Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-03-15
Senate Votes to Keep Saloons
Away From University.
HOW THE VOTE STOOD.
Were 30 Ayes to Is Nays-Building and
Loan Mon Think Proposed Legts.
lation Too Radical-Nsw
Bills Proposed.

Des Moines, March 15.-(Special Cor
respondence.)-It may be that undue
is attached to the fve-mile
limit bill, passed by the senate yester-
day afternoon. This is the bill which
prohibits saloons within five miles of
the campus of the State University,
and provides that the attorney general
of the state, if he finds the law is be-
ing violated, shall have authority. to
take steps to enforce it. The measure
is opposed by almost all Athe people
of johnson county, Judging by the let
ters and petitions which were received
and by the statements made on the
floor by Senator Ball,gof johnson
county. The whole !. movement, of
course, is an outgrowth of the old
discussion of the moral atmosphere of
the university town. There have been
made some serious arraignments of
the saloon men and the public officers
of Iowa City, during the discussion
which ended with the passage of the
bill, And yet it is fair to say that
nearly all the members of the legisla-
ture personally believesthe conditions
In the city are better thAn they have
ever been before, and that the law is
better enforced than in many years;
certainly, that conditions are much
better than they were under prohibit
ton.
Z The closing of the saloons of Iowa
City is serious matter to that town.
1t will, of course, deprive the town of
revenue, ,of which it now secures a
large amount annually, understand
about $4,000. If it would improve
the moral condition of the town there
would be a compensation; but it seems
as if some of the good people OF Iowa
City ought to be credited with SIM
cerity, i'm their statement that they
honestly believe it will result in in
juring rather than bettering conditions
there. They point to the bootlegging
conditions which existed under prohi-
bition, when no town in the state was
iiesvorse condition than Iowa City.
The law could not be enforced and the
community was almost helpless.
The bill could not have passed if
members ofsthe senate had felt at lib
serty to vote as they honestly believed
was right. Those who voted for the
bill We're: 4p;e.
Alexander, Alberson, Allyn,Arthaud,
Blanchard, Brighton, Classen, Craig,
Eaton, Finch, kirkpatrick, Gorrell,
Gtiswold, Hartman, Healy, Hopkins,
Junlin, Lewis, Lister, Mardis, Moffir,
Mullan, Penrose, Perrin, Porter, Smith,
Tallman, Trewin, Wallace-29.
The nays were-Bachman, Ball, ,Bish-
op, Cheshire, Emmert, Hayward, Haz-
Teton, Hobart, Hubbard, Lambert, Ly-
ons, Macarthur, McIntire, Nolan, Titus,
Townsend, Wilson, Young-1s.
Z Three democrats, Alberson, Gorrell
and Porter, voted for the bill. It is
not putting matters too strongly to
say that the tables would at least have
been turned on the vote if the mem
bers had voted their honest personal
opinions. Senators Garst. Bolter and
Crossley were all opposed to the bill,
and Garst and Crossley had intended
to speak against it. But seeing that
it. was certain to pass, they kept their
peace and took TO the cloak room when
the voting time came; neither of them
is recorded as voting at all.
z Among the republican members, a
strong effort was made against the
bill on the ground that it will compli-
cate political conditions in the second
district. The statement is generally
made that it will cost the republicans
enough votes in johnson county alone
to make the congressional result very
uncertain this year. Two years ago
Congressman Lane carried the district
and a change of $50 votes would have
defeated him. 1t is declared that
Johnson county alone will easily pro-
duce this change on account of this bill.
But this is not all. The second dis
trict people urge that, such law will
have a moral effect in other counties
of the district, and will injure repub-
lican majorities everywhere. On the
whole, they regard the measure as
very bad politics indeed.
Building and Loan Matter.
The building and loan men swooped
down on The joint committee, repre-
took to convince the members that the
legislation proposed at this session is
altogether too radical; that it would
practically drive into immediate liqui-
dation every such association in the
state; and that the people who would
chiefly suffer would be, not The of
ticers, who it may be admitted have
in some cases mismanaged the associa-
tions, but the shareholders, who have
invested their good money and wonltl
lose considerable share of it if they
were subjected to the requirement. of
immediate liquidation.
New Bills Reported.
Two interesting bills were reported
this morning by the senate commit
tees, both of them measures which
have already passed the house. One is
the Cowles bill, TO provide that under
certain circumstances a state subsidy
may be granted to not over three high