Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-03-18
committee has not comp1eted its con-


week, if they do that soon. The house
committee has allowed about $375,OOO
OF extraordinary appropriations, while
the senate is determined to hold them
down within 100000, or less, if posi-
BILE. This means that the institutions
will get very little from the senate COM
mittee, and it also points to the total
defeat of the bill to appropriate money
to make an Iowa exhibit at the Trans
Mississippi exposition in Omaha this
year. Most of the members of the SEN
unpaid constitute state debt within
the meaning of the constitution, and
they are determined to bring the state
debt within the constitutional limit Of
$250,000 at the earliest possible moment.
Serious differences will arise on this
point between the two houses. The rec
concentrations of the appropriation
committees are usually final, but this
year they will have hard time to get
together, and when they do some of
the institutions at least will make an
effort to get better allowances on the
floor of the house and senate than the
committees were willing to give them.
Question of Adjournment.
1t is improbable that the legislature
will adjourn before the list or the sth
of April. The board of control bill will
not be disposed of until next week.
Then. come all the appropriations and
more than 100 other bills of more or
less Importance, recommended to pass
Sr Not Nrf oil 80 I.
left to die ON the calendar. although
greater proportion will suffer that fate
than usual. Fewer bills have been In
troduced during the present session
than in any other for the past dozen
years or more, but the legislature has
been occupied with other matters to
some extent, and has not reached q
majority of the more important bills
introduced.
Ask Pay for Their Work.
A committee of five, two from the SEN
ate and three from the house, was APP
pointed by the extra session of the leg
islature to supervise the publication OF
the new code. These men put in sew.
eral months of work during which they
gave considerable portion of their
time to the state. They were 10 receive
no compensation other than expenses
A bill has been introduced to pay them
$500 each. 1t was amended in the house
to give them only $500 each, but as it
was private bill it required two-
thirds majority to pass it. This it failed
to receive. getting 81 votes. A motion
to reconsider was filed, and a further at
tempt will be made to pass the bill. A
similar bill was introduced to pay 81
600 each to the members of the COM
mittee which investigated the state in.
situations. Senator Healy, chairman OF
the committee, announced that he
would not accept the appropriation Il
1t was made. The bill will probably
not be considered further.
An Important Change.
a very important change in the law
OF evidence was reported to pass by the
senate judiciary committee, having al.
ready passed the house, Under the
present law, where q man transfers his
property to his wife to defraud hia
creditors, or woman to her husband.
the party to whom the property il
transferred cannot be compelled to tes-
TRY in an action to show that the trans
fer was for the purpose of defraudfno
the creditors. This is under the gen.
eral law that husband and wife cannot
be compelled to testify against each
other. This bill exempts married per-
sons from this privilege in actions
brought to set aside conveyances of
property made for fraudulent purposes.
ana 1t is thought by lawyers that it Will
nave very wholesome effect. /
In n New Light.
The Bonaparte dam question has
been brought up in new light. Here
tofore for several sessions bills have
been introduced to appropriate saa, 900
or $4,000 to buy the dam in the Dea
Moines river at Bonaparte and DESTROY
1t, SO that fish can be allowed TO come up
the river from the Mississippi and fur
nish fishing for the people living along
both branches of the river. Senator
blanchard now proposes that the state
shall build fish way in the dam BY
exercising its right of eminent domain.
and condemn the property for that pur
pose, awarding the owners such dam
ages as they may be able to show thew
have sustained. They have always re.
sisted the putting in of q flshway, but
it is not believed that they can show
that they would suffer damage to the
extent of even ten dollars, and the cree,
ton of fishway would not cost to ex-
coed $125, and would answer the pur.
pose at least to some extent
Biennial Elections,
The house committee on constitu-
tional amendments has reported favor
ably upon the Titus joint resolution to
submit a constitutional amendments
providing for biennial elections. 1t
passed the senate unanimously, and will
undoubtedly pass the house. The Whe-
Ian resolution to give each county in
the state representative in the house,
which passed the house, is now pending
IN the senate, and will probably paas
that body by close vote. This will In.
sure its submission to the people, as ii
has passed one legislature before this
ones
F. w. BIcKNELL.
Fire at Alden destroyed some Of tho
principal buildings of the town, the loss