The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-04
MESSAGE OF FOLK
RECOMMENDATIONS TO LEGIsLA-
 TURF. Pays Attention to Life Insurance, Lob- bies, Railroad Rates. 30sk- j makisg, Bucket shops snd
 Hebatfng by the s%
 Trusts.

Jefferson City, Mo, Jan. 3.-The
 forty fourth biennial session of the
 Legislature was organized by the
 Democratic majority today.
 J.. NJ. Atkinson of Ripley county
 was elected speaker of the House and
 Senator F. M. McDavid of Green coun-
 ty was elected president pro tempore
 of the Senate. A joint session was held
 to canvass the vote of the recent
 election of State officers. after which
 the message of Governor J. w. Folk
 was read in the House. The message
 in part follows. J
 Governor Folk, in his message. to
 the Legislature today, recommended a
 number of acts relating to life in-
 surance companies, among others. a
 standard policy for all life companies,
 prohibiting discrimination and rebat~
 ing, regulating the election If direc-
 tors, and requiring nonresident com panies to keep at least seventy per cent. of the premiums received from Missouri policyhoidiers invested with In the State.
 He < also recommended the enact ment of a law making it a crime for any ons to accept compensation to
 lobby with the members of the Leg ielature.
 The railroads, he said. should be required to carry passengers within the State for two cents a mile. There should be a State primary law for the nomination of all elective off,
 icers. including United stGtes sena tors
 He advocated a registration law. ap- plicable to all towns of 10000 inhabi- tants off overland law similar to that ot Massachusetts should be adop ted. he said. where all names are placed on the same ballot. one under | the other. with the spfoper party desig- nation after each name, the voter to designate by a mark the person he | desires to vote for. As to horse racing and book mak- l ing he recommended a law making 1t a lfelony to register bet upon a horse | race, either on black board or any l other substance or to telephone a bel l on a horse race to any other State, or
 to telegraph or to use any device to
 accomplish the registration of bets He recommended legislation to sup press .bucket shops. rigid child Ia I bor laws. prohibiting concern or I corporation from selling higher In one ! part of the State than in another, ad- ding 6 prison punishment for viola | tion of the antitrust laws, and nak- | ing the penalty for the violation of l the maximum freight law apply to persons, corporations and partner ships also a statue providing proper penalties for railroad corporations or the directors, employees or agents of any company giving rebates on any shipment within the State.
 Every corporation, he said, should be required to furnish each steckholder with a balance sheet of its business | once a year. There should be an an- nual tax in the nature of a privilege tax of lis of i per cent on the eapi- 1 tai stock of all corporations, both do- mestic and foreign, doing business in
 the state. The state should regu- late the charges of public service corr
 porations in order to present extor- tion.
 He recommended that the people of
 each city or town be authorized to purchase or own and operate any utili- ty of a public nature whenever they
 shall vote to do so and issue bonds in payment thereof,a The necessary laws should be enacted giving the munich
 palities of the state full power to
 regulate tolls. charges and rates for
 gas, electric lights. telephone and oth- CT public utilities within such cities I and compelling the interchanBe of l telephone service and fixing and regu- lating, the charges thereof.
 | It was the. province of the general assembly, he said, to put an end 10 wrongs by preventing one corporation l from owning stock in another, and authorizing quo waranto proceedings
 to be filed to dissolve any corporation
 majority of the stock in which IS acquired by a holding company. This l makes necessary, he urged, to prevent the creation of monopolies in trade and business in the state.
 The liquor traffic he contended, does not exist in the state as a matter of right, but of suffrance. Yet, 1t hes an exeuaption from authority denied other | interests. The traffic should be made
 to observe the law just like any one else.
 He recommended the amendment of
 the anti-bribery law so that witnesses
 could be forced to testify, but relieving
 them from prosecution by reason oS their testimony.
 He urged the adoption of resoiu-
 ton for a constitutional amendment providing for the initiative and refer endum in legislation.