Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-03-29
FOR THE
FIRST TIME
Valued Policy Insurance Bill
Passed by Senate After
Fifteen Years.
COWLEs BILL rs KILLED
COWLEs BILL rs KILLED
Appellate Court Bill Hanging in the
Balance I'm Judiciary Committee of
Senate-Anti-Tobacc Measure
n Passed by the House.

Des Moines, March 2s.- Especial Cor
respondence. 1.-The valued policy in
surance bill passed the senate by a
vote OF 80 to 10, late yesterday after
noon. This is generally understood
one of the most important legislative
achievements of the session, for little
doubt is expressed that the bill will
pass the house, and become law. The
bills, as has heretofore been explained,
simply provides that, in case of total
loss by fire, the value of the destroyed
property shall be considered to be
shown by the face of the policies; the
insurance company cannot show that
it was oyer-insured.
Valued policy laws have been in OPP
Grafton in several states for nearly "a
generation. Ohio is believed to have
been the first state to enact the law,
and despite all opposition it has never
been possible to repeal it there. For
fifteen years or more the measure has
oSSh aiLiOoO uldl OClOIC VIC 4OWu
Legislature. Twelve years ago it pass
ed the house, but the senate killed Il.
A few years later it again pass
ed the house, and still later, in the
Twenty-siNrh assembly, four years ago,
it passed the house again. Bat each
time it was defeated in the senate.
The passage of the measure in the
senate yesterday is the first time it
has ever gone thru the upper house
OF the legislature. ~
High school Bill Dead.
The Cowles bill, which passed the
house some time ago, to give state
bonus of $500 annually to high schools
giving certain courses of study pre-.
scribed by state board, has been kill
ed by the senate committee; at least,
the committee on schools has voted,
five to four, to indefinitely postpone
it. There may be an effort to adopt
a minority report, but all indications
are that the bill is dead. There is con-
siderable opposition in the senate,
even among the school men, to the
| measure. Minnesota has had such a
law for tWenty-seven years, and it has
produced such excellent results that,
after keeping the state bonus at $500
for twenty-five years, the legislature
| two years ago raised it to $500. But
it will not pass the Iowa legislature
at this session, CHIEFLY because it car
ries $4,000 annual appropriation,
and there is not enough money to 20
around.
Hanging In the Balance.
The committee on judiciary, in the
upper house, is so closely divided on
the appellate court bill, which has
passed the house, that it is impossi-
BILE to say what will be done with the
measure. There are twenty-six lawyers
in the senate-a constitutional major
lily of the body. They are said to be
divided, thirteen to thirteen, but this
| is probably not true, for some of
them have declined to express their
vote for or against the bill. The dis
position is to let the lawyers decide
it. Those who favor the measure say
the appellate court would decide a
great portion Of the cases that are
now appealed, and thus there would be
less delay in securing final adjudica-
ton. Onthe other hand the opposition
insists that the appellate courts de-
cision would not be final. The bill
provides that each court shall have
final jurisdiction over certain classes of
cases. At the outset there would be a
question which court had jurisdiction;
one side might claim that one court
had it, and the other be equally certain
that the other was entitled to settle
the case. If the appellate court claim
ed jurisdiction, then a certiorari pro-
cess might be asked, to secure the SUI
preme courts determination on this
point. Moreover the bill also provinces
that the appellate court shall accept
the supreme courts rulings on law as
final, and shall decide in accordance
with them. But who shall decide
whether the appellate court decision
is in line with the supreme courts
views? The party defeated in the
appellate court is pretty certain to
conclude that the decision is out of
harmony with the supreme court
views; and again, the certiorari writ
would be invoked to get a decision
from the supreme court. Thus there
would be delays instead Of expedition
in final determination of causes. This
is said by opposing lawyers to have
been the actual experience in the ap-
pellate courts of eastern states where
the system is in vogue, as well as in
the federal courts. The matter is GER
tain to cause long debate il the bill
gets before the senate. It will prob
ably do SO, because there is expected
to be minority report if the majority
opposes it.
Already there are rumors that,
because Of the defeat of MacVicar for
mayor on Monday, Captain Hull will
have opposition for congress in this
county. His friends are accused of
leading the fight against Macvicar,
and the MacVicar people say openly
that they are likely to carry the fight
further and retaliate against Hill.
Mayor MacVicar in an interview init
mates that he was defeated by HulPs
friends, and that this may not be the
end.
Districting Bill Reported.
The Hasselquist state districting bill
was today reported to the house for
passage from the committee on rep
resentative districts. The bill provides
that the state shall be divided into
representative districts. and for fixing