Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1903-03-16
Fight Means Full Attendance in the
House at Present
IUcH WORK AND LITTLE TIME REMAINS
Pure Food Bill and Appropriations Fellow
the Revenue Bill.
LAWYERS DISCUSS BARTLEY PARDON
Investigating Committees Have
Chance 10 Get Down TO WORT
During the Present
Week.
(From a stan correspondent

(From a Stan Correspondent)
| LINCOLN, March 15.--(Special.) Full at
! tendance may be looked for in the house
! throughout this week. The fight on the
! section OF the revenue bill dealing with
! railroad taxation, which resulted in ten
! tative victory for the corporations Friday,
| when the Thompson amendment was
/ adopted is not settled and promises to
| be revived. Friends Of revenue revision
who advocated the Caldwell amendment,
which was defeated, will be on their guard
and move for the substitution of the Loomis
northumberland in effect with the
| Caldwell amendment-for the Thompson,
and bring the matter to a vote the first
! time they think enough OF the Thompson
| side is absent to make possible the pas
! sage Of the Loomis amendment. Being
! cognizant Of this plan the Thompson people
| doubtless will be punctual and regular In
| their attendance.
The fight in the house last week over
! sections 81 and so of the revenue hill,
| dealing with the manner Of assessing and
taxing railroad property, presented some
/ gross incongruities. For instance. Mors-
man. a Douglas county member, who had
been elected, above all else, to secure leg
islation that would compel railroads to pay
! their just share of taxes, became one OF
/ the most uncompromising advocates of the
! revenue bill and the Thompson amendment
/ both Of which have been generally recog-
: niZed railroad measures. 1t is true that
! In a perfunctory manner, Morsman sup
ported H. r. 344. providing for municipal
| taxation of railroad terminals, that is, hS
voted for it, this constituting his sole
| support But even this impassive ad-
vocacy of H. r. S44 makes his course
| all the more inconsistent. This may
| ho hu Aro fnr
a parallel between the purpose OF H. r.
344 and section SO Of the revenue bill, which
provides that the State Board OF Equaliza-
| tion shall value and assess all railroad
J property and that its returns shall be
| taken by local assessors as the basis OF tax
! alton. H. r. 344, as is generally known,
was based on the principle that municipal
| tax commissioners should hx their own
| valuations and assqssrnentsAs oif railroad
/ terminals TO the exclusion of those fixed
by the state board. Thus tt viii be seen
how this member straddled the proposition.
Says Poor Men Are the shirkers.
Mr.. Morsmans advocacy of the revenue
bill and the Thompson amendment was sn
radical that he was led to remark. during
his speech Friday that Il know. TO my
personal satisfaction that for more than ten
J years the railroads Of this state have been
1 paying, not only their just proportion OF
taxes, but have been paying more than
ihis and | also know that the small tax
oayers and not the railroads are the ones
/ VINO have been shirking their taxes"
'rhis from a man elected on platform OF
tax reform. AS has Deen asked: ''Is 1t
any wonder II. r. III and II. Z. 344 were
consigned to untimely graves?"
1t should be restated that with Mors-
man. Shelly and Koetter OF Douglas also
voted against the Caldwell amendment.
Another man who voted for II. r. 344
and the Thompson amendment was SweeZy
of Adams. Sweezy even went further than
Morsman and talked loudly and strongly for
H. r. 344 and then as vigorously. in turn.
! supported and opposed the Caldwell amend
| ment.
after It aisposes of the revenue bill, the
house will take up the pure food appro-
priation measures and bills proposing con-
sttutional amendments Of which there are
half a dozen. The idea of grouping these
latter measures into one may prevail. as
it seems to be very popular Everything
must be done to expedite matters. for the
time is astonshngly short compared
with the work to be done.
The committee on investigation of the
BARLEY cigar box may have good OPP
portunity OF prosecuting it's work this week
1t will not be interrupted as much as II
has been with the revenue bill debates
The committee has a number of important
witnesses to examine, chief Of whom prob
ably is United States District Attorney W.
s. Summers.
Legality of BARLEY Pardon.
The committee appointed to inquire into
the legality Of the BARLEY pardon has not
done anything yet but may have tho
chance this week. Some excellent material
is at hand on which to begin operations
Prominent lawyers OF the house contend
since The Bee disclosed the fact that the
bond did not contain the ofhcial seal of
the state and was procured without the
knowledge OF consent Of the secretary OF
state, that the pardon is yitiated not only
by this irregularity, but by others which
have become apparent. II Is pointed out
that the requirement OF the Law that be-
fore a pardon can be granted, notice Of the
intention or application must appear for
two weeks prior to the time of pardon in
newspaper OF general circulation In the
county where the criminal vas convicted.
was not complied with. This is said to con-
stltute a barrier to the legality OF the
pardon.
With such facts as these available It is
evident this committee mas no need for
delaying its work to look for a basis on
which TO begin.
There is still another committee OF In
quiry whose work is pending. This is the
committee to investigate the official meth
DDS of ex-state Treasurer stuefer Il is
without a chairman, Nelson Of Douglas,
Warner Of Lancaster and Douglas Of Rock
having refused TO serve, Evidently there
is a strong disposition 10 suppress this in
| vestigation.
! Platte Bridges Damaged.