Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-04-03
SESSION NEARs END
CLOSING WEEK OF THlRTY.sEc
oNp GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

CLOSING WEEK OF TAiRTY.sEc.
oNp GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
( cist Of Important Measures Passed
Include Primary Election Bill, Two.
Cent Fare and Joint Freight Rate
BlIls-Many Lesalizins Acts Passed.
OF the session of the Thirty-second
general assembly of Iowa is well un.
der way and from this time things
will go forward with a greater rush
than ever. More than 900 bills have
been introduced since the Legislators
met on the 14th of January. but when
the final accounting is had at the close
of the session it will be found that
less than one-third of that number
have beex enacted into law, and of
these the great majority Of measures
are corrective or legalizing acts. The
important bills of the session, as
usual, can almost be counted on the
fingers of the two hands. They in
clude the primary election bill, the
2-cent fare bill, the joint freight rate
bill, the bill giving railroad commits
sioners large extension of powers, the
municipal reform bills, and the gov
eminent by commission bill in aid of
Des Moines and other cities of $4,000
or more population. OF course, there
are other measures in which the peo-
pie will be interested and by which
they will be benefited. but those emu
merated form the bulk of what has
been deemed important legislation,
and IL the assembly had done nothing
but pass these bills it would go down
in history as one of the most import
ant legislatures ever assembled In the
state.
Joint Freight Rates.
Senator Jameson of Page county,
who is the author of the joint freight
rate bill which passed both houses by
practically unanimous vote, consid-
ers the measure more important and
Of more real value to the people of
the state of lowe than even the 2-cent
fare bill. In presenting the merits
Of the bill to the assembly Senator
Jameson said it would prove of i'm
mense benefit to the manufacturing in
dustries of the state, and gave sew
eral illustrations of the workings of
the present system of freight rates
detrimental to Iowa shippers and deal
ers. Instances affecting his own city
Of Shenandoah were given. He cited
a shipment from Shenandoah to Cres-
cent, sixty miles; the minimum charge
on small shipments includes two 10.
Gals and transfer and the charge is
Is cents. The same shipment from
st. Louis to Crescent, through Shen'
andoah, over the same tracks and in
the same car, with the transfer
charges at Council Bluffs, would cost
a total of rs cents. The distance is
seven times as great and the charge
is only one-third as much. The ratio
Of discrimination against the Iowa
manufacturer affected he showed was
2 Ito ].
As another Illustration he said:
II a farmer near Sioux Center wants
to ship fifty-pound bag of seed corr
from Shenandoah by way of Council
Bluffs, over the Wabash and North
western, to Sioux City and from there
over the Great Northern, he would
have to pay three locals and two
transfers, a total of Slips. If farm
i o,, 1{,yi,, of IN tn -,
near st. Paul made the same ship
ment, it would cost him rs cents, {
discrimination in that case of 5 to /
Again, he said: There are two Of
the largest nurseries in the world Al
Shenandoah. If farmer living close
to Dubuque, on the Iowa side, wanted
to ship thousand pounds of nursery
stock from Shenandoah to his farm
over two lines of road it would cos
him $500. He, could go over the same
lines through Dubuque and to the cas-
side of the Mississippi river to Hi
nois and 1t would cost him but S., /,
difference of $3.50.
The Jameson bill gives the boart
OF railroad commissioners power t,
fix joint rates between Iowa points
and it is expected this discrimination
will be done away with.
Few Freak Bills.
This legislature has been remark
ably free from freak bills. A yea
| ago Representative Wyland of Shelb,
made himself somewhat famous b,
introducing resolution at the reques
of some nervous women of his hom
town to prevent honey bees and othe
like insects from roaming at larg
about the streets of the town, an
Buckingham of Buena Vista had bill
providing for the legal taking of tn
life of helpless cripples and hopeless
sick persons Neither of these bill
have been duplicated this session be
cause the members have been cor
fronted with the faces of new repre-
sentatiyes from Shelby and Buen
Vista, showing the wrath of the pee
pie as visited upon freak statesmen
But in milder form some bills of
peculiar nature have been presented
There was one by Senator Gale O
Mason City, bill in rhyme, provid
ing that the executive council of tn
state should supply all Iowa hen
with automatic rubber stamps an
that the hens must stamp on each eg
as laid the date of its appearance
The bill was presented in a spirit G
fun and attracted considerable al
tention for few days, but was a
lowed to die in the hands of tn
committee on libraries, where Pres
dent Garst sent it, presumably be
cause OF its literary nature. Anothe
bill by Teter was aimed at railroad
and for the accommodation of the pul
lie required the roads to keep all tie
ephone exchanges posted as to tn
time of arrival and departure G
all trains. Then there was one prt
viding that all trains must stop a
every station where signalled an
that any passenger desiring to bur
the train had a right to signal for II
stopping. These were both killed.
Insurance LEGISLATION.