Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-01-13
WITH THE LAWMAKERS.
Comments on the Proceedings of
: the Iowa Legislature.
How to Save Money VIII BE the Chief
Topic-The Anti-Fusion Law and
the Liquor Question VIII Also
Receive Attention.
Especial Correspondence


Nenes to-day, but little can be done until
after the Inauguration of the governor,
which occurs on Thursday. The next
day some bills will be introduced in
the senate, and the senate committees,
which will be announced by Lieut.. Gov.
j. c. Milliman on the afternoon of in
auguration day, will be organized, and
by the first of next week will get to
work. The house committees will be
announced earlier this year than usual,
because there will be no recess taken
after the Inauguration. The special
committee appointed by the last legis-
lature has investigated the state insti-
tutious so thoroughly that no legisla-
tive committees will be appointed for
that purpose and both houses will go
to work at once. j. Fl. Funk, of Hardin
county, who was unanimously chosen
speaker by the republicans, has been
sure of election for so long that he has
had opportunity to study the formation
of the house committees and consult
with the members, so that it will not be
SO difficult for him to make up the COM
mittees, and he will probably announce
them earlier than they were ever an
nounced before Both Lieut. Gov. Mill
man and Speaker Funk are in favor of a
short session. They impressed their
opinions upon the members of both
houses when committee assignments
were made, and many of the leading
members of both houses are very much
In earnest in shortening the session. Re
publicans regard it as very necessary
to wipe out the state debt of something
like 100000 without increasing the rate
of taxation. To do this they will have
to reduce appropriations to the very
lowest notch and save money in every
possible way. Some members hope to
do it by cutting off Legislative expenses
and nearly every member has some
scheme for saving money for the state.
State Board of Control.
The chief topic for discussion this
winter will be associated with this great
problem Ct saving money in the admin
istration of state affairs. The commit
tee of three which has been investigat-
ing the state institutions will doubt
less report in favor of a state board of
control to have charge of all the insti-
tutions, abolishing the boards of trus-
tees which each institution now has.
The committee has found good many
practices which it will condemn; it has
discovered extravaganza and wasteful-
ness in some places, large part OF
which is chargeable, not to individuals,
T. l. I, "a I \
legislature are very much decided on
the question, and so is public senti-
ment. 1t is generally agreed that some
reforms must be secured, but just how,
and what they are, no one can say now
with any degree of confidence. The
friends of the institutions, and they
exert very powerful influence, will OPP
pose the board of control as long as they
think there is any chance to beat it, and
when they think there is not then they
will try to secure compromise on a
classification of the institutions, placing
the charitable under one board, the edu-
cational under another and the re-
formatory under another. This is the
most popular plan. The educational in
placed under the management of the
same persons as the charitable and re-
formatory, at any rate. The trouble
with this question is that it is, so little
understood and so few people realize
the magnitude of the state institutions
of Iowa, how much money they spend,
how different they are from each other
and how little the best qualified super
intendent of one might know about an
other. The whole subject will receive
the most thorough consideration. The
report Of the legislative investigating
committee will not be made until after
the wardens of the penitentiary have
been selected, which will probably not
be until next week. The committee was
composed of Senator Thomas ID. Healy,
of Fort Dodge, and Representative
Frank F. Merriam, of Hopkinton, re-
publican, and Representative Claude r.
Porter, of Centerville, democrat. They
received. no compensation for their
work, which took more than two
months, but their expenses were paid.
The Anti-Fusfon Law.
The only party question which is
likely to come up this winter is the So
called anti-fusion law, passed during
the extra session last winter. 1t pro-
hibits the name of any candidate from
appearing more than once upon the
same ballot, so that the democrats, pop
ulists and free silver republicans, hav-
ing the same candidates, were obliged
to unite under one party name, and
could not have their own particular
name printed on the ballot This law
was opposed by some republicans last
winter, who said it would only cement
the opposition to the republican party
into more perfect fusion and would
look as if the republicans were trying
to take advantage of their position Of
power to place obstacles in the way of
the opposition. The democrats resented
it as unfair and undemocratic to pre-
vent any body of men from having their
candidates on the ticket as they saw fit.
1t was argued on the other hand that
fusion, if it is honest, is a fusion on
principles, and that the candidates are
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