Rocky Ford enterprise., 1907-02-15
LEGISLATIVE NEWS and GOSSIP

Organized labor has shown its dis
position to abide by the House rules
through the registration Of George n.
Hsily. president OF the State Fedora
tion Of Labor. as lobbyist In the
House Of Representatives. Haiiy II tho
first lobbyist TO register. and his name
probably will remain lonesome until
that OF President Pulver of the Denver
now out Of the city. is entered upon the
book provided for registration OF lob
lyists. says the Denver News.
The Senate In committee OF the
whole took up Senate Bill No. 50. by
Mr.. De Ia Vergne and gave II favor.
able consideration. The bill amends
the act authorizing cities Of the frst
or sscond'class to acquire and main
tain parks. so the terms Of park com,
missioners shall be two years instead
Of six years. The author Of the bill
explained that General Palmer Of Colo
rado Springs desires To donate certain
property to that city for park usage.
and Its donation depends largely on
the park board regulations.
Representative Keii Of Pueblo has =
bill In the House To compel jewelers.
and those selling Jewsiry to mark all
such In way to explain Its actual com
position. That is. an eikhteen-carat
ring may be so marked. but II = four
teen-carat ring is sold rs an eighteen
carat one. the jewelr may be pun
ished. Any imitation goods must be
plainly marked. The bill II drawn In
conformity with u national Law that
was signed last June. European coun-
tries have had such laws for many
years. but the legislation Is new In the
United States.
Tho bill before the Legislature. ask
Ing for an appropriation OF Siso.ooo
for the construction OF n mining tenn
ple In Denver. has the backing OF ths
American Mining Congress and sew.
eral wealthy residents Of Denver. II
was At hrst suggested that an eiGh;
larger portion OF II be rented. % that.
eventually, the building would pay for
itself. This plan. Il 10 said. did NOT rc-
coive the approval Of David II. Ao6at
and others. and 20 the Legislature u
asked to appropriate money for tho
construction OF . mining temple. 10 bc
used exclusively for . permanent OF.
hibit Of the states mining resources.
Tho bill provides that the money askc'i
for shall not be used until an eQusl
amount II raised BY subscription. Tbs
congress also is interested In other
measures Of interest to tho mining In
dustry. one for the protection OF min.
Ing investors. and the other for ths
creation OF mine draining districts.
Duplicate bills now In tho hands oe
tho mines and finance committees OF
the Legislature. known - House bill
No. $50 aad Senate bill No. s53. and
providing for . geological survey IN
Colorado. are the subject Of much dis.
cussiou At the present tims. The mea.
sure has attracted attention largely
through the influence II will have. u
passed. and those aware II Its exist.
snes ore awaiting what action will be-
taken with more than casual interest.
Forty statss Of the Union have con.
nine Of these organizations are still
active. Michigan. Ponnsylvania. New
Jersey and New York have carried on
survey work with but short iuterrup.
tions for over nfty years. The annual
appropriations for the work range as
high hs $4,000. AT present New York.
Illinois and kentucky are each spend.
Ing from $4,000 to $4,000 ycnr.
The investigations undertaken are
mainly along the line Of economic
geology proper. but In a number of
cases the study OF soils. water re-
sources. water power and other mat
ters OF economic Importance are In.
clud.d. In n few. general natural his.
tory Is made part OF the work.
II the present plans Of the State
Board OF Capitol Managers are carried
out. the State Horticultural Board. the
mining bureau. the war relics museum
and the State Historical Society will
have to move from the capitol. The
officials in charge of these Offices are
Mrs. Martha Shute. Commissioner +.
Lyman White. Custodian W. W. Fer.
guson and Curator VIII c. Ferril.
They are now preparing to fight the
expected order Of eviction. The capi-
tol board has no objection to these
officials In particular but II takes the
position that the files of papers be-
longing to the State Horticultural So
ciety. which are stored In the basement
and sub.basement, are a menace to the
whole building on account of the pos
sibilities they offer for fire. Further
more. they argue that the business OF
the state Is increasing to such an ex.
tent that the space occupied by the
exhibits OF the departments named Is
actually needed for executive purposes.
The board proposed at an outlay OF
$1,000 to buy the two vacant lots
across from the capitol building. at
Sherman and East Fourteenth aven.
ues. and upon these lots to erect a
suitable freproof building in which
the valuable exhibits owned by the
four departments might be established.
A meeting OF the Senate committee
on agriculture was held after adjourn
ment Friday to consider 8. b. Nos. 219
and 220. by Senator Drake. These
bills provide that the land originally
donated to the state by the federal