Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-21
SENATE FOR TWO-CENT FARE
Bill FavOrably Reported Practically as il
Came from House.
CHANGES IN THE DUTIES CT OFFICIALS
Bills which Take Large Amount Of
work from Auditor and AppOr-
ton IL Among Treasurer
and others.
CFrom, a stan Correspondent


DIES MONIES, Ia, Feb. 20.-(Special Tel
egram.)-The senate railroad committee
this evening reported for passage the 2-cent
fare bill It came from the house, with
an amendment making a rule for maxi
mum charge of 10 cents.
If bills introduced in both houses today
become law there will be no insurance de-
partment created at this session and the
auditor will retain all the duties pertain
| ing to insurance that he has heretofore
exercised. The new bills change the bank
ing department from the auditors office
to the treasurer's office, and the municipal
| accounts department from the auditor to
| the secretary of state, and the notary
| commission department from the secretary
Of state to the governor.
Temperance Question Again.
The temperance question may be threshed
| out again at this session of the legislature.
Word reached the state house today that
In every quarter Of the state movement
| has been started to work up petitions ask
ing the legislature to submit to a vote of
the people resolution for a constitutional
| amendment prohibiting the liquor business
Such resolution went through at one
time many years ago and the constitution
was amended, but the supreme court de-
| pie and so it is now a dead letter. But
| few attempts have been made since to have
the question again reconsidered. The let
| ter bearing the intelligence of the move
ment comes from a veteran prohibition
| and temperance worker. and 1t is learned
| that the petitions being circulated are being
timed so as to come as a deluge onto the
| legislature Just soon as the joint resolu-
ton is introduced. 1t has been just twenty
/ five years since the first vote in the state
on the proposition.
To Help Railroad Commission.
Senator Maytag, chairman of the ap-
| preparations committee of the senate, intro
1 duced a bill making an appropriation for
| the State Railroad commission to enable
that board to conduct a thorough lnvesti-
| cation into the question of freight rates in
| Iowa
! Chairman Ketchum and Mr.. Eaton of the
| railroad commission appeared before the
| appropriations committee and laid before
that body the exact situation in regard to
| this matter and indicated that with a
proper appropriation the commission can
and will make a thorough investigation of
freight rates with view to reduction in
| the rates.
Senator Durham introduced the state
| marshal bill which is favored by A. c.
| Rankin and the state marshal clubs he has
| organized. Some changes have been made
in the bill from that of previous sessions.
There will be five districts in the state,
with a state marshal in each. appointed by
| the governor. Each of the district mar
shals has power to appoint, with the con-
sent and approval of the governor, seven
deputies. All shall be paid from the state
funds as other state officers. The duties
of these state marshals would be to attend
to enforcement of the liquor laws Of the
state.
Pass Omn Firecracker Bill.
In the house this afternoon the OfHll
firecracker bill passed and will be sent to
the senate. The bill prohibits the sale OF
use of firecrackers over five inches In
length and three-fourths of an inch in
diameter. and prohibits the use and sale
of toy pistols and toy revolvers and dyna-
mite caps or cartridges.
Decision for the Company.
Judge Smith Mcpherson in the federal
court today decided that the Des Moinos
street railway has a right under the old
Turner franchise to use the streets of Des
Moines for laying its tracks, but that thC
monopoly to the streets expired in 1895
The opinion holds that while the franchis,
Is perpetual. the right cannot be arbitrarily
exercised, but carries an obligation OF Civ
ing satisfactory service. The case will nov
be tried in the district court on the stat,
D case. The case in the federal court is OIL
an injunction to restrain the city from
e tearing up the companys tracks. The cas-,
0 in the state courts will probably be .hearC
e soon.