Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-05
TIE IOWA LEGISLATURE
Secretary James Wilson Speaks
a Good Word for the State
College.
The House Refuses to Recede
From Its Position On the
Hoar Bill.
Action of Senate Committee On
Historical Building Appropria.
ton Disappoints Aldrich.
ecial to Times Republican.

1 Des Moines, March 5.-Secretary
lature this morning and in invitation
! spoke to the house. He highly praised
4 the Iowa Agricultural College and said
he was glad the legislature was going
4 to visit the college.
The house refused to recede from it's
position on the Hoar bill in congress
land conference committee was named.
| The house spent the forenoon OH the
collateral inheritance tax law and had
not finished at noon.
The senate discussed the state uni
versity tax bill and much opposition
was developed and the consideration of
the bill was not finished.
In the house this afternoon the col
lateral Inheritance tax bill was passed.
After it had been amended in number
of ways it's author EnglishA of Polk,
tried to have the bill indefinitely post
poned, but this failed The house then
took up the bill 20 establish a normal
school at Knoxville.
One of the most Disappointed men in
Iowa will be Hon. Charles Aldrich, of
the state historical building. If the rec
ommendation of the senate appropri-
alton committee is agreed to
in the senate. That committee has de-
cided adversely to the bill to appropri-
ate for completion of the historical
building Mr.. Aldrich has not done
much in the way Of lobbying among
members for the appropriation. He has
realized fully the predicament of the
Legislature in the matter of finding
money to go around and he has fur
/ ther realized that III the work he has so
we'll commenced has not commended
itself to the members then 1t would be
ueseless for him to entreat them fur
ther But as matter of fact the sena-
" lc-s have not decided that the work is
not worthy of the appropriation. In
fact. senators who have been asked in
regard to the work say that 1t must be
done and will be done, but that 1t is i'm
4
pend any money in completing the
building. In fact, the feeling is that
the department can continue for several
years more with no addition to the
building. The same committee decided
that the work of completing the state
capitol should be commenced at once
and that this legislature should appro-
pirate enough to pay for half of the
work recommended by the capitol i'm
provement commission. This Is Ger
tainly all that could be expected, for
there is no occasion for having the work
done hurriedly. The bill in this form
will meet with general approval.
A standard policy for fire insurance
/ business is likely to be placed on the
statue books of the state. A bill to that
effect has been introduced in the house
by Mr.. Durham. presumably with the
advice of the state auditor. The senate
committee on insurance has been con-
sidering the advisability of preparing
such a measure. 1t will follow the lines
of the New York law and will supplant
a great deal of law on the books now
relating to insurance. 1t Will provide
for bill that will give the state insur-
ance policies all alike, or where they
are not alike the companies will have to
regard their contracts as conforming to
| the law. This is one of the reform
measures in which Iowa is thus far be-
| hind other states.
| The committee on suppression of in
temperance has reported to the house
| 1,iJ In, to fIa E,,,it nf
time for consent petitions or for the op
GRAFTON of the law under these petitions.
The consent will last for five years on
| ly and then must renewed in the man
ner provided by law. If the consent is
not renewed at that time or a new pc
tition fails it cannot be taken up again
! for five years more. This bill Will not
meet with the approval of the liquor
element and will be hard fought. 1t is
substantially what has been asked by
| Abrams and others of the anti saloon
league. The committee was far from
Unanimous on the measure.
| The condition In which the reforma-
| tory bill has been left by the senate
Itinkerers is not at all satisfactory to
the members of the state board of con-
| troll, or to the members of the senate
| who have been most interested in the
measure. The amendments have been
such as to take from the bill great
deal of it's best features.
| There are three essentials in a re-
formatory.' said Senator Emmert in
speaking of the measure last evening,
"and these are the indeterminate sem
tence, the parole power taken out of
politics and the educational work. The
bill as presented was carefully drawn
and was 50 worded as to give to Iowa
a perfect system adapted from the best
systems In use elsewhere. Now the
senate has taken out the feature of the
lindeterminate sentence or so crippled
the bill that that feature is very small,
and the parole power is left where po-
litical considerations may control. But
some of the friends of the plann have
| felt that it was better to make a start
Il nthe right direction, even with these
defects, than not to start at ALL and
| trust to the future to have them cor
ERECTED when experience shall haye
shown that changes are necessary. But
Iowa is far and away behind other
states in the work of penal reform. We
lhave the same old system In use for