Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-04-04
cOUNTRYROAD DISTRICTS
Iowa Legislature Passes Measure
Making the Township Unit
for Improvements.
NO MORE WORKING OUT" ROAD TAXES
Final Adjournment VIII Probably
Take Place April or 1O-Govern0r
Files His First veto-Penal Instt-
tutions Cost More Than Education-
/! al-Other Notes of Interest.
Especial Correspondence

the most important general statute
passed at this session of the general
assembly is the Anderson road bill. 1t
abolishes the country road district and
makes the township the unit for road
improvement; it authorizes road tax
of four miles, three for the township
and one for the county fund; it re-
quires this tax to be paid In cash; 1t
eliminates the old custom of working
out" the road tax by devoting time to
actual road improvement; 1t provides
that the roads shall be improved in a
systematic manner. The bill was pre-
pared by Representative j. M. Ander-
son, of Warren county.
Prospect Is Slim.
The prospect for the creation OF an
insurance department in Iowa by this
legislature is very slim. The house had
an opportunity to consider a bill to
that end favorably reported by the
house committee on insurance, but re-
ferred it to the committee on appro-
priations. A bill Of similar import
was not introduced in the senate until
the past week. The latter is of such
magnitude that there is little hope for
the passage of the bill.
Final Adjournment.
With adjournment practically GER
tain April or 10, the legislature
finds its calendar encountered with
hundreds of unimportant and special
measures, to pass which requires only
roll call. The measures of general
Importance, aside from appropriations,
were disposed of when the senate
passed the Anderson road bill and took
action on the compulsory education
measure, and the house gave consider
ntfon to the railway tax proposition.
There is nothing to keep the legisla-
ture beyond next week, and many
members desired to adjourn this week.
First Veto.
Gov. Cummins filed his first veto with
the legislature last week. He object
mated the limit of Indebtedness which
railway corporations organized in
Iowa might incur. His objection and
his veto message were based on two
grounds. He believed that the bill vio-
lated the constitution of the state and
that it was against public policy. The
bill was designed, in his opinion, to
enable the new Burlington Railway
company, an organization incorpor-
ated in this state, to acquire the stock
of the Northern PACIFIC and Great
Northern railroads in aid of the west
efnf railroad merger, which the North
ern Securities company, of New Jer-
sey, is attempting to effect. His the
pry was that if the Northern Secur-
flies company should not succeed in
the merger, under this law the Bur-
lington company coaid do so.
Methods Are Admirable,
A conference was held Wednesday
night in the legislative halls between
members of the state board of control
and the members of the legislature
with respect to appropriations for the
state institutions. The members Of
the general assembly desired informa-
ton with respect to the money asked
by the board for the use of the institu-
lions and desired to secure informa-
ton on which some OF the appropria-
tions might be scaled down. No con-
clusion was reached but the confer,
ence resulted in much good, the mem
bers of the legislature becoming more
familiar with the methods of the board
of control and admitting that the
methods adopted by it in managing the
institutions were admirable in the ex-
IRENE.
Pardon Refused.
The committees of the legislature
having in charge the recommendation
of pardons for life convicts have re-
fused pardon to Mrs. Betsy Smith, of
Des Moines, who is imprisoned for life
in the Anamosa penitentiary for the
murder of her husband, Michael Smith,
by poisoning in this city about five
wears ago. After Mrs. Smith was con-
victed and sentenced to life imprison-
ment her 20-year-old daughter, who
was step-daughter of Smith, con-
fessed to the authorities that she had
killed Smith and insisted that her
mother had had nothing to do with
the crime. On this confession the girl
was sent to the penitentiary for life
and there committed suicide. Mrs.
Smith, however, was not released, and
the pardon committee decline to reg
ommend pardon for her.
Controversy Ended.
The legislature has finally disposed
Of the Bonaparte dam controversy,
which has existed in Iowa for quar-
ter of a century. It has directed the
state fish and game warden to erect at
his own expense q suitable fsilway in
this dam. This will remedy the diff
Guilty which fishermen have complained
Of for rs years, and will remove the
dam from the litigation in which it has
been involved for great many years.
It will also permit fish to ascend the
Des Moines river to an extent here
tofore absolutely impossible.
Comparison.
/ The records of the state shoW that
almost twice as much has been en-
pended by Iowa people on their penal
institutions as upon their educational
institutions. That is to say, the total
amount of money drawn from the
treasurer OF state on account of the
prisons at Fort Madison and Anamosa
and the industrial schools at Mitchell
vile and Eldora amounts to almost
twice as much az the warrants drawn
by the state university, the agri-
cultural college and the normal school
at Cedar Falls. The following state
ment of the amounts drawn by each of