The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-28
RAILROADS ARE
MUCH OPPOSED
To Legislation Regarding
Shipping of Coal.
THINK LAW is DRASTIC
Senate ReconSidered Action
at Request of Mr.. Noftzger.

\ Topeka, Kan, Feb. 27.-The railroad
| have cracked down on the bills Intro
duced by the coal famine investigator
committee The word has been passe
along that they must not be allowed I
pass in their present form. The railroa
! people say they are too drastic. On
of the bills provides that railroad ca
not confiscate coal in transit and Pre-
vides a penalty in the shape. of a fin
of 500 for each car so con6scated TIL
other makes the offense OF taking a ca
of state coal in transit punishable by
fine of from 500 to $1,000.
| Noftzger. as chairman of the coal fam
inc investigating committee, fathered tn
bills in the senate. He was absent whel
they came up for consideration yester
day morning. Before he returned tn
first one had been passed.
Back up said Noftzger. when h
learned the condition of affairs, at tn
same time giving the other senators tn
hailing sign of distress. Il have ha;
some new light on this subject and thu
bills are not yet ready for passage"
The senate stopped its wagon.
up and moved the recall Of the bill pass
ed at the morning session. Mcmillan
| who was the daddy" of the coal inves
LEGATION, and who is constantly looking
for things to do to the corporations. oh
jected. 1t looked for a minute as though
it were going to be a Carson City and
| Fitz and Jim over again, but the atmo
sphere cleared and the senate gave
| Noftzger what he wanted.
The bills probably are inequitable to the
| extent of giving the railroads the worst
of it. Champions of the great plain peo
pie too often forget that the railroads
| have some rights under the law. But
| the thing places Noftzger in the position
| of having harked to the cry of corporate
| influence when he may have been only
| trying to be fair. The committee will
give the railroads a hearing and the bills
will likely be modified.
| The court of Cancellation bill. prepared
and pushed by the labor unions of the
state. and introduced by Nation of Neo-
sho, has been adversely reported by the
ways and means committee of the house,
| Under the provisions of the bill the arbi-
was made compulsory. but the decisions
of the court were merely advisory and
not mandatory. If either of the inter
ested parties refused to abide by the de-
cision of the court the opinion Of the
| court on the case was to be published in
| order to show the people of the state
who was to blame for the continuation Of
the trouble.
he cattlemen of western Kansas want
repealed the law enacted two years ago
requiring gates to be constructed in all
pastures wherever the fence crosses any
road established by custom or usage. but
not a legally established highway This
law was passed for the purpose Of keep
ing open the old trails from one town to
another. The cattlemen object to it be-
cause of the fact that gates are often
left open and cattle get out of the pas
lures and stray away. Lockwood Of
Cheyenne introduced a bill yesterday in
the house knocking out the law.
Robbins bill absolutely prohibiting the
shooting of quail for period of three
years in some twenty counties in the
state was passed by the house yesterday
The counties affected are: Hamilton.
Scott. Wichita. Greeley, Kingman.
Smith. Sherman. Rocks. Sumner, stew
ems. Finney, Bourbon, Stafford. Grant,
Gray, Stanton, Haskell, Decatur. Hodge
man, Reno. Morton and Crawford
Godshalk's bill providing for the estab-
lishment of a whisk broom factory at
the state reformatory at Hutchinson has
been turned down by the house ways and
means committee. The bill carried ap-
preparations Of $4,000 for buildings and
equipment and $4,000 for raw material
More land is needed by the Topeka
state insane asylum and the house ways
and means committee has recommended
the appropriation of $50 200 for its pur-
chase. For the next two years appropri-
ations amounting to sS02.sl2 are made
for maintenance and salaries.
The house ways and means committee
has recommended for passage Dougher-
tvs bill appropriating $500 year for the
support of G. A. r. museum and the
publication OF the annual reports of the
state department of the G. A. R
Billings pond bill has been fsvorab,y
reported by the house committee on tax
alton. The bill provides that every far
mer constructing a pond one-half acre
in extent and five feet deep shall be al
lowed s. rebate on his taxes II the pond
is an acre in extent and five feet deep
$40 rebate is to be allowed.
Senator Simons bill making the state
fish commissioner also game warden and
increasing his salary from $50 TO sl.see a
year, has been knocked out by the house.
The ways and means committee vester-
day made an unfavorable report on the
bill
The state affairs committee OF the
house has favorably reported the bill by
Williams Of Shawnee TO give the city
council OF Topeka authority 10 pass an
ordinance forbidding the riding of bicy-
Giles over the walks in the state house
grounds
over the protests OF Waggener OF
Atchison. Mead Of Mitchell and a num-
Der OF others. the house again yesterday
postponed consideration Of the tax bill.
the purpose being to force the senate TO
take the first action on the measure.
The house WAYS and means committee
has recommended the appropriation Of
SSe.ca for the construction OF new
building a; the Girls Industrial school
al Beloit. The purchese of land costing