Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

JOURNAL OF THE

THE SENATE.

At a General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, begun and holden at Boston on the first Wednesday, being the first day of January, in the year one thousand nine hundred and two, and the one hundred and twentysixth of the independence of the United States of America, the following-named members-elect of the Senate, having been duly summoned by the Executive, assembled at eleven o'clock A.M., in the Senate Chamber, to wit:

Hon. Messrs. Willard Howland of Chelsea,

Charles S. Sullivan of Boston,
Henry S. Fitzgerald of Boston, .
William T. A. Fitzgerald of Boston,
John A. Sullivan of Boston,
Michael J. Sullivan of Boston,
John K. Berry of Boston,
Edward Seaver of Boston,

and Perlie A. Dyar of Boston,

Hon. Messrs. Thomas F. Porter of Lynn,
J Frank Porter of Danvers,
Harry C. Foster of Gloucester,
Carleton F. How of Haverhill,

and Archie N. Frost of Lawrence,

Hon. Messrs. Henry R. Skinner of Watertown,
Albert S. Apsey of Cambridge,
Leonard B Chandler of Somerville,
George R. Jones of Melrose,
Chester B. Williams of Wayland,
Herbert E. Fletcher of Westford,

and John T. Sparks of Dracut,.

in the Middlesex and Essex District.

Hon. Alva S. Wood of Woburn,
Hoo. Messrs. David Manning of Worcester,
John P. Munroe of Worcester,
Edward F. Blodgett of Leominster,
George K. Tufts of New Braintree,
and Cornelius R. Day of Blackstone,

in the First }

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

in the Berkshire District.

Worcester
Districts.

in the Berkshire and Hampshire District. in the Franklin and Hampshire District.

200228

Quorum.

Qualification of Senators.

President.

And were called to order by the Hon. Frank A. Fales, senator-elect from the Second Norfolk District.

Prayer was offered by the Rev. Charles A. Skinner of Cambridge.

On motion of Mr. Manning,

Ordered, That a committee of three be appointed to wait upon His Excellency the Governor and the Council, and inform them that a quorum of the Senate is assembled and ready to be qualified.

And Messrs. Manning, Seaver and Marsh were appointed the committee.

Subsequently, Mr. Manning, for the committee, reported that they had waited upon His Excellency the Governor and the Council, and had conveyed to them the message of the Honorable Senate; and that His Excellency the Governor had asked him to say that he should be pleased forthwith to attend upon the Honorable Senate, with the Honorable Council, to administer the oaths of office.

Soon after, His Excellency the Governor, His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor, the Honorable Council and the Secretary of the Commonwealth came in, and the Senators-elect severally took and subscribed the oaths of office required by the Constitution and a law of the United States to qualify them for the discharge of their duties as Senators for the current political year.

The Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, the Honorable Council and the Secretary of the Commonwealth thereupon withdrew.

On motion of Mr. Sprague,

Ordered, That a committee of three be appointed to receive, assort and count the votes for a President of the Senate.

Messrs. Sprague, Gaylord and Michael J. Sullivan were appointed the committee; and the votes having been

collected, assorted and counted, Mr. Sprague, for the committee, reported as follows:

Whole number of votes,

Necessary for a choice,

Rufus A. Soule of New Bedford had

37

19

37

Mr. Soule was declared elected, and was conducted to the chair by Messrs. Morse and John A. Sullivan, and addressed the Senate as follows:

FELLOW SENATORS: I am deeply grateful to you for the high honor which you have so generously bestowed upon me. I accept the duties and responsibilities with every purpose to evidence my appreciation of your confidence by a sincere and earnest effort to fulfil the requirements of the office in such a way as to meet your approval.

I am conscious, however, that no one can achieve success in this office without your aid and support, and this I confidently ask of you for the session before us. It has been customary in previous years for the presiding officer of the Senate at the beginning of the session to make such suggestions as occur to him in anticipation of the legislative work. While I am aware that the custom has been looked upon as one which could be as well honored in the breach as in the observance, yet I should hardly feel satisfied to refrain from bringing to your attention a few suggestions, even though they are commonplace.

It is conceded that a short session is eminently desirable. It is necessary that all legislation proposed should have careful consideration, and that the laws which are passed should be well prepared and should express clearly and distinctly the intention of the Legislature and that all our duties should be performed with an eye single to the public welfare, which we as Senators are by our oaths obligated to subserve.

Undoubtedly our rules might be amended in some particulars in such a way as to enable the Senate more quickly to despatch its business; but any change in this regard would be in the nature of an experiment, and it would seem more desirable at this time to make no radical changes in our rules of procedure.

I am satisfied, however, that something might be done to require an earlier introduction of propositions for legislation. There is no question but that the length of the session is largely determined by the events of the first month of its sitting. Committees have been forced to