Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-30
Strikes At LOBBYIST
Iowa Senate Adopts a Rule Pro-
hibiting Lobbying by Its
Employees.
Professionals Less Annoying
Than the Trickster Who Has
No Influence.
Investigation Of the Coal Mine
Observation-Disclosures
Boards Wants.
,necial to Times-Republican

Special to I1meS-RepOblican.
Des Moines. Jan. 30.-The senate has
adopted a rule which strikes at the
habit of lobbyists of securing places in
the senate so as to give them privilege
of the floor that they may better ply
their vocation. Just who was being
hit by the rule does not appear on the
surface. Doubtless each member of the
senate has his own ideas on the mat
ter When Governor Cummins put into
his speech discussion of the lobbying
business supplementing what had pre-
viously been said by the state board of
control in an official report, nearly ev-
cry member who had been in the legis-
lature at other sessions understood
what it all meant. Now the senate de-
liberately adopts rule which is aimed
directly at the lobbyists. Whether any
of the professional lobbyists have Sc
cured places as officers or employees mas
not yet appeared on the surface. There
has been no occasion as yet for lobby
ing, tho it is currently reported that the
telephone and telegraph people have al
ready done some work in the direction
of suppressing any legislation along
that line this year. But the senate will
not tolerate lobbying by it's employees.
They will have to keep still or get off
the pay roll. The rule will not be easy
of enforcement. and whether 1t is en-
forced or ignored will depend largely on
the individual members. One member
stated that ii was not the real lobbying
that caused them annoyance so much
as that form of trickery which is prac-
ticed by pretended lobbyists. who get
pay for doing what they know very
we'll they can not do. But the senate
cannot strike at this form of trickery
The house, by close vote. decided on
having an investigation made of the
coal mine disaster in Mahaska county
last week. The commission provided
FOR is rot as large as that which was
resolution. 1t will probably do better
work than a larger commission. There
is really but little to investigate. State
Mine Inspector Bennett explains the
accident or calamity. The mine was
one of the best ventilated and best ar
ranged mines in the state. 1t was rea-
sonably we'll managed. But what hap
pened has happened many times before
in Iowa mines. Mr.. Benefits theory is
that the blast which caused the trouble
simply went out into the mine and
completely filled it with flame from the
gas of the blast. This is what has hap
pened in many mines. not in Iowa alone
but everywhere. The commission, ii
the senate agrees to the proposition,
will find it easy enough to determine
what happened in the mine-but to
name way of making such accidents
impossible Is more difficult. The discus
sion Of the question brought out this
fact, however, that the tendency at
least at the present time in the legisla-
ture is to go slow in appropriating
money for any purpose or doing that
which will cause expenditures The en-
tire opposition to the measure seemed
% be based on the ground that nothing
could possibly be accomplished by such
a commission and the expenditure was
therefore useless.
Representative Furry. OF Hardin
county, when shown the dispatch in the
Times Republican from Iowa Falls
stating that Mayor Ellis d. Robb of
Eldora, may be candidate to succeed
him in the house, stated that he had as
yet made no announcement of his own
plans, and there has been a we'll un-
derstood two-term rule In Hardin
county, that If there We're others who
desires the place he should not make a
fight for 1t. Mr.. Robb, he declared, is
a most estimable gentleman and his
friend and would make good repre-
sentative.
Speaker Sears, of Nebraska, who vis-
tied the legislature yesterday, did not
impress the Iowa members by his ap-
pearance. He is tall, thin. seedy in
and good talker.
The Garst bill in regard to railroad
is likely to be heard from
often. The bill plans to change the
time of making assessments of rail-
roads by the state executive council
from March to July. This is In line
with what has been suggested by both
Governor Shaw and Governor Cum
minis. The purpose is to give to the
council the power to make the assess
ment at the time for making the annual
of assessments for the en-
tire state.
The state agricultural board will ask
the legislature for comfortable APP
and the bill for that pur-
pose will be introduced soon. The
board has been in session two days.
Plans are being laid for many improve
ments at the state fair grounds. New
will be laid and new cattle
barns be build. The board Will expend
some $4,000 to $4,000 of its own mon
ey in permanent improvements, but
wants the state to spend larger sum
than this. Arrangements have been
made to run the street cars to the
grand stand in the fair grounds which
will make it pleasanter.
The oratorical powers of Governor
Cummins are being drawn upon freely
at this time. He speaks at Cedar Falls
today, dedcating a new building, and
his Mckinley memorial speech yestsr- !