Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-13
SUFFRAGE BILL BURIED
House Finally Disposes Of the
Amendment to Allow W0.
men a Vote.
There Was no Debate and Sew.
eral Hundred Women We're
Disappointed.
House and Senate Get Together
on the Anti.Injunction
Resolution.
snecial to Times Republican.

this morning buried the woman SUI
frage constitutional amendment WITH
out discussion. Several hundred women
filled the galleries anticipating de-
bate on the question, but the committee
report recommending indefinite post
ponement was adopted by a vote OF 80
to SO, there being no discussion nor op-
portunity for debate.
The senate passed the Molsberry bill
to permit the railroad companies to in
crease their bonded indebtedness to
any amount. The Healy amendment
was defeated and on the passage of the
bill the vote was 81 to Z. The senate
made the Bruce Emmert contest spe-
cial order for this afternoon, when 1t
will be debated. The senate passed the
bill to increase the allowance to farm
ers' Institutes to 500.
The house passed the BARRIERS exam
iners' bill, bill to require the publica-
tion of statement each year. and the
The conference committee of the
house and senate on the resolution IA
vorable to the Hoar bill in congress
held a meeting this afternoon and in
formally agreed to recommend sub
.stitute resolution, which combines
some of the features of the house and
senate resolutions The compromise
resolution expresses confidence in the
Iowa delegation and then places the
Iowa legislature squarely in favor of
the bill to prevent Imprisonment for
violation of strike injunctions.
The Molsberry bill removes the linn
1T of Indebtedness that may be incurred
by railways. This measure has gen
orally been believed to have been
fostered by the Northern Securities
Company, with a view to making Iowa
the future home of the railway
merger.
The revised committee report on the
Bruce -Emmert contest case will satisfy
most of the senators that Bruce Is en-
titled to his seat in the senate without
further delay. The facts are related by
the committee as shown by the testi-
mony All there is to the controversy
is that three persons. one republican ana
two democrats, were permitted to be IN
the room while the judges OF election
were making the count in Pleasant
township, Cass county, the night OF the
election. Three others We're permitted
M 81 q
and thumbed over the ballots with a
view to getting unofficial returns. Two
rejected ballots were picked up by out
siders, who used them to jot down re-
turns on, but these were accounted for.
There was no evidenc of any kind to
the effect that the ballots were TAM
pered with, no effort to introduce any
such evidence, and only the slightest
bit of testimony to the effect that there
was any opportunity for tampering
with the ballots. The contestee made
no effort to show that the result would
have been different If the unauthorized
persons had been excluded from the
room. The committee. or the majority
of the committee, gives a brief of the
law in the case as found by an exam
appears that the decisions of the court
refer almost entirely to irregularities in
the keeping of ballots after the count
and return of votes, and not to miscon-
duct on the part of the Judges at the
time of making the count. Upon the
question of irregularity in the count
the committee found no direct rule of
law announced by the supreme court of
this state The provisions of the stat
ute as to the manner of conducting de-
tails of election are not mandatory but
directory. Irregularity in conducting
an election and counting the votes not
proceeding from any Wrongful intent
and which deprives no regular voter of
his vote and does not change the result,
will not vitiate the election or justify
the rejection of the entire poll. In short.
the misconduct of the election judges
should not lead to disfranchisement of
voters where there is no claim of fraud
or wrongful intent. The report of the
committee shows, however, how impor-
tant it is that every provision OF the
law be carefully followed in conducting
an election and how easy 1T Is to get up
a contest on the ground of irregularity.
What happened in Pleasant township,
Cass county, happens every year in
many precincts of the state, and in any
case may lead to just such complica-
tions as are before the senate now. AS
soon as Emmert returns from Ohio the
report will be taken UP.
The Ottumwa public school children
have planned an excursion to Des
Moines to visit the Legislature on Fri
day of this week. A number of such
excursions are in prospect.
One of the appropriations which is
favored by the committees and may
meet with favor in the houses relates
to the Iowa Poultry Association This
association is modest and asks for only
81 900 with which to help pay for pre-
miums and expenses of holding various
poultry shows each year. The sum is
small, but it is represented that the as
sociation would be able to do great
deal with even this small amount for
the upbuilding of the poultry industry
in Iowa. Persons appeared before the
committees and made fine showing of
the good which would come from this
small appropriation. 1t is represented
that the association Is doing great