Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-12
Measure Passed This Morning
Without Debate and by IMAM
imous Vote, LOG to 0
BRYAN TALKS TO LEGISLATOR
Addresses Iowa Assembly
BrieHy-ssnate Passes Bill Prevent
ing Corporations From Contributing
to Campaign Expenses-Arney Asks
For Soldiers Home Funds.

Special to Republican.
Des Moines, Feb. 12.-William j..
Bryan arrived in the city this morning
and at / o'clock, on invitation of the
general assembly, he appeared before
the legislature in joint session ana
spoke briefly There was a large
crowd present.
The two-cent fare BILL with the pub
lication clause stricken out, passed the
house without debate, by a vote OF
LOG to nothing, at 10:45 a. m.
Jones. of Montgomery, introduced In
the house, a bill providing for state
agricultural and manual training high
school. with a board of trustees, ana
an appropriation for its erection and
maintenance. Arney, introduced
bill appropriating $4,000 for the Sol
diers' Home. The insurance committee
reported for passage the bill fixing
minimum rates for fraternals.
The house passed the bill providing
for a board of examiners of embalmers.
the bill providing for code supplement
editor at a salary Of s1,5o0, and the
Harding bill amending the law so that
its provisions for viaducts apply TO
cities Of $4,000 or over instead Of So.
900.
The bill providing for disposing OF
dead bodies to medical colleges was
killed.
The senate passend unanimously the
Peterson bill to forbid corporations
contributing for campaign purposes, al
ter a short debate. An effort was made
TO amend the bill so as to relieve the
agent of corporation. DoWell anu
Saunders opposed the bill.
The senate passed the bill to increase
the pay Of attorneys in misdemeanor
cases; also Smiths wife desertion Dill.
Smith introduced in the senate a res
olution looking to adjournment from
FEBRUARY % to March S, and tss Will
be passed.
Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Feb 12.-Will the Iowa
Tool company, because Of its contracts
for prison labor and its desire to con-
tinue to grow fat on employing men
at go cents a day, be able to defeat the
indeterminate sentence law, which hf-
teen states or more have adopted, ana
which is recognized as being a step In
the direction of reform in the manage
rnent Of prisoners? This is the ques-
ton that is confronting the friends of
the indeterminate sentence law. I'm
less the Iowa Tool company pulls on
George Stewart, who is here lobbying
against the measure, they threaten to
give the facts in regard to the tool
eompany's contracts and to show up
some things"
Saunders in the senate and Holmes
in the house are pressing the matter
of an indeterminate sentence law.
They are fortified with facts and fig
9ures to back up their claim that an in
determinate sentence law is the proper
thing for the Iowa legislature to pass.
George Stewart, assistant United
States district attorney for southern
Iowa is here to defeat the bill. He
represents the Iowa Tool company of
Fort Madison, which uses convict la
Dor at q cost Of 60 cents a day for each
laborer. If the indeterminate sentence
law goes thru, carrying with 1t the pro-
vision that prisoners from 16 to 80
1,1 Irnv OF ftS1
mosa penitentiary, and only those over
80 at the Fort Madison institution, then
the Iowa Tool company will have none
but the hardened criminals to put to
work. This they object to. The hard
ened criminal is not good workman.
He is pretty arfstocratic and some-
what lazy.
The contracts of the Iowa Tool COM
pany with the state for convict labor
are two in number. One calls for 165
men at 60 cents day each and expires
Oct. 81. 1918. The other is for thirty
men at the same wages and expires
Dec. 81. 1918. The contracts of the
chair company call for 100 men at As
cents a day, expiring Oct. Is, 1909, and
the other for thirty men at the same
wages, expiring April Is. 1910.
Friends of the indeterminate SEN
tence law resent the idea that big
question OF state policy on the care Of
the criminal element should be determ-
.ined by the convenience and profit Of
the Iowa Tool company and the chair
factory at Fort Madison. They are
proposing to show that the wages paid
these men are entirely inadequate and
a ,nova NAV he launched to abolish
convict labor entirely. The legislature
some years ago passed a bill prohibit
ing pearl button and butter tub con-
tracts after the expiration of the pres
ent contracts. 1t is claimed that 1T
would not be difficult to get all con-
tracts prohibited. The butter tub
workmen get SO cents day and it is
claimed that persons not employing
convict labor In butter tub factories
are paying 20 to 80 cents an hour. It