Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-03-17

Il
committee has allowed about $375,000
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 sem
ate committee consider that warrants
unpaid constitute a state debt within
the meaning of the constitution, and
they are determined to bring the state
debt within the constitutional limit of
$3.50 900 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 1st 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,
in both houses Not all of these can be
left to die on the calendar, although
greater proportion will suffer that fate
than usual Fewer bills have been in
troduccd 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
majority of the more important bills
introduced.
Ask Pay for Their Work.
4 committee of five, two fromthe 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 further at
tempt will be made to pass the bill. A
similsr bill was introduced to pay ST.
900 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 if
it 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 man transfers his
property to his wife to dcfraud his |
creditors, or a woman to her husband, |
the party to whom the property is
transferred cannot be compelled to tes-
tify in an action to show that the trans |
fer was for the purpose of defrauding
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 |
made for fraudulent purposes, |
and it is thought by lawyers that it will
have very wholesome effect.
In New Light.
The Bonaparte dam question has
been brought up in new light. Here
tofore for several sessions bills have
been introduced to appropriate $25, 900
or $4,000 to buy the dam in the Des
Moines river at Bonaparte and destroy
Il, so that fish can be allowed 10 come up
the river from the Mississippi and fur
nlsh fishing for the people living along
both branches of the river. Senator
Blanchard now proposes that the state
shall build a 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
So 10 'iNy iiioy NC dDlc u SHOW I0eY |
have sustained. They have always re-
sisted the putting in of fishway. but
t is not believed that they can show
hat they would suffer damage to the
extent of even ten dollars, and the cree
ion of a fishway would not cost to ex-
ICED SIPS, and would answer the pur-
pose at least to some extent.
Biennial Elections.
The house committee on constitu-
ional amendments has reported favor
IDLY upon the Titus joint resolution to
submit a constitutional amendment
for biennial elections 1t
passed the senate unanimously, and will
undoubtedly pass the house. The Whe-
an resolution to give each county in
he state representative in the house,
which passed the house, is now pending
n the senate, and will probably pass
hat body by close vote. This will in
ure its submission to the people, as it
las passed one Legislature before this
ne.