302 



FLORIDA. 



the sale is made on the track and on days in which 

 races take place. Such associations shall pay to the 

 State, for the use of the school fund, 3 per cent, of the 

 gross admission receipts to any race at which pools 

 are sold. 



To prohibit the sale and disposing of cigarettes, 

 smokettes, and cigarette paper to perso'ns under eigh- 

 teen years of age. 



For the better prevention of riots and mobs. 



Securing to inmates of insane asylums in the State 

 their postal rights. 



Making atheists, agnostics, and persons who do not 

 believe in future rewards and punishments compe- 

 tent witnesses. 



Prescribing a short form for warranty deeds. 



To prohibit the killing of any crane, egret, ibis, 

 curlew, or heron for the purpose of sale or commercial 

 traffic. 



Providing that buildings hereafter constructed for 

 public entertainments shall have the shutters to all 

 entrances open outwardly and be so arranged as to 

 allow persons readily to escape therefrom. 



Declaring the anniversary of the birth of Jefferson 

 Davis a legal holiday. 



Authorizing Duval County to improve the navi- 

 gation of the St. John's river, and to issue bonds in 

 aid thereof. 



Senatorial Contest Early in 1890 the op- 

 ponents of United States Senator Call began an 

 aggressive campaign to prevent his re-election. 

 They circulated in the newspapers numerous 

 charges against his public record, and sought to 

 secure the nomination of legislative .candidates 

 who were hostile to him. ' The senatorial ques- 

 tion thereby became a leading issue in the pre- 

 liminary Democratic meetings for selection of 

 candidates. Only partial success attended the 

 movement, as more than half of the legislators 

 chosen at the November election proved to be 

 supporters of the Senator. After the Legislature 

 convened, a caucus of Democratic members was 

 called to meet on April 12. The friends of Sen- 

 ator Call elected the presiding officer, and after 

 a long discussion the customary rule was adopt- 

 ed that a two-third vote should be necessary to 

 secure a caucus nomination. On the first ballot 

 Call received 60 votes and ex-Gov. W. D. Blox- 

 ham 35. After a second ballot had been taken, 

 the opponents of Senator Call, nearly all of 

 whom were adherents of the Farmers' Alliance, 

 held a meeting and decided to support James G. 

 Speer as their candidate. When the caucus re- 

 assembled on April 15, the name of ex-Gov. 

 Bloxham was accordingly withdrawn, and the 

 third ballot resulted as follows : Call, 59 : Speer, 

 37; Bloxham, 2. For nearly three weeks, and 

 through about 50 ballots, the strength of the two 

 candidates remained substantially unchanged. 

 Early in May the Alliance members, finding it 

 impossible to elect Speer, decided to transfer 

 their support to D. H. Mays, but he too failed to 

 break the column of Call's supporters. Mean- 

 while, in the Legislature a formal ballot had 

 been taken each day since April 21, according to 

 law, both factions agreeing to scatter their votes 

 so as to prevent a choice until the caucus should 

 agree upon a candidate. Meetings of the caucus 

 were held day after day without any marked 

 changes, Call being unable to secure a two-third 

 vote, but having a clear majority. The eighty- 

 sixth ballot, on May 25, gave Call 52 votes, Mays 

 42, and Bloxham 2. There being no prospect that 

 either faction would yield, the Call men, after 

 this ballot, voted to dissolve the caucus and 



transfer the contest to the Legislature, where a 

 majority vote only would be necessary to elect. 

 The anti-Call members then adopted the policy 

 of refusing to attend the joint session of the 

 Legislature, and on May 26 only 15 Senators and 

 39 members of the House were in attendance. 

 This was a minority of the Senate and a major- 

 ity of the House. It was also a majority of the 

 two Houses in joint session. On this day Call 

 received 51 votes and Mays 1, and the presiding 

 officer declared Call elected. The anti-Call mem- 

 bers thereupon filed with Gov. Fleming, who is 

 required by law to certify to the election of 

 United States Senators, a statement showing the 

 circumstances under which the joint session of 

 May 26 was held, and arguing that there was no 

 election of Senator because a quorum of the 

 Senate was not present at such session. The 

 Governor, after consideration of the legal ques- 

 tions involved, issued an address to the people, 

 dated Aug. 4, in which he decided that, inas- 

 much as a quorum of the Senate was not pres- 

 ent, the election of May 26 was of no effect, and 

 that he could not issue a certificate of election 

 to Senator Call. Pursuant to this opinion, the 

 Governor, early in September, appointed ex- 

 Congressman Robert H. M. Davidson to be 

 United States Senator to fill the vacancy caused 

 by the failure of the Legislature to elect. A 

 new difficulty now arose, as the Secretary of 

 State, John L. Crawford, who did not approve 

 the Governor's course, refused to affix the seal 

 of the State or to countersign the certificate of 

 appointment issued to Davidson. The Governor 

 then called upon Attorney- Gen oral Lamar to 

 bring a writ of mandamus in behalf of the State 

 against Secretary Crawford, to compel him to 

 perform his duty in this regard. The Attorney- 

 General declined to obey this order, on the 

 ground that the person interested, ex-Congress- 

 man Davidson, should bring the suit rather than 

 the State. The Governor himself then took out 

 a writ of mandamus against the Secretary, in his 

 own name, in behalf of the State, and the case 

 was heard by the Supreme Court late in October. 

 A decision was rendered in November, to the 

 effect that the duty of the Secretary of State in 

 signing the certificate of appointment and affix- 

 ing the seal was purely ministerial, and did not 

 commit him to any recognition of the legality of 

 such appointment, and that mandamus should 

 issue in this case. Secretary Crawford there- 

 upon affixed his signature to the commission 

 and sealed it, pursuant to the order of the court. 

 The United States Senate must now decide as to 

 the rights of the two claimants. 



Education. For the years ending Sept. 30, 

 1889, and Sept. 30, 1890, the public-school sta- 

 tistics are as follow : 



