Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-18
Discussion of Designs for
Iowa's Building at the st.
Louis Exposition
MANY SKETCHES FURNISHED
Leading Architects of the State Have
Submitted Designs and Many of
Them Are eautfuI-Merriam and
the Insurance companies-The osteo-
paths and Smallpox.
to Times Republlcan.

Des Moines, Dec. 1S.-The Iowa COM
mission on the Louisiana purchase ex-
position at ST. Louis is holding a ses-
sion here today for the consideration
chiefly of the building question for Iowa
at st. Louis. Some time ago the build
ing committee of the commission pre-
pared and sent out to architects and
designers a statement of what is want
ed in a state building at the exposition.
There are to be ample porches and ver-
andas, a certain number of rooms for
the officials of the commission for Of
flee work and for entertainment of
Iowans who may be there, certain
rooms for small assemblages, and the
cost to be limited to somewhere about
$4,000 for the building alone. But the
statement was made as general as pos
sible, so as to allow a wide diversity OF
opinion and design and to give archl-
tects opportunity for displaying their
genius. AT first the commission Plan
ned to award the contract for the de-
sign on short notice and when only a
few architects had prepared their de-
signs, but later the door was thrown
wide open and all were invited. There
was some complaint that leading firms
of architects had had no notice of the
desire for plans. But as a result of the
wide publicity given this matter about
twenty five designs were submitted to-
day. Many of these designs are very
beautiful and show that if care is taken
in the choosing of designs Iowa will
have a fine building. Among the ar
chitects there is strong sentiment In
favor of having the commission sub
nit the designs to board OF compe-
tent architects from outside the state
for professional Judgment on the plans
The architects have felt little slow
about turning over their plans to be
passed on by commission OF lawyers,
doctors and bankers, and they say,
with some show of reason, that II Iowa
is 10 have the finest design 70 be had it
should be picked by persons trained IN
that line. Nearly all the members of
the commission are present today.
While there is much inquiry as to
what is being done or is going to be
done in the matter of the alleged un-
lawful examinations of eastern insur-
ance companies by Merriam and Beeh-
Ter and the exaction of exorbftant
charges for pretended examinations,
nobody is able to make answer. The
members CT the executive council talk
ed it over and reached the conclusion
that the council could do nothing. The
governor was informally instructed to
ask the attorney general what could be
done. The attorney general is not here.
In the meantime it is stated that a
leading firm of lawyers has been re-
tanned by the insurance companies to
bring suit against Merriam and his
bondsmen to recover fees paid for IL
legal examinations. If this is done the
matter will be brought to head and
the people will learn at least something
of what is being DONE But nobody
here can say positively that any OF the
stories coming from New York are true
or have any foundation. All that is
known is that Merriam and Beehler
have been east for many weeks. The
matter of the quarrel between the old
line life companies and the life and
trust people and the effort of the insur-
ance departments OF three or four
states to sift to the bottom the whole
life and trust business, is not turning
up any new sensations. 1t is known
that a group of the brightest examin-
ers in the country spent several weeks
here making examinations, and 1T is
presumed they got to the bottom OF the
business; but their reports have not
yet got into the hands of the general
public Some of them are expected any
day, and interesting statements, which
will be of interest to every person who
is investing in life insurance or specu-
lative insurance in any form, are prom
ised from this source. AT the same
time there is a great activity among the
fire insurance people over the suits
brought at Burlington to get an inter
probation of certain phases of the Iowa
law in regard to prorating losses. The
new sttae auditor and his insurance ex-
aminer will have more than one per-
picking question to answer early in the
game.
James c. Davis, the new general at
torney in Iowa for the Chicago &
Northwest arn railroad was in the city
yesterday securing offices for the legal
department or the company IN DeS
Moines, and when he heard of the SUI
preme courts decision in the case of
the state VS.. C. C. Beird, from Keo-
kuk, he was very happy I'll be back
in Keokuk to try the case again" he
said to the T.-R. reporter. Il think I
never had a case in which l took such |
interest as this one. The defendant was
q thin strip of a fellow, and the man
who was killed was a big man much !
given to buster and quarreling. We
tried the case and got hung jury |
once, and the next time Beird was con-
victed of manslaughter. But it was a
case of self defense and we were not
allowed to show all that we had to
show" The case was hard fought.
Dundy the man killed, was town mar
shall at Nauvoo, ILL.,, and came over to
Keokuk to have time with the boys.
He got drunk and made himself obnox-
ious and was shot. Beird was a printer
who had been on the streets In mas
querade costume. Dundy was q nephew
Of Judge Dundy, of the federal court At :