Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-12-15
NOTES FROM THE CAPITAL
Des Moines. Dec. II. 1904.

ASS uAcihCS oH HIS way uounc lioAh
Davis county, when asked If he would
| stand for reelection, said:
Some of the members of the legis
lature whose terms are extended by
the biennial elections amendment
have written me voluntarily suggest
ing that / should be reelected speak
er, and | have decided to be candi
date for reelection. AS long as. the
house will be composed of the same
members should appreciate it highly
were they to elect me again to pre-
side, and while many have suggested
1T, as | have stated, l have heard or
no opposition. OF course the new
legislature will completely organize
anew"
No one of the members of the legis
lature who have visited Des Moines
since election has intimate1 the posi-
bilii!y of opposition to Speaker
Clarke's reelection. His choice seems
to be conceded.
. In its annual report to Governor
Cummins, the state railroad commits
sion raps the railroads for their grow
ing policy of concealment of inrorma-
ton to which the public is entitled,
and the slack accommodation for the
travelling public for which some OF
them are responsible. On these sub.
Jects the commission says some very
caustic things. Regarding informa.
ton as to movement of train, the com
mission says:
Train dispatchers as well as some
other officials of the railways should
be made to understand their duty
does not lie in concealing and keep
ing from the public such reasonable
information of this character as it may
we'll be entitled to-
Another matter which has been
brought forcibly to the attention of
the railroad commissioners is that
there are many occasions when SUIT
able train service, in the way OF fur
nishing suitable and additional
coaches, has not been provided" The
commission says:
UNLESS there is more attention
given to this subject by the common
carrier, and more ample provision
made whereby the conductor or some
other competent or capable person
may know the true situation and
without unnecessary delay bring into
requisition additional coaches which
may be required. the railroad commits.
sioners of the state feel as though
more stringent and adequate rules
than are now in force within the state
should be provided
Colonel Charles A. Clarke of Cedar
Rapids has been commissioned by the
Grand Army department of Iowa to
plead the soldiers preference law be-
fore the Iowa supreme court.
1t is now expected that a brilliant
series of speeches will be made on the
subject of the validity of the act. A
judge at Marshalltown held it uncon-
stitutional because it favored a class.
The abstract in the case has been
filed in the supreme court by Warren
Walker for c. H. Shaw, the old sol
dier who is plaintiff in the proceeding,
seeking to compel the council of Mar
shalltown to obey the law.
This act was prepared by Repre-
sentative e. ]. c. Bealer of Cedar
Rapids, who was instrumental in Sc
curing the services of Colonel Clarke
for the Grand Army to present the
soldiers side of the case to the su-
preme court.
1t is the contention of the old SOL
diers that the state had right to fix
qualifications for public employees; to
fix service in the civil war as one of
the qualifications is as legal as to fix
stenography or any other mark OF
ability or fitness for place; and as
long as the law does not discriminate
among those having the qualifications
listed by the law, the law must be
valid
For instance. the legislature last
winter proposed law recurring COM
mittee clerks to be ste7 ographefs. but
it failed. Under the heory of those
who attack the soldiers preference
law, such an act would have been in
valid because it prevented any one
but stenographers from holding the
positions Of committee clerks.
The supreme court is to be given
another chance to pass on the petit
ton phase of the mulct law. Out in
Grundy county the saloon men pre-
scented a petition to the board of SUI
pervisors containing 2,122 names, or
IS more than the requisite IS per
CSul. ne fAhtA-Sdlooh lCd5uO ICP-
resentatives were present and i'm
mediately filed a petition containing
the names of 23o Of the persons who
had signed the saloon petition asking
the withdrawal Of their names there
from. This would have cut the num-
Der of names on the saloon petition
1877 less than the requisite IS per-
cent. The supervisors split on the
question, four voting for the saloons
and three against. Four voted not to
take the withdrawal petition into con-
sideration and three voted to do so.
So that the board by a majority of
one he'd the saloon petition to be
sufficient. This remarkable action
was taken against the advice of the
county attorney, F. w. Reisinger, who
called attention to the only guide in
the matter aside from the language
of the mulct law itself. a decision by
the state supreme court to the effect
that supervisors in canvassing petit
lions must take into consideration
such Withdrawals as were offered at
Grundy Center. The case will be
taken to the courts Immediately. OF
course, and will come to the supreme
court, which has been deciding LIQUOR
cases with extremely strict construc-
tion OF the law
intellectually is the cause of bald.
ness. So says baldheaded scientist
The Peruvian Government is about
to found a national museum of nat
ural science, which will have its home
in Lima, and in which there will be
three apartments, one devoted to
animal life, another to plant life
and third to minerals.
Leeches. when applied to persistent