Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1903-06-12
RIGHT 70 Spank BABIES.
Question Is Under Consideration by
Judge James A. Howe Of the
Polk District Court.
CHILD SPANKED OFTEN AND souHDLY.
Effort to Save Millions of Fish That
VIII BE Stranded When Floods
Subslde-New Merger Law Tested
Crop Average Reduced Fifty Per
Cent.-Other Iowa News.
Especial Correspondence

CrOD Average NeuuCed FIFTY Per
Cent-Other Iowa News.
Especial Correspondence
Des Moines, Ia, June s.-The ques-
ton of whether or not it is right
to spank babies is being pondered by
Judge James A. Howe, of the Polk
district court. A case has been sub
mitted to him involving this tender
point. 1t arose through the effort Of
o father to recover possession of his
four-year-old child, who is in the GUS
tody of the mother, from whom he
was divorced. The child has been
cared for by the mothers daughter
by her first husband, and this young
woman has administered several
spankings to the boy, who bears the
name of the illustrious Robert Bruce.
The court took testimony on the
value and need of spanking four
year-old boy. The foster mother adj
mitted she spanked him in earnest
when he needed il and he needed it
very often. The court is considering.
To Save the Fish.
State Fish and Game Warden Lin
coin and Gov. Cummins have been in
consultation about what to do to
be left stranded in bayous and ponds
when the high waters of the recent
floods recede. AS soon as these wat
ers evaporate hundreds of thousands
of tons of fish will be left to pollute
the earth and air. The fish commits
sioner desired to adopt some plan to
return them to the water of the riv-
ers by draining the bayous, or, by
some other means, saving the fish.
They are the larger part of the sup
ply for the reason that the fish
sought the quiet waters during the
flood and remained in it while the
high water was going down. No plan
| has yet been adopted. The failure Of
the legislature to appropriate for the
fish department for the two years
ending next July leaves the commits
sioner without means to do anything.
New Merger Inv Tested.
\ The new merger law passed by the
last general assembly has had test
the past week 1t was decided by
the attorney general that the state
could not refuse to file contract OF
consolidation between the Minneap-
oils and st. Louis of Minnesota Rail-
road company and the Minneapolis
and st. Louis Railroad and Telegraph
company of Iowa. These concerns at
tempted to consolidate under the
head of a new corporation and at
tempted to file articles, but the sec
4 rotary of state insisted upon the
payment OF full filing fees if this
were done. The articles were with
drawn and the contract of consolida-
was filed instead. This provides for
! all Of the conditions in the new cor
poration charter, but the attorney
/ general says since it is the consolida-
ton of two old companies under the
merger law. the state cannot collect
! the fees as if the corporation were q
new one altogether.
Crop Average Reduced.
| Secretary Greene. of the State
Horticultural association announces
that the weather of the past ten days
has reduced the crop average from
'; ten to SO per cent, whereas the apple
crop of May was estimated at 50 per
cent Of whole crop, the June crop
Is estimated at " per cent. Pears
were estimated ut 60 and are now
down to 90. Plums have fallen from
So to 90. cherries from SO to %
peaches from 40 to 30, currants from
60 to SO, gooseberries from SO to 81
while the stock or condition of straw
berries, raspberries, blackberries and
grapes have gone slightly up.
Important Question Decided.
Attorney General Mullan has de
cided an important question bearing
on interurban railroads run by cleo
tricity. The Marion, the Cedar Rap
ids and the Boone lines commended
that they were city street car com
panies and could not be taxed as in
terurbans, but must be taxed as local
concerns, locally, even though they
a run outside their respective corpo.
rate limits. The attorney general had
advised the executive council that
!. this view is erroneous, and whenever
! a street cur. line runs outside OF q
city it becomes an interurban and
; must be taxed as such.
Suit to Recover Land.
Suit has been begun by United
States Attorney General Knox to re-
cover possession OF about 5000 acres
of land along the Milwaukee railroad
in northeastern Iowa. which it Il
claimed was irregularly transferred
to the company under congressional
land grant. The government claims
that the deed was signed by the
wrong officer of the United StateE
and, therefore, is void. The land has
been sold by the railroad and the
suit will compel the railroad to buy
out the settlers and restore the land
to the government, if the latter wins
it. The case will be tried out in the
federal court sitting at Sioux City
at which Judge Shiras will preside.
New Hearing Refused.
| The supreme court, at its recen,
session, refused to grant new hear:
ing III the case Of Cook agains,
Plunkett, from Marshalltown, inyolv
ing the legality of the mulct tas
against cigarettes. An effort wal