Bisbee daily review., 1907-03-17

Among the bills pending are: To make telegraph and telephone compa- nies common carriers and to establish rates: to extend the gas and electric light regulation law to all parts of the State.
 MISSOURI.
 Passed both houses: Two-cent fare bill; bill requiring railroads to equip all cars with air brakes and automatic couplers, and preventing foreign cor porations from transferring cases from State to Federal courts; a bill to make the rates of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission operative. is pending decision of the courts of last resort. Bills pending; To enable cities to fix rates for publtc-service corpora- tions, now in committee: the Cooper maximum freight-rate bill, amended by the House and returned to the Senate: and an eight-hour railroad telegraph CTS bill, passed by the House. IOWA. The Iowa Legislature has enacted a redueed-fare law, requiring railroads with an annual earning of s4,000 8 mile-to sell fare at 2 cents, those earn ing less and over s3,500 2i-2 cents and those earning less than 5000, 8 cents. This has been signed by the Governor.
 A law preventing all corporations or their employees from contributing mon- ey or assistance of any kind to cam paign funds has also been enacted. 4 h1c been reported favoraDly. Another law Which has passed and has been dubbed the "square-deal' bill, provides I for giving minority stockholders of corporations representation on the Board of Directors.
 MINNESOTA.
 Nearly a score of anti-corporation measures are pending in the Minneso- | ta Legislature, but none has yet pass ed. First on the list is the 2-cent pas senger-fare bill. This seems certain to become a law. Another bill makes more drastic the present law which | forbids railroad companies to issue new stock without the consent or the State Railroad Commission, which may be informed of the purpose to which the stock is to be applied.
 One bill lays a tonnage tax on iron ore. This is blow to the Onited States Steel Corporation, and VIII more than double the amount Of its taxation in the State. It has also l sought to drive the Harvester Trust out of Minnesota by establishing a | plant at the State Prison to manutac- ture agricultural machinery and inn plements-
 f There are eighty-three anti-railroad measures pending in the Texas Legls- ilature. There is a 2-cent fare bill, eeiprocal-demurrage bill and free pass hill A hill to prevent blacklisting of | ennnIoves. A me seat. no fare" bill and a hill nroviding for the State licensing l of telegraph operators.
 Governor Campbell and the labor un, ions favor many of the measures ana some are likely to be enacted into flaws. The power vested in the TAT road commission of Texas IS so Tar reaching that any additional legisiation lis almost certain to be drastic Ill us nature.
 | At the legislative session just closed Ithe laws were enacted to prohibit the giving of railroad passes or other favors; prohibiting railroads from making campaign contributions; au' lthorizing the State Railroad Commis- sion to make a passenger-rate scned- ule not to exceed 1-2 cents per mile; prohibiting railroad employees to work 2 -fr frfn lowed by eight hours rest, except in case of storm or accidents and a reef procal demurrage act fixing the amount of demurrage to be paid by the roads or shippers for delay in furnish ing or unloading cars
 Another law was the creation of a State Telephone Commission, with the same powers in regard to telephones as the Railway Commission exercises over the railroads.
 NEBRASKA.
 The Nebraska Legislature passed a bill reducing passenger fare from to 2 cents. and the bill was signed by the Governor and is now in force.
 At the last electian a constitutional amendment was adopted at the polls creating an elective railway commis- sion. A bill Is ready to pass in the House to clothe this commission with rate-making power, and It will pass the Senate. Another free-pass bill, publishing the giver and the recip tent, has passed both houses and Is expected to become a law. A bill call ed the reciprocal demurrage bill has been made a special order in the House, and will probably pass.
 NORTH DAKOTA.
 Three railroad bills passed both houses of the Legislature: Two and half cent fare with thousand mile books at a flat rate of ? cents; requfr- l ing wrecks and casualties to be report ed promptly to Railroad Commission CTS; reciprocal demurrage restricting hours of labor or railroad employees to sixteen hours.
 This last mentioned bill is practical. ly the same as the national law and the commission, consisting of gover- nor. lieutenant governor and Speaker of Assembly Is authorized to inquire into the cost and value of express, sleeping car. telephone. telegraph,