Mexico weekly ledger., 1899-04-20
MERIToRIoUs MEASURE BEFORE
THE HOUSE, BUT 1T WAS DE-
FEAfED IN SHORT ORDER.
HARD TUSSLE WITH ROAD LAW.
Town Mutual Fire Insurance Com
panies Now Under Supervision Of
the State Insurance Depart
ment : Capt. Aliens
Newsy Letter.

A bill has passed the Senate allowing
assessors to succeed themselves.
Tne House defeated, a,day or two
ago, a very meritorious bill, which
provided that IL 1t be discovered after
man dies that he has success sfully
lodged the payment Of his taxes for
five years or for less than five years,
his estate should be held responsible.
Several members raised ''hue and
cry" against pursuing man after his
death and defeated it.
The same men, II they had a claim
against dead man who had In life
failed, neglected or refused to pay it,
would "pursue" him and sell his prop
erty to make 1t. A tax lie just debt
and ought to be paid, and the tax
dodger should not be spared in life
and his property, after his death,
should be held liable for his taxes to
the same extent that he lodged.
There is In Missouri q State Board Of
Charities and Corrections at the head
of which is the Governor. Mr..
KneisIey, of Carroll, believes this
board should be abolished and early In
the session introduced a billlookiug to
that end. The eleernosynary institu-
tions' COMMITTEES had a number Of ex-
cited meetings over 1t and finally re-
ported adversely. A minority report
ed favorably, and q few days ago the
whole matter came before the House,
when the minority report was adopted
by a large majority. The bill will
probably pass the house and be num-
bered among Its mistakes. What the
Senate viii do with the bill is not
known. This bill is, possibly, the out
come of the Fulton Asylum matter.
The town mutual fire companies,
like the Audrain county fire insurance
company, have heretofore been opsr-
ated independently Of the State In
surance Department. The House last
week, after quite o stormy debate,
placed them under the supervision OF
that department.
The Horse has had hard time
agreeing on a road law. Last Friday
1t passed the substitute for all House
bills on that subject, which provides
for dividing the counties into road
districts, each to have three road
commissioners and TO have jurisdic-
ton over all road improvements, and
all work on roads to be done by con-
tract. It also provides for g poll tax
of not less than $3.50 nor more than
% on all voters between 21 and 90
years of age. 1t also provides for
property tax of to 20 cents on the
800 of assessable value. 1t allows the
voter to pay his poll tax In labor or
cash, as he may choose. send you
herewith copy Of the engrossed bill
as it passed the House, which you can
keep in your Office for interested road
men co read. What the Senate viii do
with II can't say.
The Republicans have troubles as
well as the Democrats. An earnest
effort was made to rally them in the
House against placing the fire insur-
ancs companies under the ANTITRUST
law. 1t was contended that fire In
surance combines lowered insurance
ratss-don't all combines make that
plea2-and 1t was expected to rally the
RAIDS solIdIy against this bill, but
many of them couldn't stand the
brOadsides of hot shot poured into the
trusts, and they voted to place all
trusts under the same law. The bill
passed.
The Senate had high old time last
Friday on the Farris beer bill, and
again the RAIDS pulled heavily on the
political ropes, but several Rspubli-
can Senators broke over and voted for
amendments to perfect the bill. This
bill, 1t is said, is q better one than the
House bill, In that 1t avoids the obiec-
tions likely to arise under the inter-
state commerce clause In the Federal
constitution. This bill, II enacted into
law, will bring several hundred
thousand dollars into the State treas
ury, and when it reaches the House