Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-03-11
AGAIN 1ACKL|NG
The ROAD PROBLEM
Legislature Disposed to Improve
System and Methods, But
Members Disagree
WEEKS DRAws3Hou USE APPLAUSE
Suggests Making County Surveyor SUI
perintendent Of Road Construction
state Divided Into Two Divisions,
Each With a Different PIan-Rsii-
way Commission Steals March,
special to Times-R Republican.

| Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, March 11.-Road legsla-
Etion which has bothered every session
of the legislature Us plaguing the
| Thirty second general assembly. The
| first applause given to any speaker on
the floor of the house at the conclu-
sion of an address was given Saturday
| to Representative Weeks, of Guthrie,
| who spoke at some length on bill that
permitted per cent Of the road tax to
| be worked out rather than paid in cash.
ME-. Weeks took the position that
working out the road tax would keep
Iowa behind in the progress of good
road building, and that there should be
enacted law making the county sur
veyor superintendent Of the roads OF
| the county on fixed salary, and that
the difference in benefit to the roads
over the present method of having the
roads made by the township trustees
would be measured by the difference IN
| size Of the county and township.
So far the discussion OF the road
problem In the legislature is academic.
| The discussion has been confined to
minor details Of a mill, more or less,
and some questions of whether or not a
farmer will get out and use the King
road drag as he should. Representa-
tive Weeks told the house Saturday
that in European countries 1t costs the
farmer IL to Is cents to move a ton OF
his products a mile, while In Iowa 1t
costs the farmers % cents a ton per
nile on the average, and he declared
that not until the road question was
made something more and something
bigger than a township affair would
the roads OF the state ever be what
they should be. He wanted to see the
thing put on a scientific basis with the
county surveyor at the head OF a county
department. Mr.. Weeks was the au-
thor of a bill to create the state board
OF \ highway commissioners. The bill
was defeated some sessions ago when
he introduced 1t, and later Representa-
tive Jones introduced q similar bill at
taching the department to the agricul-
tural college, and it was thus enacted.
Generally speaking 1t may be said
that the northern part of the state is
In favor of the present law which re-
quires that the road tax be paid in cash
and that the building Of roads and their
maintenance be under the direction of
the township trustees who hire a road
superintendent. The southern part of
the state, and notaDly Marion county,
is in favor Of the old method of work
ing out the road tar under the direction
Of the township trustees and in the
discussions it is customary for one to
condemn the method OF working out
the tax as being open to the liability Of
tax payer sending boy and a team
Of ponies to work the roads, while the
other side declares that the farmer who
uses the roads Is the best expert on
making them.
Legislators anticipate that the de-
cision Of the railroad commission to-
reduce Iowa freight rates on live stock
to within per cent of the Illinois
rate, or q reduction Of 16 or II cents
on an average, will materially affect
some Of the proposed legislation. In
fact, they recognize that the railroad
commission got ahead of them, and
that no legislation looking to any en-
forced reduction would now be appro-
pirate. 1t Is probable, however, that
the legislature will appropriate the
SIS, 900 for the railroad commission in
making a thorough investigation of
freight rates with view to reduction
in other lines. The decision of the
commission Immediately on conclusion
Of the arguments Of attorneys came
as surprise, and the attorneys for
the railroads showed plainly their
chagrin. No, estimate is possible as
yet OF the value Of this reduction to
the shipping interests of the state, but
the railroad Representatives fought the
case as tho it meant a great deal to-
the railroads.
The pure drug bill as It came to the
senate this morning from the commit
tee on pharmacy is substantially as it'll
was originally introduced by Senator
Newberry who has made q study of
the subject and 1t does not include
the very Objectionable provision in re-
gard to the labelling Of medicines with
the formula Of ingredients. This is
what aroused the medicine makers and
thru them the druggists to antagonism.
The bill as it is row is the federal law,
requiring that the amount of alco-
holic and poisonous ingredients be
given on the label. In this form the
bill will be accepted by the druggists,
tho hardly satisfactory to the doctors,
who hoped for q more drastic law.
-
The two houses held sessions all
Saturday afternoon and accomplished
a good deal. The senate passed the
frecracker bill, bill to permit coun
ties to appropriate as much as SOS for
burial of deceased soldier, bill to
raise the fee for registering motors to
IS, and a bill to permit charter cities
to grant franchises for heating plants.
The house passed bill authorizing
the secretary OF state to have emer-
gency laws published where the paper
designated refuses, a bill to appropriate