Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-04-14
LAWS ARE
IMPORTANT
A RESUME OF THE THlRTlETH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEels.
LATfoN.
ONE HUNDRED NEW LAWS
Representative A.sW Buchanan Dis
cusses Laws Passed During Session
Just Closed - Drainage Bill Most
Important Glad to be Home.

Important - Glad to be Home.
The drainage bill passed by the last
session of the legislature will affect
more people and do more for the well
fare of the state of Iowa than any 9TH
ed law passed at this session." said A.
w. Buchanan, state representative
from this district this morning. Mr..
Buchanan returned home last evening
from Des Moines and states that he is
glad the session is over and that he
will be able to remain at home and at.
tend to his own business.
Mr.. Buchanan has made an enviable
record for himself at this session of
the legislature and is more than ever
accredited with being one of the
strong and capable men OF the lower
house. He is recognized as an emin-
emily practical man and his opinion
does much toward influencing legislar
The next most! important thing in
my opinion" said Mr.. Buchanan "is
the juvenile court bill. This bill places
In the hands of the present judiciary
all the powers Of the juvenile court.
When in good working order 1t will do
more toward taking boys off
the streets of the cities and placing
them in q way to learn business that
will make them good, self dependent
citizens than any other plan that
could be devised.
Next In Importance consider the
bills passed giving to the auditor and
the executive council more power oy-
er all classes of life insurance COM
panlies. pa All companies desiring to do
business in Iowa hereafter will be re-
quired to submit their Incorporation
papers to the auditor and he has pow
er to refuse them permits IL he sees
fit. The legislation establishing an
inebriate hospital at Knoxville is very
important. This law also provides
that every one sentenced to an inebri.
ate hospital must remain under treat
ment for one year.
The primary election bill, which
applies to Polk county alone, is very
drastic measure and is unique in that
1t requires both parties to hold their
primaries upon a set date in May at
the same time and place and practfc-
ally compels the use Of the Australian
balloting system.
Il consider that these are the more
important and far reaching bills of
the present session There are num-
Der of bills of minor Importance
among which l might mention bill
to create commission to investigate
the matter of creating board of con-
troll for state educational institutions,
a bill to perfect the compulsory edu-
cational law, bill requiring banks
holding deposits of state money to pay
2 per cent interest on the amount de-
posted, measure allowing cities and
towns to condemn and buy land for
the establishment of sewage plants, a
measure to levy tax Of four mills for
river improy yements, measure regu-
lating the use of automobiles in the
public highways, a measure defining
theft of poultry in the night time and
measure requiring fire insurance
agents to secure an annual permit be-
fore they are allowed to solicit for
business.
"The direct appropriations made by
the general assembly amounted to S2,.
100000. The largest appropriation was
fol the use of the board Of control and
this was $S900Oo; the next largest
was for the college of agriculture and
mechanic arts, s3S6,O0O. For the re.
pair Of the capitol building, $l26,000
was allotted by the legislature, $235,.
900 for the building at the school for
the deaf and dumb at Council Bluffs,
S20S,O00 for the state university at
Iowa City for the historical building
at Des Moines, 100000. inebriate hos.
pital at Knoxville. $125,000 and the
state fair building $4,000. The total
expense for the next biennial period
will amount to s4,974 900. This amount
will be secured without raising the
tax levy and is 100000 less than for
the last biennil period.
"A large amount Of this appropria-
ton has been made necessary because
of the fire losses that occurred during
the last biennial period. The losses
We're Council Blufrs dear and dumb in
stitution, s1S5,oo0; Capitol building
S126, 900; Ames agricultural and me-
chanical arts institution, $4,000; State
university, engineering hall, $50, 900;
making a loss Of s466,000, almost one
half million dollars.
Bills Lost.
1.-TWO Of the principal bills lost were
the civil service bill which was killed
in committee by a vote Of 1S to 2, the
vote against which was about equally
divided between the members of tive
parties, and the intermediate sentence
bill.
There were total Of 460 bills in
troduced into the house and about one
hundred became laws. My experience
in the legislature leads me to think that
as rule should be killed than enacted
into laws, The past legislature SEEM
ed to have q sharper ak than many
former ones" e