Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-04-10

hTy eP5CLlOn DILL Inc Dill was pre-.
pared and was passed with practically
the vote of the entire membership in
its favor. He told them to paso 2
cent railway fare bill. The bill was
passed after hard fight against it on
the part of the railroads. and it was
passed by unanimous vote. The law
goes into effect on July 4.
The governor told the legislators to
regulate the railroads. The roads
have been regulated by more drastic
Legislation, in many particulars, than
could have been dreamed of in Iowa
three or four years ago. They fought
the regulation in every instance, but
In only three or four cases were they
the victors over the members Of the
assembly. Under the executives rec
concentrations, the railroad commits
sioners have been authorized to make
q thorough investigation of freight
rates and to readjust the same where
deemed necessary. They have been
given new powers over the common
carriers in many ways, and the only
failure in this line on the recon-
mendations of the governor is that the
roads succeeded in getting the recip-
rocal demurrage bill. which passed
the house, buried in the hands of the
Sitting committee of the senate.
Along with it went the Doran speed
limit bill, which was intended to COM
pei stock trains to keep up an average
speed of eighteen miles an hour while
travelling to market, and the Berry
bill to reduce the fare on Pullman
sleeping cars in the state. The last
two bills were not mentioned by the
governor In his message.
The message alluded to the danger
of inflated and watered stocks of cor
porations and the governor suggested
a squeezing out process. The stocks
are to be wrung dry as fish" by
the aid of the Peterson bill, prepared
for that purpose.
1 A direct inheritance tax was sug-
gested by the executive, so that
swollen fortunes in the Hawkeye state
would be punctured and made to col
lapse little in the interests of the
revenues Of the commonwealth. The
bill from the committee on ways and
means attends to this matter nicely.
lit provides that inheritances varying
from $4,000 to 100000 shall pay an
annual tax into the state treasury of
from 1 to per cent of the fortune.
The governor told the members OF
the assembly the time had arrived
when the voice of the people should
be more directly heard in the selec-
ton of United States senator's, and
declared for q resolution to congress
asking a submission to the states OF
an amendment to the United States
constitution to effect that result
The resolution was passed and with
the same unanimity that characterized
the votes on the primary and the 2
cent fare bills.
Corporations doing business in the
state, the governor told the lawmakers
in his message, should be made te
bear their share of the burden of oper
ating the government. The Ericsson
franchise tax bill was the result of the
recommendations. 1t provides thai
all corporations with a capital stool
of more. than $4,000 must pay an an
nual franchise tax into the state treas
ury, varying from $40 to $50. There
are hundreds and hundreds of manu-
featuring corporations which will
come under the provisions of the law
Among the other reforms which thu
governor spoke for in his message ant
all of which have been enacted int
law were these:
The indeterminate sentence AM
board of pardons and parole.
Against contributions by corpora
tons to political parties or candidates
For regulation of transportation o
dead bodies.
For limiting the hours of service 0
railroad employees.
For liberal appropriations 10 tn
state educational institutions.
On the whole 1t is doubtful II an
executive in any state of the uniol
has ever had an opportunity to loo
, at his address to legislative Assem-
bly, and then at the acts of the assem-
bly, and find such universal approve
) of his recommendations as Governo
Cummins can find this year.
"Pure Food" Newberry.
Senator Newberry, the giganti
, statesman from Clayton county, ha
gained the sobriquet of pure Food
Newberry. And he is entitled to tn
! name and all the credit that will COM
to him when the laws which he ha
fathered are put into practice by tn,
people of the state. Senator New
berry began his work on this line ii
the session of the Thirty-frst genera
assembly and has given the latter
large amount of study and careful
thought. He has been successful THU
session in securing the adoption o
every bill he has presented. The lis
OF new laws on this subject which
bear his name include the following