Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-02-22
House Committee on Elections
Not in Favor of the Pro-
posed Law
TWO YEAR TERMS SUFFICIENT
Majority of the Committee Said to Be
Opposed to the Plan Of Giving coun-
ty Officers Longer Terms-Economy
of the Cummins Administration
Shown.
IBy Ora williams.l
O 1,imes-Republican.

| Des Moines, Feb 22.--There will be
no four-year terms for county officers
provided by the present legislature.
The members OF the house committee
on the biennial proposals are opposed
to making any extension of terms If
| it is possible to prevent it. one MEM
Der would be willing to have terms of
| four years in some cases. The others
are opposed to the plan. Some of the
county officers have terms fixed by the
constitution and these terms cannot be
OF the committee believe that for the
present the two-year terms are sufti-
| Gent There Is a difficulty In the mat
| ter of fixing terms for members of the
| board of supervisors. The committee
| finds that in many counties of the
state there are five supervisors and in
three counties they have seven. In
some counties of the state they are
elected at large and in others they are
elected by districts. Yesterday Mr..
Robinson introduced a bill to fix the
1
| and every county of the state and to
provide that ALL shall be elected at
large, one at each election, so that the
members shall have terms of six years
each. They shall receive stated salaries,
in counties of less than 10000 popula-
ton $1,000 annually and in large coun-
ties $1,000 each. 1t is believed that
this measure will meet the approval OF
the committee in charge of the fixing
up of terms to fit the biennial case.
| But as to all other county officers the
2-year terms will continue until such
q time as there appears to be some
general demand for making the terms
longer. In regard to state officers the
only change will be in the terms OF
railroad commissioners. They will get
siX-year terms.
While the campaign to pound Cum
minis into the earth" was opened some
time ago in the local Blythe organ with
strained effort to make 1t appear
that the Cummins administration had
been grossly extravagant in everything
touched, an incident came up yester-
day that showed the fact as to the
trend of the administration in financial
management of the state. The bill was
passed to complete payment for the
state census publication. incidentally
1t was stated that the cost Of the census
was about $4,000, or half what the
cost was ten years ago when the old
graft system prevailed everywhere in
the public service in the state. And the
census work last year was infinitely
,t,,1r 1a-
fore.
The Chassell bill to require the
placing of life preservers on boats on
iowa lakes that transport passengers
is in accordance with the desire of
many who have frequented the north
ern Iowa lakes in the summer. 1t is
found that these vessels, which some
times carry several hundred pas
sengers, are seldom provided with life
preservers, and yet it is easy to see
that an accident might happen that
would throw the entire load into the
water. A great calamity is entirely
possible on some of these small Iowa
lakes.
A peculiar effort to return to the old
local option system of voting for or
against saloons is made in a bill pre-
scented by Judge Lundt, of Tama. The
bin provides that in counties not hav-
ing any city Of over 5000 inhabitants
the determination Of the saloon ques-
ton shall be by a vote at the general
election on ballots especially prepared
for that purpose. The county, if it
votes for saloons, may have them al
most anywhere on payment of a $500
license.
Two bills by Mr.. Christensen, of Clin-
ton. relate to conduct Of municipal Of
ficers. Ore provides for a examina-
ton once each year of city offices and
the other forbids city officials from be-
ing in, any manner interested in any
contract with a city
Mr.. Martin. OF Pottawattamie. is IA
Their Of a bill to permit nine of the
twelve Jurors in court to return a
verdict, 1t requires that the jury pc
polled each time verdict is rendered
in the ordinary way, then that unless
there are more than three of the jur-
ors dissenting the majority verdict
shall stand as that Of the jury.
The senior member of the house
from Polk county introduced bill to
give cities the power to regulate and
to license the placing Of bill boards,
signs. posters, ETC. The bill merely
permits the councils to take proper ac-
ton. Under it there might be COM
plete eradication Of the bill board |
nuisance.
The scheme for primary system |
devised by Editor Payne, of the Neva-
da Representative, has appeared again.
The bill as introduced by Capt. Gree
ley provides for a loose system of
primaries under the control of the /
committees. It would be a slight adj
vance over the present system only i'll
that it would legalize the primaries as
now held in various counties.
The two pardons committees yesta.-
day heard E. B. Woodruff, of Glen
wood, in behalf of the application for
pardon of T. w. Watson of Mills coun-
ty. He was one of the attorneys
Watson has been in pria-
on 90 years. is model prisoner. was
a fairly good young man at the time
of the murder and was convicted on
purely circumstantial evidence. The
murder was a peculiar one and has