Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-02-01
killing MANY Bills
Judiciary Committee of the Iowa
HcEse Consigning Many
Measures to Oblivion.
Hopes Of Some OF the Members
Are Accordingly Dissipated
..Secor's Bill.
II Gives State Right to Interfere
in Behalf OF Neglected
Children.
snecial to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines. Feb 1.-The Judiciary
committee of the house OF representa-
4 tives has made a first-class start in the
direction of killing off the food of bills
4 thar come before the legislature. The
colssnittee has had meeting nearly
every day. Already of the 147 bills
which have been introduced in the
house forty-seven have been referred
to the judiciary committee. or practi-
cally one third of them. But the COM
mittee has got at only eight bills. or
| these five were legalizing acts. One of
these was withdrawn and the others
| approved, including the act to legalize
the Des Mones water works PROPOSE
ton. The first bin the committee put
out of the way was the Blakemore cleo
trocution BILL and the second was the
Anderson miscegenation bill. Both
were recommended for indefinite post
ponement. Hilsinger's bill in regard to
the time for bringing actions on judg-
ments was changed and will be recon-
mended for passage. 1t is purely legal
! question. The electrocution bill did not
commend itself to the committee, tho
Mr.. Blakemore was much put out when
he found that the committee had de-
cided adversely to him. The Anderson
bill was so ridiculous that the commit
tee had only TO read 1t to decide what
to do; and yet Anderson had his heart
4 set on that bill and was sure 1t was one
Eof the most commendable measures
ever brought before the house. But the
i fact that it undertook to have deter
jmined in court or by the clerk of courts
| the proportion OF negro blood in COL
ored person by their appearance only
was enough to kill it. The Des Moines
water works bill went thru solely be-
cause nobody appeared to explain IT..
4 The committee was waited OH by a DEL
egatton of Des Moines men, who said
the bill was all right and that every
body in Des Nloines wanted the water
company to have the fund which way
raised for building a rival water works
plant. and the judiciary committee, not
being advised to the contrary, decided
to recommend the bill and get it out of
the way. If there had been anybody
willing to make a fight against the bill
it would have been held up, because
several members of the committee ex-
pressed themselves as very doubtful of
the propriety of making a precedent
with such legislation. Yesterday a
number of the house bills, in printed
members, and now the Judiciary COM
Il r,-lr sty, 1t
batch of bills before it. Already, how
ever. it can be seen that the judiciary
committee Is disposed to weed out the
| bills with free hand and leave only
the best ones.
/ The Secor bill to rearrange the
1 method of caring for children in Iowa
is in accordance with the plans OF the
women who attended the mothers con-
| gress in Des Moines, and who are
working along philanthropic lines. The
| bill is intended to meet certain cases
where children are being reared in vice
and crime and there appears to be no
Illegal remedy for 1t now. The old theory
| that parents have a right to rear their
children In any way they please and
that the state has no concern in the
matter is rudely shattered by this bill
1t proceeds on the theory that the state
has right TO invade the home when
| the home is SO conducted that criminals
or paupers are bred 1t authorizes the
/ placing of children in the care OF any
society or organization organized and
incorporated for the purpose of caring
for children and gives such societies
/ the right to be regarded as proper
| guardians of children. Children may
be surrendered to such societies either
by the father and mother of the family
voluntarily; by either of the parents
when the other is insane, an habituaI
Idrunkard, has abandoned the family or
/ is a keeper of a house of ill fame; in
case of divorced parents by the action
1 of the parent having legal authority
over the child; or by any court of rec
ord or judge of such court or mayor of
a city or justice of the peace on COM
plant and hearing. Safeguards are
provided so that the privilege of invad-
ing the home is not misused.
| Senator Allyn desires to forestall any
| such ncident as the Cudahy kidnap-
ping in Iowa. and he introduced bill to
lllaht IL ~ CIIliiG W hiuilttp siilS oiie III
Iowa for the purpose of eXacting
ransom or for any other purpose. He
fixes the punishment at from one to
twenty years in the penitentiary.
Mrs. Mamie Briggs Robertson. of
| Washta. Iowa, was visitor at the state
house yesterday and called on Cover
nor Cummns. She is a granddaughter
of the first governor of Iowa. Ansel
| Briggs. Last summer Governor Shaw
received an invitation to attend a
christening of her baby, direct des-
cendant from the first governor, but he
was unable to attend. and Major F'lem-
ling delegated Gen. Byers to perform the
duty and promised he would be on
hand. The general is a great ladies
man. but he failed to report for duty at
the christening.
The state board of control Is making
out schedules of material needed for the
equipment of the hospital for the in
sane and will receive bids for the same.
All of the material that it is possible
to purchase will be bought at this time.