Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-12
LEGISLATURE At AMES
Over a Hundred Members OF the
Assembly Visit Aericul.
tural College.
Not Much Business Done in
Either House Today.-Clas.
sens Bill Passed.
large Majority for Railway AS.
sessment Bill in Senate
Surprise.
snecial to Times-Republican.

over a hundred took the train at l:lo
today and went to Ames to visit the
college, planning to return this even
ing. But little business was done
| in either branch The Classen bill to
remedy defect in the law regarding
payment for lodging of prisoners
passed the house, also the bill in re-
gard to certifying and collection or
road taxes The bill to permit run
ming of highways thru gardens ana
orchards was defeated.
| In the senate a bill to authorize the
lpublication of $500 copies of the code
was passed and a bill to require rail-
roads to post time cards in depots
Senator Molsberry called up his bill
| to grant railroads the right to bor-
row money without limit. Healey
| moved an amendment to prevent the
use of such borrowed money for the
purchase of the stock of other COM
panies or to retire stock. Pending
the debate on this amendment the
senate adjourned.
| The contest committee of the senate
today filed it's revised report OF the
Bruce -Emmert contest, together VIII all
| the papers in the case. The majority
of the committee make definite show
| ing of the facts in the case and the law
| and that there was no evidence to indl-
cate any tampering with the ballots.
| The railway assessment bill of the
senate subcommittee, popularity known
as the stocks and bonds bill, went thru
the senate late yesterday as If creased.
The vote was 33 to 9, but the vote is
hardly a fair index of the real senti-
lment of the senate. The fact is, ana
this is no secret now, that the oppo-
nents of the bill believed last week they
had the measure killed dead. Judge
Cook Carroll Wright, Mr.. Dudley ana
| others had appeared before the COM
mieae and had talked and they reached
| the conclusion that the senate would be
against the bill on the final vote. But
| the railway magnates thought that all
was not right and so larger force OF
railway attorneys was sent here under
the direction and management of j. W..
Blythe. Just what was done since
Sunday evening is not known, What ar
guments were advanced or how the
fight was conducted, but the fact IS
that on Monday night meeting was
ihad of those who We're fighting the bill
and a reckoning made and 1t was dis
covered that the railroad people were,
| short lust two votes of enough to beat
the bill Whether this was due to the
appearance of the large lobby which
proved an exciting cause or to some
subtle change of heart on the part OF
many members Is not apparent but
there had been change. Then the
lobby went to work and tried to get
lust two members. Failure was the re-
suit and the word was passed along the
line that it was no use for members to
butt their heads against the inevitable.
Hence the big vote for the bill. If there
had been fight to finish the vote
would have been different. Those who
voted against the bill were Young of
Washington, Townsend, Tallman, Har-
per. Griswold, Kirkpatrick, Craig, AL
lyn and Alexander. Those who were
absent were Young of Lee. Wilson, Ho-
bart, Emmert, Crossley, Crawford,
Classen and Brighton. All others voted
for the bill.
The discussion of the bill was inter-
esting in some respects. Senator Lewis
presented the statement for the bill. 1t
was not an argument. He commenced
with the assumption that everybody
understood all about the bill and the
arguments pro and con. He failed to
llay any foundation for an argument.
He gave a mass of statistics supposed
to bear on the subject. Junkin gave
pleasing plea for the bill. But his ar
gument was loosely connected and
would have had little weight If argu-
ments counted for anything on the floor
OF the senate. Porter ably defended his
amendments which We're intended to
make the bill much stronger and to
make it strictly stocks and bonds bill.
Porter contended that the bill in its
present form means what is intended,
or will do what is wanted in the way
| of raising assessments. In short, he
lcontended that it is a sham and de-
lusion. But the Porter amendments
We're lost. The rest was easy. The
vote represented nothing. beyond the
fact that the battle had been won and
the railroad lobby had been badly
beaten.
| The bill now goes to the house,
| where it will be placed on the calendar.
| A great many of the members of the
house expressed themselves as greatly
| disappointed that the bill was to come
over to that ep.l of the legislature, as
they had expected the house would be
spared the bother of handling the bill.
There was a prevalent sentiment in the
Hobbies last night that the right thing
to do was to put the bill on its passage
as soon as possible and pass it, They
| say that they do not believe in permit
ting the senate to saddle off on the
house all these railroad bills In the ex-
pectation that the house will give them
all serious attention. Thus far the
members of the house have not had any
time to consider the bill There have
been no hearings and the railroad law
years have kept strictly away from the
house.
The legislature goes to Ames this
] afternoon to look over the Iowa State