Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-15
Subcommittee Now Has Work Of Compiling
it Near Completion.
PRESS HAVE FIRST COPIES OF IT
Prospects of Passage is Now the Question
Which is UppermOst
DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON ITS CHARACTER
some Talk that Omaha Railro.a r...
alton Bill May he ORercd a an
Amendment to General
Measure.
tFrom a stan correspondsn,,

HAuHu StaH CorreSpondentl
LiNCoLN' Feb. IA. - Especially - six
weeks OF the twenty-eighth session OF the
re"raska legislature have been spent. with
the most important work unaccoronI,.h.d
contrary to allt plans. promises and an
peetations, the revenue bill has mot he,
introduced up to this time and revenua
legislation, therefore, is still in the fu.
' tuie' IL begins TO look. however, az ~
TINS much mooted measure would raaoh
oonsuIhmatlon and be ready for subuission
10 the mouse about next Tuesday. when
10 pe precise. the seventh week Of the
session Will begin. The subcommittee
which has been whipping the bill into sbans
gave out the statement today that its worl
would be completed tonight or At laaat bv
monday In time to return the hill
trimmed and ready for final review. N ths
committee at large. 1t also gave out as
lts opinion that the larger committee
would De able to send the bill to the house
the following day.
But this cannot be accented aa Anal
experience has shown that there's many
slip twixt cup and lip" in the oneroua
task OF formulating a revenue h,I Tha
committee felt quite certain a week or
two ago that by Monday last II could have
bill ready for Introduction.
FIRST the Joint committee from house and
senate went at the work of conatrnctin9
thls measure, then after reaching n car
tain stage subcommittee of fewer mem.
pers was selected from within the toint
committee and to Il was committad tbe
DUTY OF knocking off the rough edges n,
the embryotic bill and finally three from
the committee, Senator Pemberton ana
Representatives Thompson and Loomia
were chosen to put the finishing touches
on the bill. These gentlemen worked untiI
late today on the bill and have about
completed It.
Press to Have Copies,
From the first of week before last. when
the committee began to devote its TINA
exclusively to this bill. The Bee has from
time to time, as they decided or, published
the essential features Of the bill. ana h IA
stated that as TO these there has been
little or no change. The bill only lust now
having reached completion, it has Of course
not been possible for any complete publica-
tion to be made, but the committee has
promised to give full copies to the press
as soon as the joint committee has passed
upon the measure. 1t was agreed at the
outset that every step taken in the form
alton OF this bill WOULD be held subject to
change until the measure was completed
Owing to the tentative character. there
fore, of the various stages OF progress, It
was deemed best to withhold any compre-
hensive publication.
The matter Of the bills formation hav-
ing about been disposed Of the next dues-
tion that arises is, "WiH this measure
pass?"
OF course, this question might be easier
determined II the nature OF the bill was
better known.
II the bill is such a one as will AFFORD
adequate relief, provide for future con-
tingsncies and fairly meet the general
needs for which a revenue bill was de-
manded and the legislature is such a one
as will respond to the urgent appeals OF
the vast majority of it's constituents, IL
would be safe guess to say that the bill
will pass. Dut there are two mighty 'ifs"
to be reckoned with.
Railroad Influence Unknown.
OF course Nebraska. with it's illegal
debt OF over 81 .000. 900 needs salutary rev.
enue legislation. OF course the people of
the state recognize this fact and OF course
they have placed themselves on record as
demanding It. OF course the republican
members OF the present legislature were
elected on a platform last fall favorable
to revenue revision and therefore stand
today committed to this principle. OF
course, the democratic press OF the state
has by formal resolutions urged the dem.
ocrats in the legislature to support revenue
revision. All these facts are perfectly we'll
understood. And still there may be no
revenue legislation OF the sort that the
people need and want.
To what extent the railroads, with their
S,uI Inh no I'D
ing OF a revenue bill is not positively
known. That the agents OF these corpora
tions have had some influence is not
questioned. 1t is hoped that that influence
will not prove disastrous. The Union Pa
clhc, Burlington and Elkhorn have from
even before the legislature convened on
/ January 3, had here men OF experience and
skill as professional lobbyists. They have
kept up systematic labor. There is no leg
islation this session vitally affecting the
railroads, but this mooted revenue leg
islation. The corporation lobbyists. there
fore. must be here In some sort Of rela-
/ tion to revenue revision. As q matter OF
fact, they are. John n. Baldwin, tie gen
/ eral counsel OF Nebraska for the Union
1 Pacific. his retinue OF aides and his
! neighbors, the Elkhorn and Burlington
lobbyists, pitched and maintained their
tents here in the Capital City to look after
the railroads interests in connection with
the proposed revenue revision.
some siEniacant Things.
Significant things have been done. Strong
statements have been made. II has even
been said that the combined influence OF
the railroads has been such as to control
the majority Of members OF the Joint rev
enue COMMITTEES. This remains to be seen,
The committeeman spurn the insinuationl
and insist that they have tried to do the
best they could for the people OF the state.
They ask that judgment be suspended unfit
the curtain has been drawn aside and their
work disclosed This scene is anxiousIy
/ awaited.
During the lull over II. r. III, the Omaha
real estate exchange bill. which would make
| the railroads pay their just city taxes IN
Omaha, theory has been advanced thai
| the friends Of this bill might try TO tsel
1 AZ onto tha RenaraI raVanua hill uhau t6a,