Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-25
FIGHTING FOR CIGARETTE
National Tobacco Company Denies Right to
Levy Mu OF Tax Thereon.
GOVERNOR cUMHlNs is BACK AT WORK
Supreme Court Decides None of the
Claimants Have TITLE 10 Lake
Bed in Hamilton
County.
From a stan correspondent

CFrom a STAFF correspondent
DES MONIES, Jan. 24.-(Special)-The
American Tobacco company has taken a
second line Of attack on the cigarette mulct
law in Iowa and in case the decision Of
the courts in the first case is in favor
of sustaining the law a second is ready to
be sprung. Last summer the tobacco COM
pany came to the supreme court with a case
from Marshall county attacking the cigar
cite law. An attorney from New York APP
peared and argued the case and commended
the law is in violation of the original pack
age" theory Of interstate commerce, but
more particularly attacking the law as null
and void because of the manner In which. 1T
was put into the Iowa code. The legisla-
ture passed the mulct tax law as a part
Of the criminal statutes Of the state, and
II was commended that a taxing law could
not be passed as a part OF the criminal
statutes. A decision is expected in this
case at the present term OF the court.
Should It fail another case is ready and
has just been brought from Muscatine in
which the law is attacked as being con-
trary to the constitution Of the state and
the United States in that it provides for
a process Of taking property without due
process Of law. There is no provision for
notice of ar assessment and no chance for
a hearing in the case of property against
which the $500 a year tax is assessed. The
decision of the case will affect the rev.
enues of the cities many thousand dollars.
Important Railroad Question.
The state railroad commissioner will
next Tuesday take up several cases Of vast
Importance to the railroad companies Of
Iowa. Several farmers of Keokuk county,
Iowa, have secured orders for the con-
struction Of farm crossings over the Rock
Island right-of-way at their respective
farms and In accordance with custom in
this state the company has put in gates
and made a roadway over the tracks SO that
wagons may pass through with ease. But
the farmers contend that an adequate farm
crossing ~eontemplates also the construc-
ton Of wing fences running from the sides
Of the right-of-way to the track and the
placing Of cattle guards, so that there will
be free passage over the tracks for all
stock.
Back at Work.
Governor Cummins returned to his desk
this morning after being at home most Of
the week suffering from p~leurisy and kin
dred ills. He has now fairly well recovered
All tAptClS ~ De dDl6 10 dIlGuu 10 DIS
duties as governor regularly. but has really
been quite Ill. He expects to take up and
conclude the matter of the appointment Of
a pharmacy commissioner very soon, al
there is strong pressure being brought to
have this disposed of at an early date. It
is the last of his regular appointments.
Good Food for Insane.
John Cownie, chairman Of the State Board
OF Control, has returned from a VISIT to
the state hospitals at Independence and
Cherokee, and while out on this trip made
q special study of the quality Of the hos
pital stores on hand to see il they were up
to the requirements Of the contracts. He
returned greatly pleased with what he saw.
He cut off a sample of the beef from that
furnished the hospital inmates and brought
It back, declaring his belief that no better
beef can be found in any hotel in Des
Moines. At Independence the hospital is
receiving daily enough fresh milk from
farmers to supply an average of a pint and
a half to every inmate and %oflcial. The
butter used is all purchased direct from a
creamery and Is as fine as it is possible to
buy. So also with flour, vegetables and
all other stores in use at the state hos
pitalsI
Decision on Iowa Lake.
The supreme court of Iowa today dis
posed of long pending litigation in regard
to Iowa lake, in Hamilton county. This was
a lake, shown as such on the maps, COM
prising nearly 900 acres. properly mean
dered when the government survey was
made in 1919; but a few years ago Prof.
Kent took possession of the lake" and
began its cultivation, having drained some
portions Of it and made practically all OF
1t tillable. He and his assigns set up the
plea that the lake was properly swamp land
and not in fact a lake, and secured title
through the state and county. Then the
owners OF adjacent property claimed 1t as
accretions to their land. The supreme
court today decided that the lake was not
in fact a lake and should never have been
meandered; that it was merely a big.
swampy place, with ponds over parts OF 1t
in some seasons, and as the meander lines
were improperly surveyed the adjacent
property owners have no right TO the land
In the lake bed. At the sams time the
claim Of the owners OF the lake bed, John
j. Carr and G.. w. Bryan. is eenied, from
the fact that there never has been any
declaration by a proper authority Of the
land being swamp land. Until the United
States surveyors have Tesurveyed the land
and designated II as swamp land title can
not be secured through the state. This
leaves the lake bed practically as govern
ment lend subject to homestead until a re-
survey has been asked by the governor. The
land at one time was regarded as quite
valuable. but last year was too wet for
good crops.
THREAT LEADS TO HIS DEATH