The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-03-16
THE LEoNLATuRE.

THE LE0l8IATURE.
After several days of gratuitous la
Dor the Legislature has at last adjourn
ed and its work is now before US. . The
record shows that more than 500 bills
were introduced, of which only 100
were passed. And of that number
not more than three or four, outside Of
the appropriation bills, are of general
interest. The great questions Of the
session were railroad and temperance
legislation and the rerapportionpent
Of the state. The first of these was
felt to be the most important and con-
sumed about four-fifths of the time of
the entire session, THE REGIsTER
gave history of the fight as it pro
gressed, and IL is not necessary TO go
over the ground now. The result is
the main thing, and that will be found
in full on another page. The bill is
oopied in full because we think 1t one
nf the most vitality important acts
ever passed by a Kansas legislature,
and because it should be carefully
read by every citizen Of the state. Its
effectiveness will of course depend
greatly on the commissioners that are
appointed to enforce it, but the bill it.
self is in our opinion the very best that
could have been adopted. True, it
does not directly and arbitrarily lower
freight rates, but 1t does prohibit pool
ing and discrimination and those are
really the chief grievances we have
had 10 suffer. AS a rule the rates on
most of the railroads in Kansas are
reasonable enough, and if all discrim-
inaHon could be done away with so
that po advantage 10 given one ipdir
vidual or one town over another, there
would be little ground for complaint.
Besides, when relieved Of the uIpatu-
raj restraiut imposed by the pooling
system. competition viii have its le-
gitimate effect in reducing charges to
the lowest living rate.
At any rate, it is much better to
give this conservative measure fair
chance than to attempt to reduce rates
arbitrarily as was contemplated in the
rmaximum rate' bill, so strongly urg-
ed by the lower house. 1t is next to
impossible that a legislature should be
able to fix rates that would not work
injustice somewhere. An error on the
side of conservatism is much more
easily corrected than an error on the
side of radicalism, and if, after fair
trial of two years it is found that the
law would be improved by giving the
commissioners more power, it will he
no trouble to get the next Legislature
to make the necessary provisions. Let
every one make himself thoroughly ac-
quainted with the provisions of the
Jaw and do his whole duty toward
having it enforced. and there is little
doubt that it will prove, in the main,
very satisfactory. --..
Readers Of Pie REGISTER will re-
member an article in the issue Of Dc
cember q, suggesting some alterations
In the temperance law that, it was
thought, would render it less objec-
tionable generally, and make 1t easier
of enforcement. Virtually the same
ideas were embodied i'm a bill intro
dueed into the House by the temper
ance committee. Owing, however, to
indifference or t, Encouragement the
bill failed to pass, and the law re-
mains unchanged.
The result Of the reapportionment is
given in another place.
Taken as q whole the work of the
session may be classed as fairly salts
factory and about up to the average,
but IN no way remarkable either for
quantity or quality. 1t has been an
unusually handwriting session-the
Topeka papers call it the "serious ses-
sion'-bqt its industry has really &C
Oomplisied very little. The reason
for this is found iI the uncomfortable
desire of so many loxnship statesmen
TO "make a speech" on every subject
whether they knew anything about it
OF hot. The Senate was rema rkably
free from such bores, and transacted
its business with perhaps unusual
wisdom and dispatch. But the house
was full of demagogues astride some
hebssF ttst they were determined to
fiae 1T any cost, and hardly q sensible
measure was adopted by ID that was
tnot forced upon il w the senate. The
people of the state have again been
taSsaf she ole, old lesson, that it is not
always the gli5best talker that makes
the Ssst legislator. A sound, practical
t,ustness man with a cool head and
good horse sense is the man who
should be sent to help make our laws.
SGd among such we are glad ID count
f'ste~art, OF Allen"
The Oswegs Acp4Jiicdn Is thing
of the DaSt Ls wing si,s;,enfIad for lack