The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-19
TURNED IT DOWN.
House Refused to Accept Wag-
gener Tax Bill.
Conference Committee Is to Be
Named.
WHERE THEY DIFFER.
House Would Abolish Board of
Railway Assessors.
Coal COnfiscatiOn Bill Passed by
the House.
WHERE THEY DIFFER.

The house of representatives this
morning by a unanimous vote refused
to concur in the senate amendment to
the Davidson tax commission bill, by
which the senate struck out all of the
Davidson bill and substituted the Wag-
gener tax bill.
! 1t was also voted by the house to ask
for conference committee the bill.
Speaker Simmons was not able to an
nounce the names of the three house
conferees prior to the noon adjourn
ment. This is the first conference COM
mittee of the session.
The main point Of difference between
| the Davidson bill and the Waggener
| bill is that the Waggener bill retains
| the state board of railroad assessors
organized at present, while the David
son bill wipes that board out of exist
ence and substitutes the state tax COM
| mission therefor. The friends of the
Davidson bill claim that the Waggener
bill leaves too much power in the hands
| of the state board of railroad assess
| ment, which as at present constituted
| is composed of certain state officers.
Under the rules of conference commit
| tees, the three representatives from the
house and the two representatives from
the senate must agree unanimously
upon a bill before any report can be
made. If the joint committee is un-
able to agree, then the committee may
be discharged and a new committee ap-
pointed.
Taylor Wants to Know.
Carr Taylor attorney for the state
board of railroad commissioners said
this morning:
II can't understand why the house
committee on railroads does not report
either for or against the Stubs bill, |
making changes in the present railroad
and giving the state hoard of rail- |
road commissioners the right to employ |
their own engineers and ascertain Vie I
value of the railroad property in the
state. This section of the bill is the |
meat of the entire measure: it is one of
the most important matters which has
come before. the legislature. The rail-
road committee has secured from-S- S. |
AShbaugh and A. E. Helm a bill which I
leaves out this very vital provision. and |
simply provides that the board may ask |
the railroads for information about the |
value of their property. That informa- |
ton already is on file with the board. |
The law giving the board the right to |
ascertain for itself the value of railroad |
property is exactly the provision for |
which La Toilette fought in the United |
States senate. and for the defeat of |
which he held Senator Long partially |
responsible"
Coal ConfiscatiOn Bill Passed.
The bill prohibiting the confiscation |
of coal by railroads was passed by the
house this morning by vote of ~ to
o. This bill came before the house as
a railroad committee bill, but it is
substantially the same measure intro
duced both at this session and at the
1905 session by ]. w. Bergman of
Clark county.
The bill is as follows. and as it has
already been passed by the senate 1t
is certain to become a law
Section 1. Whenever any railroad
company or common carrier shall con-
or n |
use any car or cars of coal which have
been delivered to it, or its agents or
employees, for transportation. 1t shall,
within three days thereafter notify the
consignee of such confiscation and
shall within 80 days thereafter pay to
the consignee thereof twice the in
voiced price; if not twice the regular
market value at point of origin OF
shipment of such car or cars of coal
so confiscated.
Section 2 If such car or cars OF
coal shall have been billed to ship
per's order, then payment shall be
corporation, for whom such coal was
intended.
Section s. In case payment for
such car or cars of coal shall not be
made within thirty days after the
same has been confiscated, converted
or diverted to the use of any railroad
company or common carriers, then the
consignee may recover reasonable
provided in section 1 of this act.
Section 4. All acts or parts of acts
in conflict with the provisions of this
act are hereby repealed"
Read During the Noon Hour.
At noon today the reading clerks were
left at work reading the city commits
sion bill for cities of the second class.
while the members of the house silent
ly stole away to their dinners. The
house was technically in session during
the entire noon hour. At o'clock the
house reconvened, and voted on the bill
There is no opposition to it. The bill
is substantially the same as the one
passed for cities of the first class.
House TO Vote on Maximum Rates.
THE maximum freight rate bill ap-
proved by the house committee of the
whole will be taken up this afternoon
and put on final passage" said ]. T.
White of Ottawa county this morning.
Copies of the complete maximum law.
with all the schedules of tariffs added
by the house, were distributed to the
house members this morning. The bills. ,
as approved by the committee of the I
whole covers the following commodi-
ties: .
Wheat, wheat flour. rye rye flour.
-four. cereali1e. cracked
wheat crushed wheat farina farinose
fla ked wheat, pancake flour. pearl bar
lev prepared flour. rolled wheat, wheat
chops. corn, barley. bran. chopped feed,
corn flour. corn meal. cottonsecd meal,
grain screenings, kafir corn, middlings
oats. oat dust, ost hulls oil cakes. oil
meal. shorts, sorghum seed, alfalfa feed
bran brewers cerealine, brewers grits |
brewers meal. corn fake. cottonseal {
cake. cottonseed hulls, gluten feed, glu- | {
linseed cake, iinseed meal, maizea | {
oat flakes, oat groats. oat meal
rolled oats. speItz, wild mustard seed. j
cattle, hogs. coal, brick. steam Goals,