Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-09
NEW LAWS FOR IOWA
Work Of the Code Revision Commission
is stoutly Opposed. ?
CORPORATION loBBlEs ALREADY AT WORK
Radical Changes In the Laws Govern
ing building ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
nnce Companies and Private
Banks Also Affected.

DIES MONIES, Jan. S.-(Special.)-Prob-
ably the biggest job that will demand
the attention OF the lawmakers who will
meet at Des Moines next Monday will be the
perusal of a $50, 900 book that has been COM
piled for their scrutiny and approval. The
book is about the size Of Webster's I'm
abridged Dictionary, and contains fully as
much prosaic reading matter. indications
now are that the task will prove too much
for the members at the regular session and
that a special session Of the legislature will
be called to give the solons a chance TO
properly digest this new volume, the revised
laws of Iowa.
AT the session of the legislature two years
ago a commission was Apo nted to revise
and codify the laws of Iowa. The commits
sion was composed of FIVE gentlemen, Judge
II. S. Winslow Of Newton, Chancellor Nc
Lean of the State university. Charles Baker
of Iowa City, II. F. Dale Of Des Moines and
Hon. John Y. Stone of Glenwood. The work
before the commission was something stu
pendous. There had been no codification Of
the laws Of the state for twenty-three years
and all the accumulated legislation for that
PERIOD was dumped upon the commission with
instructions to classify it, revise the laws
and put the new code In shape for the con-
sideration Of the present legislature. A year
and a half was spent on the work, and the
big book was recently completed and has
been published. Then came the protests.
Many lawyers are up in arm over the work
Of the commission, and the banks, insurance
companies and other corporations feel ag-
grisved at the work of the commission, and
will have strong Hobbies at the session of
the legislature and use every effort to defeat
the adoption of the commissions report by
the legislature.
The commission was not united in its idea
of the plan and scope of the work. -Four
members of the body held that
they were authorized and expected,
mission, to make a general revision
of the laws, to change the substance Of the
acts, II necessary, and to present to the
Legislature a set of laws such as, in their
opinion, Iowa needed and should have.
Colonel Stone was a vigorous minority on the
commission and contended that the duties Of
the commission were chiefly clerical. His
idea was that the commission should classify
the laws in force, eliminating the obsolete
and repealed clauses, and should compile the
new work in accordance with the laws in
force. Any recommendation Of changes in
existing laws should, in Colonel Stones opin-
ion, be made in the form of a report to the
legislature, which body might take such
action as it saw fit. The minority prevailed
and the legislature will have before it. for
w Il u 4 " llc laws
Of the state, some of them entirely new and
others wonderfully changed.
One OF the strongest protests that has been
made against the new code comes from the
Insurance companies. The assessment com
panieS oppose the feature Of the proposed
law, as adopted by the commission, whic.
requires them to be known as assessment
companies and to make statements at stated
intervals Of their reserve funds and assets
The companies are all put upon the same
lava onI - cyhtont - H. ,enoot,1 -,
the state, auditor. Members CT the commits
sion assert that while the new law regulating
insurance companies is rigid, 1t is in no man
ner oppressive, and that the complaint o.
the insurance companies is really without
good cause. The insurance people have ap-
p~Grently united to fight the adoption of the
new code by the legislature and members OF
the lobby are already on the ground shaping
their lines for the fight which will be waged
when the bill comes up for passage.
AFFECTS THE MONEY CHANGERS.
Private banks also com under the pro-
visions of the revised code. Heretofore the
private banks of the state have been under
no regulation by the state authorities. A
section has been added to the banking law,
by the code commission, which places the
private banks under the same system of in
spection now in vogue with the state banks
and requires them to publish statements of
their condition at the call of the state au-
ditor. The larger banking concerns owned
by private individuals do not object to this
provision. The smaller banks, with a de-
cidedly limited capital stock, and yet with
enough, perhaps, to do the business required
OF them, are strenuously Directing to the
proposed amendment, and will oppose it
at the proper time in the Legislature.
The smash-up of the Union Building and
Savings association led the commission to
entirely revise the laws of the state regu-
lating the building and loan associations.
Under the terms Of the prOViSiOns a1ODte1
by the commission no building and loan
association will be allowed to do business
in the state until its application has been
approved by the state executive council. The
on the same footing. The associations will
be subject to the inspection of the state
auditor and will be required to make re-
ports at regular intervals to the state au-
thorities. An enforcement of this law, the
commission claims. will have a good effect
and will result In the greatest benefit to
the associations that are willing to do bust
mesa on a legitimate business and "snide"
concerns will be driven out.
The commission recognized the agitation
that has been going on for changing the
law concerning the age of consent. The
agitation has been in favor of fixing the age
at IS years. Originally the Iowa law fixed
the age of consent ct II years. This was
afterward increased to - years and the
code commission has changed this to } Is
years. There VIII be no opposition to the
adoption of this part of the report, the sem
timent being in favor of making a still fur
Their change and fixing the limit at Is years,
Ths work Of considering the revised laws
will be very trying. as in the printing the
substance of the laws has been changed in
numerous instances and a complete and
thorough consideration Of the report of the
committee will be required to enable the
legislature to take intelligent action.
Left Things In Had Shape.
DES MONIES. Jan. S.7ItSpecial %Telegram.)
Royal Of the Lewis Investment
company, which failed two weeks ago, has
filed his report. which shows the affairs of
the ompany to be In very poor condition.