The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-09-19
FARMS COVERED
 BY HEAVY FLOOD
WATERS RISING AT LACROSSE, WlS., AND GREAT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY RESULTS-A PLEAS URE PARK SUBMERGED.

La Crosse, Wis, September 1S.-The worst flood experienced in this portion of the Mississippi valley for years is sub merging thousands of acres of 4. farm lands along the river, sweeping away stacks of hay and grain, drowning live stock in the fields, and doing inestimable damage.
 The flood has reached Lacrosse and in the lower side fifty families have been forced to move out of their homes This morning the river had overlooked the chicaga Milwaukee and St. Paul tsaeka on the ievee, and goods were being moved out of the lower floors of long row of wholesale houses which it is expected the water will enter by tonight. The river Is still rising half an inch an hour.
 Pettiborn park. the handsome new sl5O,- GOO pleasure grounds, is entirely sub merged. The mill dam and part of the mill at Mishamokwa are washed away. At Mondovo both mill dams are out. A house and barn have been washed away and much live stock drowned.
 Communication with the rural districts in this vicinity is entirely cut off, owing to innumerable bridges being washed away.
 The local weather observer predicts that the river will rise nearly foot more at this point.
 honest primary election law which is set down as a special order in the house for next Monday.
 Greater Birmingham Bill.
 The Greater Birmingham bill was in- In ha tOnipht bV Rem resentative DuBoise. Mayor Drennen, Aldemen Gray and Thach and City Att torney Ed Smith had a conference with the Jefferson delegation today, and as all were agreed upon the measure it is ex- pected that 1t will go through without trouble The bill is the same as out lined in the Age-Herald this morning. The banking and insurance committee had a bill before 1t tonight which great ly interests the municipalities of the state It proposes that the cities and towns can only levy a tax of per cent on the gross receipts of an insurance company in municipal corporation while the state is to collect 2 per cent At present the cities and towns collect license taxes and the state only gets l per cent Mayor Drennen said tonight that the passage of the bill would cut Birmingham out of from $I5oo to s1o,Oo0 revenue annually.
 House.
 The house was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Bancroft eighty-six mem bers responding to roll call.
 MT. Bankhead of the committee on privileges and elections reported tavor- ably, with a substitute. the primary elec- ton bill, and three hundred copies were ordered printed, while it was also made fo1 o,Ja Monday at II o'clock.
 On motion of MT. Hoffman the bills ex- tending and regulating the terms of tax collectors and tax assessors were set as a special order for next Tuesday.
 The senate bill to fix the terms of the railroad commissioners was taken up as the special order, and MT. Lusk moved to strike out the first section of ! the bill. The senate bill provides that the members of the present commission shall hold for the term for which they I were appointed. This. in effect means that associate commissioners Tunstall and Sanders will hold office until the regular election in 1906.
 Mir Lusk addressed himself to the gen. eral proposition contained in the bill, and at the outset he expressed his high esteem for the personnel of the commis- sion, but he maintained that at the 1902 tlectlOH lne QueSllOH Ol eleCliuB tHt coni- mission by the people, and by an over whelming vote the electors expressed themselves in favor of the proposition in obedience to this the present legisla- ture had passed the bill to provide an election in 1904.
 Why Retrace Their Steps.
 Why now should the members retrace their steps? He had not heard any cla section of the state for the change now sought. Could 1t be that the members were afraid to trust the people? He favored the election of all officials whenever possible. He did not think the argument that the two members had been practically legislated out of office had any bearing on the subject, as they had accepted the office knowing that the elective bill was pend- ing He begged the members to pause and reflect before the steps were re- traced.
 MT. Starr of Dallas. author of the bill providing for the elective commission, took the floor and explained why he now