Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-01-03

4
but that it will have serious and de-
termined opposition from the friends
of the present system of control is
considered certain, and its pathway
through the house and senate will be
a long and tortuous one.
other Bills of Interest.
Among other bills of wide interest
which are sure to come before the as
sembly viii, be one changing the
length of terms of Office for county
officials from two to four years. This
bill is in reality an afterthought Of
the promoters of the biennial election
law and is but one of many supposed
evils which have come to haunt the
dreams of the advocates of that act,
which was to free Iowa from the
throes of politics each alternate year.
It is now declared that under the bien-
NAL law, with all the county officers
changing each two years, the county
governments will suffer materially
because of the inexperience of the
new men at the guns. Senator Titus,
who devised the biennial election
law, is the sponsor for the four-year
term act, which will amend the law
SO that only half of the officers Of the
counties will be chosen at each elec-
ton and will hold office for four years.
Some contend that four-year term Is
all any county officer is entitled to
and the bill may be loaded down with
a provision making officers ineligible
for reelection.
Fight for Pure Food Law.
A determined fight will be made in
both houses of the legislature for the
adoption of pure food law for the
state. A committee composed of S.
B. Packard of Marshalltown and M.
j. Wragg of Des Moines, representing
the State Agricultural society, and HI.
r. Wright, state dairy commissioner,
have for some time been at work on
measure looking to the placing OF
Iowa in the rank with those states
which punish the vendors of adulter-
ated and impure foods and beverages.
They have prepared bill which will
be introduced in the senate by Sen
ator B. w. Newberry of Strawberry
Point and in the house by Represent
alive B. F. Cummings of Marshalltown.
The bill makes the state dairy COM
missioner an inspector of foods and
beverages mot drugs end provides
penalties for the sale, or keeping for
sale, of any food product or beverage
which may be proven to be impure.
The feature of the bill introduced In
the senate two years ago, and which
was defeated, made the penalty for
sale of impure foods fine, coupled
with Imprisonment in the county Jail.
The new measure eliminates the i'm
prisonment feature, but makes the
fine not TO exceed 500. 1t is said
this will give the regular retailer who
may be convicted a right to bring suit
against the wholesaler from whom the
impure goods were purchased. Two
years ago this bill was attacked by
the wholesale grocery interests of the
state and 1t is supposed they will be
active in their opposition to the meas
ure again, though it is claimed there
is much better chance of its adoption
now than in 1904.
Free Employment Bureau.
State Labor Commissioner Brigham
will ask the legislature to adopt a law
creating state free employment bu-
reau. The object of the law will be
to overcome the evils which it is said
now arise from the uncontrolled pri-
vate employment bureaus in the vari-
GUS cities of the state. The bureau, il
created, will open up an Office in Des
Moines. Its duties will be to list APP
plicants for positions and as opportun-
ity offers to put them into permanent
places Of employment. No charge will
be made either to the man seeking
work, nor to the employer looking for
help. II the bureau at Des Moines
demonstrates its value to the state,
branch bureaus will be established In
three or four of the larger cities. The
clerks having charge of the bureaus
will be placed on salary by the
state, but the cities will be asked to
furnish and maintain Office rooms for
the bureaus.
Other measures which will be pro-
posed will embrace:
An indeterminate sentence law,
patterned after the Illinois statute.
A law creating a state reformatory
for women In connection with the
penitentiary at Anamosa.
An amendment to the drainage law
of the last session giving authority to
go upon the property of an objecting
land owner for the digging of a drain
age ditch.
A state marshal law, fathered by A.
G. Rankin, known as the "Moulder
Orator" who has spent several years
In organizing state marshal clubs
throughout the cities of Iowa. Gov
ernor Cummins has been quoted as
opposed to such law, but Mr.. Rankin
says il 1t is adopted by the legislature
1t will not be vetoed
A bill striking at bootlegging and
the c. o. ID. shipment OF intoxicating
liquors into the state has been pre-.
pared and will be introduced in the
senate by Senator d. w. Turner OF
Adams county and In the house by
Representative M. Y. Bailey OF Ring
a.