Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-07-20
Declare War on Trustees.


Des Moines.-Open war on Iowa
trusts and combines was declared by
the attorneys of the state at their
convention. And since Judge Nc
vey Of Polk county and Judge Plat
Of Black Hawk have held that the
present Iowa statutes relating to
trusts are Unconstitutional, the coun-
ty attorneys propose to have the law
so changed as to make them thor
oughly effective.
After a discussion in which several
prosecutors took part and in which
Iowa trusts were scored unmerciful-
ly, stringent resolution was passed
as follows:
Whereas, The members of this as
ISOLATION are unalterably opposed to
commercial and industrial conditions
which permit corporations, individuals
or any ASSOCIATION of individuals to
enter into combinations whereby the
price of commodities are fixed, COM
petition eliminated and consumers
placed at the mercy OF such a COM
bine; and,
Whereas, Sections $3.50, 5061 and
5062 of the code Of Iowa, being the
so-called antitrust law of the state,
have been declared unconstitutional
by several presiding judges OF the
state of Iowa and so declared by tho
Judge In every case where the mem
bers Of this association have at
tempted to enforce the provisions Of
said sections; and.
Whereas, 1t Is the sense of this
body that said sections of the code
should be amended in order to ade-
| quately check the evil aimed at by
the legislature when the same were
enacted; therefore be it
Resolved, by the Association Of
County Attorneys, in convention as
| sembled, that the legislative commit
| tee of this organization Is hereby in
| structed to call the attention of the
next general assembly of this state
to the condition Of the so-called anti
trust laws Of Iowa to the end that the
same may be amended and made eff
tective for purposes Of prosecution"
Important Tax Decision.
Des NOTES.-THE supreme court
has decided that in Iowa the surplus
of insurance companies is taxable.
The case in which the decision was
made was that of the Chicago Life
Of Des Moines against the board OF
review The assessor listed the com.
pany's surplus of $12,4s2 and the
board OF review refused to cancel 1t.
On appeal to the district court Judge
Hugh Brennan set aside the assess.
ment, but the supreme court reversed
that judgment.
There is no statute requiring the
accumulation Of surplus. The pur.
/ pose Of the law was to make the
moneys and credits of insurance COM
panies taxable subject only to certain
defined exceptions. The court finds
the surplus referred to not to be one
Of the exemptions. The funds might
be put to the credit Of expenses, but
this would not be in aid of the tful-
allment" OF contract Of insurance as
defined by the law
OF course there may be plans OF
Insurance In which the redistribution
Of the surplus in whole or in part is
In some manner made obligatory or
legally enforcible. The surplus Is an
asset Of the company, not OF the policy
holders. It Is not debt to the policy
holder and cannot be deducted from
the company's moneys and credits.
Eggs and the Pure Food Law.
Commissioner Wright, after a long
wrestle with the question, has decid.
I'd to classify eggs under section eight
Of the new pure food law. This rather
avoids decision on the question Of
whether an egg that is no longer an
egg is impure food or adulterated food
/ A committee of egg men called on
| Mr.. Wright and puzzled him with the
new question. He studied the law
with care and looked up all the prece'
dents that the books and poultry jour.
nails furnished and decided that eggs
ought to be inspected.
At the end Of the debate 1t was de.
cided that the law clearly gave the
man charged with enforcing the pure
food law as much jurisdiction over
that naturally develops into the juris'
| diction of the law, as over the things
which are willfully manufactured with
view to violating the law. Theoret-
lcally, there is q difference between
an egg of great age which simply
crows into the knowledge OF the law
| and Jug Of cherries made OF green
| plums and choise assortment OF
analyne dyes. But the great state OF
iowa will undertake to see that
neither is offered or sold to the PEG.
Pile Of this tair state.
Ministers Must Sign Affidavlts.
Ministers Of the gospel in the state
must 60 without one-han fare passes
this year owing to the new anti-pass
law unless they sign statement say,
Ing they are not members Of the state
legislature, hold no state, county or
city Office and are not delegates to any
political convention. Slips bearing
the above statements for ministers to
sign have been received by the pas
bors Of the local churches.
criticIses Supreme Court.
There is one man in Iowa who isn't
afraid Of the supreme court Of the
| United States. He is D. D. Murphy
| Of Elkader, who delivered an address
on divorce at the opening session Of
the annual state bar convention in
| the Y. M. G. A. auditorium on the
18th. Murphy criticised the supreme
| court severely for its decision In the
| Paddock divorce case, made last
| spring. He said the court now had
| given opinions on both sides Of the
| same point and that there was no
| ground in the Haddock case for the
L s