Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-02-17
THE IOWA LEGISLATURE
Not Much Doing Among the
Hawkeye Solons at Des
Moines Today.
Senate Passed Six Legalizins
Acts and Received a Few
Bills.
Apparently a Lack Of Interest
in Plans for the New
Normal.


The Bonaparte dam fishway bill made
it's appearance and bill to authorize
street railway into the state fair
grounds Blanchard offered bill to
prevent fraud in the sale of corporation
stock by requiring written statement
to be recorded by the agent offering the
stock, giving all the material facts re-
garding the same.
The house this afternoon passed the
Cummings bill to provide for PRACTICAL
ly continuous sessions OF the supreme
court and to increase salaries to $4,000
q year.
Lieutenant Governor Herriott ap-
peared before the senate sub committee
late this afternoon and presented in
writing his views in regard to what
legislation should be enacted on rail-
road assessments. The committee has a
bill almost completed and will submit
1t to the full committee Wednesday.
The lack of interest on the part of
the legislators in the trip to Knoxville
to visit the state buildings standing idle
there augurs badly for the second nor
NAL project. The members of the leg
islature who went to Knoxville are al
most unanimous in their declaration
that the buildings would form an ad-
mirable foundation for new state
normal school. They could easily be
converted into school rooms and all the
buildings would be useful. The ground
is hardly ample for the purpose but
other ground could be purchased With
| out great expense. The building which
was erected for blind Industrial insti-
tute is q fine one we'll constructed and
located all right and on good ground
But somehow there is feeling that the
normal schoolproject will have to- waft
another season. Quite number of the
members refused to go to Knoxville
and manifested no interest whatever in
the journey.
The essential clauses of the joint res
olution proposing constitutional
amendment to increase the number of
members of the house of representa-
tives are as follows
"The house of representatives shall
consist of not more than one hundred
and ten members. The ratio of repre-
sentation shall be determined by divid-
ing the whole number of the popula-
ton of the state, as shown by the last
preceding state or national census, by
the whole number OF counties then ex-
listing or organized, but each county
shall constitute one representative dis
trict and be entitled to one representa-
tive: but each county having a popula-
tion in excess of the ratio number as
herein provided, of three-fifths or more
of such ratio number, shall be entitled
to one additional representative.
"The general assembly shall, at the
first regular session held following the
adoption of this amendment, and at
each succeeding regular session held
next after the taking of such census, fix
the ratio of representation, and appor-
ton the additional representatives as
hereinbefore required"
The members of the sub committee
of the senate ways and means commit
tee on investigation of railroad assess
ment and taxation are close mouthed as
stated that quite a number of inter-
ested persons have appeared before the
committee, to present their individual
views in relation thereto, and that
much outside pressure is being brought
to bear in favor of this or that radical
measure of taxation; but that the
members of the committee have thus
far decided nothing. Mr.. Herriott has
heen invited to present his views in re-
gard to taxation and he will do so this
week During the last campaign he
came out strongly In favor of law
basng the assessment on the net earn
ings of the companies, and this was fol-
lowing the theory first advocated in
Iowa by Gov. Larrabee when he was
member of the executive council. The
members of the subcommittee have
been considering the laws of other
states as we'll as securing statistics in
regard to the results of railroad taxa
ton in Iowa and will be able to put in
to the hands of the entire committee
much valuable information to be used
in case it is decided that any sweep
ing legislation is necessary to bring
about changes in the taxation of Iowa
roads. The bill to place in the hands
of the executive council greater power
to secure reliable information as to the
gross and net earnings of the railroads
ia Iowa, and to secure division of the
earnings as between state and inter-
state business, is still being considered,
no report having been prepared in eth
er house thereon. This is thus far the
only bill looking to improvement of
the laws of the state or giving greater
power to the members of the executive
council
1t is probable that n change will yet
be made in the date for the city pri-
mary election in Des Moines so that it
will come on the same day as the coun-
ty primary which includes the judicial
and congressional contests. If this is
done it will have the effect of material |
ly reducing the expense of the primary
and relieving many of the candidates
in the city campaign of much hard
work. AS it is now the city primary