Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-01-24
SENATE.

At the meeting of the senate rail.
road committee Friday, a public hear
ing OF the 2-cent-rate bills was set for
next Wednesday evening. A public
hearing on the maximum freight rate
bill was set for Monday evening, jan
uary %, in the hall of house of rep
r~esentatives, Attorney General Had
ley will deliver an address on the
maximum freight-rate bill.
The committee took up Bradley's
anti-pass bill. The author of it was pre-
sent and urged that it be reported
favorably at once. Col. William H.
Phelps, of the Missouri Pacific, asked
the committee to postpone reporting
the bill until after the public hearing
next Wednesday night. While he did
not have the figures, he ventured the
statement that the passes issued were
not one-half of l per cent of the pas
senger traffic.
Senator Anthony moved that con-
s~ideration of the bill be postponed.
Senator Ruford, who seconded the mo-
ton, said that stock shippers down in
his country were unanimous in a de-
mand on him to secure legislation re-
quiring railroads to furnish round
trip transportation with each car of
stock. The measure was deferred I'M
til the public meeting Januay %.
Senate Committee on Judiciary, by
a vote of 7 to 3, reported unfavorably
or Senator Cooper's bill empowering
the Attorney General to file quo war
ranto proceedings against local officials
who are derelict in enforcing the law.
This is a measure commended by Gov
ernor Folk in his message to the Gen
eral Assembly. The adverse report of
the committee practically NEAR the
doom of the bill in the Senate. The
Senators who voted in favor of it
were: Avery, of Lincoln; Cooper and
Gilmore, of Kansas City, Those who
voted against it were: Fields, of Linn;
McAllister, of Monroe; McDavid, of
Green; Mayer, of st. Joseph; Major,
of Howard; Kammerer, of st. Louis,
and Hudson, Of Livingston.
Senator Wornall offered a bin I'm the
Senate leaving it optional with the
jury in capital punishment trials as to
whether the convicted party is sent
enced to be hanged oil imprisoned in
the ~Penitentiary for life.
This has been before the
Legislature several times in one shape
or another, and has always received
considerable support but new enough
to pass both houses.
The agument against such a change
in the law is that juries would invari-
ably send the convicted person to the
prison, and a knowledge of this fact
ON the part of the people would lead
to moi violence in instances where x
a%sperating crimes had been committed.
The first on the part of the
Legislature in favor of good roads was
made by the Senate Committee on Con
stitutional Amendments in reporting
favorably an amendment to the Con-
s~titution offered by Senator Fields of
Linn. 1t provides for a levy of 25
cents on the $100 valuation for the
building of roads and bridges. Cities
and Counties may vote upon this tax,
very much as local option ON the
granting of dramshop license is now
voted upon.
Senator Dowell introduced a bill
making provision for working con
yicts in the ~penitentiary ON the pub
lie roads of the state. He applies fea-
lures of the law now in force in the
state of Arkansas. Under his bill the
board Of inspectors of the state prison
will be requested to supply to each
county in the state making application
for the same, not to exceed fifty con.
victs each year, who shall be EN-.
ployed on the roads and bridges OF
the county under the direction and
discipline Of the sheriff of the county
and his deputies. The county must
be at the expense of transporting the
convicts to and from the p~enitentiary
and must make provision for caring
for them suitably and the men are not
to be supplied until the inspectors are
satisfied that this provision has beer
made.