PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCMMEK MEETING 33 



This is the section that gave us all our trouble. It is the important 

 section in the bill. In this last seel ion or ]u-()viso there was a very serious 

 question to decide: "Any person or persons growing or ollering lor sale 

 in this state any trees, vines, shrubs or plants," the law reads, to begin 

 with. 



Mr. .M«»i lill : Then in the latter clause it nullifies the whole thing. 



Mr. thahani: I do not think so. 1 think the distiudion is very 

 marked as to who is a nurserynmn and who is not. 



Mr. Morrill: It kills it by class legislation, I mean. 



Mr. (Iraham: I think not. It Avas, however, an utter impossibility to 

 enact a law requiring persons who desired to exchange or sell a few 

 plants, strawberries, raspberries, or other plants that they might have, 

 to a neighbof without that provision. They would come under the pro- 

 visions of this law\ 



Mr. 3iorrilI : A man who is known as a nurseryman, growing a certain 

 line of nursery stock which is incidental to his fruitgrowing, will be 

 prohibited from selling any stock, while his neighbor, not planting what 

 is known as nursery stock, can sell the same. 



Mr. Graham : He can sell any of his own growing. 



Mr. Morrill: I suppose, as the fact now stands, there are a number 

 of men in this state who grow^ lots of peach trees, who might be known 

 as nurserymen, who have a large amount of small fruit plants, and they 

 must conform to these requirements in order to sell these plants to 

 their neighbor, w'hile their neighbor who does not raise lots of plants 

 as a nurseryman may sell those. 



Mr. Graham: Yes, sir. 



Mr. Morrill: And then it becomes class legislation and unconsti- 

 tutional. 



Mr. Graham : I think not. I think it is constitutional and is all right 

 in regard to that. 



Mr. Slayton: All legislation is class legislation, but the law in regard 

 to stealing horses does not apply to you and me. 



Mr. Graham: The bill as drawn reads that the nurseryman shall 

 deposit w'ith the state board a fee of five dollars as a license fee for 

 himself as principal, and the bill goes on and reads: "and one dollar 

 as a license fee for each and every one of the local or traveling agents 

 or emploj'es there engaged in selling such stock or soliciting orders 

 for the same." That part was stricken out. It was amended by the 

 senate so that it leaves the five-dollar license fee for the nurseryman or 

 principal, and no fee for his agents. While they must procure a license 

 it does not cost them anything to get it. You will recollect the opposition 

 made to the bill itself by the nurserymen. There was very severe oppo- 

 sition made to the bill, and afterward, when they came to understand 

 it better and had their hearing (quite a large number of them appeared 

 before the house committee and had a hearing), they practically agreed 

 to most of the provisions of this bill, but to some of them they 

 did not, but they withdrew their objections. This bond which is to be 

 given by the nurserymen was opposed very vigorously at first by our 

 local nurserymen, but when they understood the situation they with- 

 drew their objection to that. It is entirely useless to have a bond for our 

 nurservmen in the state, but it is absolutelv necessarv to have one to 

 enforce the provisions of this bill as against outside nurserymen, and 

 it was for their benefit that the bond clause w as inserted. 

 5 



