Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-26
TIE IOWA LEGISLATURE
A Number of Bills of Minor I'm.
portance Passed This
Morning.
Ways and Means Committee Of
the House Consider Assess.
ment Measure.
Expected That II Will Be Re.
ported to the House
This Week.
,ec;al to Times-Republican.

this morning took up the bill to regu-
late automobiles and after making
number of amendments sent 1t to the
Judiciary committee to decide whether
liz is constitutional. The forenoon was
spent on the highway bill to adopt the
township system, but 1T was not mn
ished. In the afternoon the Vicksburg
park and Lookout monument bills We're
considered.
The house passed the following ollls:
Providing for the publication of town
ship laws in one volume; to establish q
archaeological laboratory in connection
with the state board of health and to
increase the allowance to the board; to
raise the salary of the governor of the
state to $4,000 a year; to provide that
county attorneys shall appoint their
deputies.
Senator Lewis today introduced a
resolution for final adjournment April
|9.
| It is expected that the ways and
means committee of the house, at the
head of which is Chairman Temple,
will report out for action this week the
lrailroad assessment bill which con-
| templates a stocks and bonds valua-
ton of the property. The committee
will meet tomorrow and an attempt
will be made to have the report decided
upon at that time. Chairman Temple,
! In view of an accusation which has
Ibeen made against him announced that
lit would be brought up for final action.
An effort was made to put it off until
next week but the chairman would not
have this. 1t is understood that Ken
dali will make the chief speech on the
| floor for the bill, and possibly Temple
will speak against it. Another story is
| to the effect that Temple has in prep
| aration an amendment which he Will
offer, which will materially improve
and make it likely to pass she house.
M matter how the bill gets out on the
floor, whether by two reports or re-
| port without recommendation, 1t Will
! be discussed on the floor of the house.
There is general desire to meet the is
sue and dispose of it as soon as pos
sible. Members of the house are not
saying much and nobody seems to
know just what will happen to the bill.
In the closing discussion of the bill
before the committee last evening Car
roll Wright made a presentation of one
phase of the bill which mas not been
much discussed, and which is interest
i ing He asked why there was any ne
cessity for this legislation at this time.
There has been great deal of agi-
tation," he said, "the past few years
on this question; but you will all agree
with me that the agitation has been di-
rected wholly to the manner in which
the law is administered and not against
the law itself. 1t has been stated over
and over again that the law is all right
and gives abundant authority to con-
slider every question which enters into
the value of railroad property, but that
lit is the fault of the men we have elec-
ted to office that the assessment has
not been raised. The agitation has been
| directed to the executive council and
not to the law. Now we have elected
men to that council to act under this
law and do what they think right. All
we ask is that the law be left as 1t is
and that the present executive council
be given a chance to demonstrate that
1.-THE law is sufficient. Let the present
executive council raise the assessment,
III it ought to be raised, and let them
get the credit therefor, If credit is due,
or take the damning If that is what
they deserve. Do not try to shift the
| nf mo n
Judge Cook, in his argument at the
close of the hearings, also touched on
this question somewhat, by declaring
that one of the chief elements in the
bill is that phrase which requires that
the members of the council shall write
out an explanation why they have
failed to accept the theory of some per-
son and have it printed. 1t Is some
thing not required of any other judi
cial or other body in the state. 1t is
club for the use of every demagogue
who wished to pound the members of
1 the council if they fail to do what he
thinks is best
Senator Lewis made the point In his
closing remarks that the main purpose
of the bill, or one of the main purposes
was to reveal the workings Of the ex-
ecutive council. "If this bill is made a
law" he declared, ut will let light into
the workings of the executive council
He presented table showing the val
uation of the various lines on various
bases. 'If that table had been pub
lished by the executive council year
ago with a statement of the reason for
making the assessment then made" he
said, there would be no reason now
for the adoption of this bill"
The sending of the Sweeley tele-
phone regulation bill to the municipal
corporations committee yesterday af-
ternoon is regarded as the end of that
bill. Chairman Carter, in speaking of
the matter before the house said that
Sweeley had insisted on the telephone
people having all the opportunity pos
sible to be heard on the bill, but he said
that he had eight or ten bills in his
pocket on which he could get no report
1 because it was found to be impossible
to get the committee together. He did
not believe the committee could take
action on this bill at this late date
A paper had been circulated by the
telephone people during the day ask
ling that the bill be sent back to the