Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-02-27
SENSATION N !,
TIE LEGISLATURE
Important Bill Is Missing When
Called Up in the House This
Morning
TRlckERy IS HINrED
Temperance People Charge That De.
Iiberate Attempt Is Being Made to
Defeat Legislation by Theft Of the
Smith BiII-Mea.ure Already Had
Passed the Senate.
Special to Times-Republican.

Speclal TO T1meS-Republfcan. M
Des Moines, Feb. 27.-A sensational
episode occurred in the house this
morning on discovery of what appears
| to be a deliberate attempt to prevent
temperance legislation by the theft Or
destruction of a bill. The Smith bill.
limiting petitions of consent to five
years, which passed the senate, was on
the house calendar and when called I'M
it was found that attached to the com.
mittee report was the substitute which
was not passed by the senate, instead
Of the substitute for the substitute.
The later could not be found. It was
at once assumed the senate clerks had
failed to send over the right bill and
the house sent the whole to the judic.
iary committee to have an investigas
tion made. Then it was found in trac~
ing it up that the right bill had gons
to the house and to the house commits
tee on temperance and this last cons
mittee had it and considered 1t last
week and reported it favorab1y. Chair
man Greeley says the right bill went
to the clerk but cannot be found. and
someone has changed the bills so that
unless the senate acts again, nothing
can be done. DR.. McCash, Of the anti
saloon league, declares It Is a deliber-
ate plot to destroy the bill by theft
and senator's believe that the bill was
stolen It is contended that the fight
against the bill was to prevent it, ap-
plication to the larger cities. Clark
Benedict is all at sea as to what be-
came Of the bill. The temperance
forces are mad about 1t and they are
denouncing the house for sending the
measure to the judiciary committees
which they say is hostile to 1t.
Senator Smith said this afternoon:l
1T is too early to raise suspicious
against anyone as to the loss Of the
bill. The matter has been fully inves-
tigated so far as the record goes and
we do not know how or where the bill
was lost 1t may never have gone to
the committee on temperance in the
house,
The Senate.
In the senate today Saunders flnish-
ed his argument in favor of his substi-
tute bill providing for majority nomi-
nations and Senator Lewis spoke at
length in favor of the pending bill. It
is expected Dowell and others will talk
this afternoon. The opponents OF the
bill are making an effort to force the,
bill to vote tomorrow, before the
recess, but friends of the bill are op.
posing.
crease Of the township road tax levy
was passed, also the bill to permit
increase in limit of municipal indebted-
ness for paying for water works and
the bill creating departments of arch-
ives for state papers.
Senator Bruce filed today motion
to reconsider the vote by which the
Lyons amendment to the primary bih
was adopted. This indicates the In
tention of the friends Of the measure to
hold the amendment up for a time and
possibly to force the democrats into
agreeing to vote for the bill.
The Saunders substitute for the pri-
mary bill was killed in the senate this
afternoon by % to 20, the democrats
voting with Cummins. Bruce and
Malsbery were absent.