passed.;
An act, by Mr. Harrell, to prohibit the
buying or selling of votes was engrossed.
Also one by Mr. Higgins, in relation to
attributing school revenues; similar to
Senator Mount's.
A bilJ, similar in purport to Mr. Brown's
resolution.
A memorial from Clarke County Alliance was read by Mr. Leyden, asking that
road supervisors be given fall supervision
of township roads; that three trustees to a
township be elected instead of one, and
that all teachers be examined by these
trustees; also that the people elect the
teachers and have the power to discharge
them upoa two-thirds vote. This was referral to -the committee on county and
township business.
Mr. Guthrie introduced a bill to prevent
deception in the sale of dairy products;
also one, by Mr. Peters, requiring trustees
to report all aid given to the poor was engrossed.
Mr. Stone's bill requiring the unexpended balance, after a road is completed,
be returned to the taxpayers was also favorably considered.
In the Sanate, Mr. Mount's bill giving
horse-thief detectives power to arrest
suspected parties, was passed.
Also one, by Senator Harlan, was unanimously passed, to prevent waste of natural gas, by the use of out door lights.
The Legislature has virtually decided to
make a World's Fair appropriation dependent on the defeat of the "Force bill,"
now pending in onr National Congress.
Irtte Wednesday afternoon the following bills were introduced,in the House,and
referred to their respective committees:
Mr. Johnson's to exempt bona fide indebtedness from taxation; Mr McCullough's
fee and salary bill and Mr. Han-el's to regulate charges at the stock yards.
The next morning a memorial from the
Karo F. M. B. A. was read by Mr. Johnson, it asked for a reduction in salaries;
that the office of county superintendent
be abolished; that public printing be let
to the lowest bidder; that four per cent
be made the legal rate of interest, and
that Circuit Court Judges appoint examiners of teachers.
Mr. Hearn's bill, reducing passenger
fare to two cents was recommitted.
The House Committee on Agriculture
(Messr3. Kester, Byrkit, Cullop, Beigler,
G ray,Wright Kilgore, Latta and Aikman,)
reported unfavorably upon Mr. Watson's
bill for the protection of sheep, and Mr
Robbin's bill to prohibit the construction
of barbed wire fence, in certain cases, but
several other bills cover this ground.
In the afternoon the House passed Mr.
Han-ell's bill changing the time allowed
for filing deeds from 45 to 15 days.
The committee appointed to investigate
the charges against the Northern prison,
reported Friday that every thing was conducted upon sound business principles.
In the Senate, Mr. Thompson's bill prohibiting the breeding of diseased or defective animals, was favorably recommended
by this committee; but finally defeated.
Senator Mount introduced an act providing that any person convicted of selling
merchandise at short weight, be fined not
to exceed ?500, or five years imprisonment.
Mr. French's bill, making tho legal rate
of interest (i per cent, again came up
Thursday. The vote showed 12 Senators
in favor of its indefinite postponement,
and 23 against it. The bill was ordered
printed.
On Friday Senator Ewing's bill abolishing the present State Board of Agriculture,
and establishing another, giving each industrial and commercial body in the State
a membership, was engrossed.
Mr. Howard's bill, requiring all county
clerks to make sworn statements to the
auditor, the first of every year, as to the
amount  of fees  and fines collected, was
In the House, Mr. Adams bill prohibiting the use of testers in determining the
grade of cereals was lost. The fee and salary bill still lies dormant.
During the ptc.ent session of the Legislature, 075 bills have been considered—
only about half of which have been engrossed.
Abolish the Over-check Rein.
Editors Indiana Parmer:
Below will be found some of the authority upon which I have bated my view of
tight and high checking of horses.
Evelyn McCobmick.
Ex. Sec'y of Humane Society.
Lafayette.
From a pamphlet issued by The American Humane Association, 500 veterinary
surgeons of Great Britian have signed a
paper condemning tight bearing reins.
This was done without fee, and solely in
the interest of humanity. Extracts from
their individual testimony may be found
in a pamphlet issued by.the London Royal
Society for the prevention of cruelty to
animals. The hour is close at hand when
tight checks will be relegated to the list of
obsolete atrocities, in which the rack and'
the thumb-screws, the scourge and the
stake occupy conspicious places.
Hiram Woodruff, the greatest and kindest of jockeys, says in his book called The
trotting horse of America, you may see
horses brought out of the stable to trot
with a very tight check to keep the head
up, and a tight martingale to keep it down.
Such a horse is in irons and when to this
is added a dead drag at the reins and no
movement of the bit from end to end, I
cannot see how he should do his best."
We regard the training of young colts to
the over-check as one of the thoughtless
cruelties of the age, and we advise anyone who believes in humanity to read the
chapter on "How to train a colt," in W. II.
II. Murray's Perfect Horse.
Dr. Gardner, veterinary surgeon of the
Connecticut Humane Society,*,says; "Elevate the head of the horse to a strained
and unnatural height and you weary the
neck and bring immense pressure upon
the sensitive comers and roof of the
mouth. High checking is without much
doubt a prolific cause of sprung knees and
similar deformities of the limbs."
Mr. Fleming, army veterinary inspector,
of London, gives 12 reasons against the
bearing rein, only two of which I will
here take space to give. "It tends to distort
the upper part of the windpipe and causes
roaring; it pets the temper of nervous
and excitable horses, and shortens the
lives of all."
These extracts I find in a pamphlet issued by the American Humane Association, which has had a wide circulation.
In an exhaustive article in the Chicago
Globe entitled, The barbarous over-chock,
I find these words: "The Ill-favored fashion, against which every humane man and
lover of the horse should array his influence, is doing its evil work as an export «s
well as a home product, for the late Sir
Arthur Helps, the British humanitarian,
left in his writings the following criticism
of the check rein and its user: .'Whenever I see horses suffering from, a too
tight check rein, I know the owner is unobservant, cruel or pompous. He is unobservant or he would see that his horses are
suffering. When I look at the coat-of-
arms on these carriages, I know who are
the greatest fools in London, in the upper
classes, etc., etc. Throw away the check
rein.' "
Dr. John Adam McBride, another eminent veterinarian says; "The check rein
too tight, seriously interfers with the return of blood from the brain, and must
impede the arterial blood to the brain."
Coming nearer home in a personal interview with Prof. Hinebauch, fromer veterinarian at Purdue University, ho tells me
that this cruel fashionable tight checking of
horses produces tho following diseases;
roaring, whistling, numbness of the muscles of the neck, lacerating of the gums
arid cheeks, producing slobering.
William Saunders, another accomplished
and experienced horseman, says; "Lengthen your check rein to a reasonable extent,
and you will find, nine cases out of ten, it
will benefit both the horse and yourself.
Some horses know more than the men
who drive them."
In another long article on this subject,
which appeared recently in one of the
large Chicago papers, written by a prominent citizen of Chicago, and which was reproduced far and wide, I find these lines;
"In this age of civilization, and the land
of the Christian religion, in this and other
c'.tio3, claiming advanced intelligence,
daily and hourly in the most crowded and
most fashionable thoroughfares can be
seen exhibitions of cruelty to-animals,
that can but give great pain to any intelligent lover of the horse. I refer to that
infernal instrument of torture, the check
rein for horses. Women are much to
blame in this matter, since it is done, as
they acknowledge, 'for style.' The poor
and ignorant, the lower classes aio not the
gross offenders in this outrage, the guilty
ones are the 'ton,' the quality. Their
well-fed, well-groomed steeds stand before church doors, suffering in silent misery, only by impatient pawings and champings at the bit, telling of their agony, while
the ownerkneelson padded.'stools, mindful
of self comfort even when praying, to
worship Him who taught that 'the merciful man is merciful to his beast.' "
From the Minnesota Horseman (not a
humane journal) I quote these words, as
answer to the argument advanced by some
in defense of the check rein, in it being
necessary to prevent the horse from getting his head to the ground and his feet
in the reins, i. e. driving reins. The
Horseman says: "A good plan is to have
a short, neat strap about four to six
inches long attached to the rein, whereby
the check can be lengthened, and the
neck relieved, and still the horse will be
prevented from putting his head to the
ground and getting his feet in the reins."
The Chicago Times. says in a recent editorial:   "And by the way, while the min
isters are about the good work of suppressing Sunday horse races, a little attention
to an atrocity that comes nearer their own
doors, or the doors of their churches
might not bo amiss." Adding indisputable authority in proof of the crueltyof the
manner in which these fashionable saints
harness their fine animals.
As a fit closing of this paper, I will sug- ,
gest  the  reading  of  the  accompanying
verses  by  our  illustrious  Indiana poet,
James Whitcomb Riley.
THE HOWS.
I claim no hoss will harm a man,
Nor kick, nor run away, covort,
Stump-suck or balk, or "c»tamaran,"
Ef you'll jest treat 'em like you ort.
Bat when I see the beast abused,
And clubtol around, as I've seen some,
I want to see his owner noosed,
And just yanked up like Absolum!
Of course thay's difference in stock—
A hoss that has a little ear, *
And slender build and shaller hock,
Kin beat his shadder mighty near;
While one that's thick in neck and chist,
And big in leg and full in flank,
That tries to race, I still insist,
He'll have to take tbe second rank.
And I have jist laid back and laughed
And rolled and wallered in the grass
At fairs, to see some heavy draft
Lead out at first and come in last.
Each hoss has his appointed place—
The heavy hoss Should plow the soil,
The blooded racer he must race,
And win big wages for his toil.
I never bet—nor never wrought
Upon my fellow-men to bet—
And yit at times I've often thought
Of my convictions with regrot.
I bless the hoss from hoof to head	
Fiom head to hoof and tail to mane!
I bless the hoss, as I have said,
From head to hoof and back againl
I love my God the first all,
Then,him that perished on tho cross,
And next my wife—and then I fall
Down on my knees ard lovt— the hoss.
IHDIANIANS IN SO0THEBH CALIFOBNIA.
Dr. Furnas of El Modena, Cal., has sent
us the following circular:
HOOS1ER REUNION.
D;ar Hoosier.—The time for our reunion is approaching. We expect next
May 1 >iy to be the event of the season to
all Hoosiers of Orange county. Senator
Church of Laporte, Ind., will be with us
and make the speech of the day. President Harrison may also be with us. If
you know of any I loosiers who have not
registered, insist on them calling at the
office of Dr. M. A. Mengo3, in the opera
house at Santa Ana, and register. No fees
attached. We simply want every man, woman and child that ever lived in Indiana
to make it known and become ocquainted
with the balance of the Hoosiers.
A premium is offered to tho first Hoosier
registered from Posey county.
We have already a society of over 200
members and they are among Orange
county's most prosperous and substantial
citizens. In former days when ginseng
and sassafras tea was our drink, and corn
bread and bacon our diet, we used to shout
with pride, "Who would not be a
Hoosier?" But through great tribulation
we have left the land of our forefathers
and come to this earthly paradise, and
now let our watchword be Orange county,
and with a united Hoosier effort, it will
not be long until she will blossom as the
rose.
Trusting that your hearts will swell
with pride for our Hoosier society, and
that you will use your influence to have
all register, we remain,
Very Respectfully Yours,
A. Furnas, Pres.
M. A. Menoes, Sec'y.
We are glad to know that living in an
"earthly paradise" does not cause them to
forget the good old Hoosier State, nor
ceaso to feel proud of her.
Four men were killed in a railroad
wreck, near Topeka, Kan., the 27th.      1