Omaha daily bee., 1907-01-21
.SOLONS WILL MAKE HASTE
Iowa Legislature Will Iush Two Cen
Fare and Primary Bills.
PASSAGE EXPECTED EARLY IN SESSION
Plan is to Get Them Out of the way
of Insurance and other Measures
that VIII Take More
Time.
(From a Stan Correspondent)

DIES MONIES, Jan. 9.-(special) IAN
inclination to hurry legislation. and es-
pecially the 2-cent fare bill and primary
election bill is manifest in both houses of
the general assembly. The chief reason
given by members is the hope that more
time can thus be had for the more diff
cult questions of insurance legislation and
other measures and, also, for the purpose
of getting out of the road all measures
in which there is a possible chance for
politics. The 2-cent fare bill Is a PROPOSE
ton containing no intricate legal points
and is question merely Of changing a
few words in the statutes. The primary
election is filled with technicalites and
legal points and IL is the universal belief
that at best 1t cannot be out of the road
for three or four weeks. A movement is
being fostered to make the measure a
caucus measure in case there Is any diff
Guilty in reaching a decision as to the
measure. 1t is believed there may be some
compromise on the proposition Compro-
mise is at least being talked. The demand
of the progressives is for plurality meas
ure, and the Crossley bill that has been
introduced in both houses is a plurality
measure. The talk of compromise is to
put limit and require that a candidate
| to be nominated receive at least SO per cent
of the total vote. Should there be any
disposition toward dangerous disagreement
on the proposition It will undoubtedly be
carried into the republican caucus. 1t is
| understood that Governor Cummins is in
| favor of such a procedure.
AS part of the general plan to hurry
| legislation, both houses refused to adjourn
following the inaugural last Thursday till
next Tuesday. The intention was, that
by remaining In session till Wednesday,
next, when an adjournment will likely be
had to allow the committee to visit the
verious state institutions, enough bills will
have been introduced and printed to allow
both houses to begin active work in the
matter of making laws. Several 2-cent
| fare bills are already introduced and there
| need be no delay whatever as to that
measure. The. primary election laws are
| in hand and the committee on elections can
begin work at once on those measures.
One Board of Regents.
A bill to consolidate the three educational
| institutions of the state under one Board
of Regents will be introduced at this ses-
sion of the Legislature Such a bill was
introduced at the last session by the COM
mission appointed by the Thirteenth gen.
eral assembly to discuss the question. -Four
of the members of that commission are
! members of this general assembly. They
| are Senators Whipple, Turner, Lambert
and Representative Teter. They will hold
a meeting next week or the week after
| when the matter will be taken up and a
decision reached as to whether any changes
| will be made in the bill introduced at the
last session. ar,tip - ....-.
Senator Whipple rs anxious to secure the
passage of the bill. He believes it one OF
the most important measures the state
has had up at any time, and all the mem.
bers of that commission are hoping thai
the 2-cent fare bill and primary election
bill will pass early this session and be
gotten out of the road. so as to allow some
time for discussion of their bill. At the
last session there was a great deal OF
hostility to the measure. While other
questions of public policy have been vigor.
ously discussed during the past year this
proposition has had next to no discussion
A hasty canvass of the members of the
house, where the chief opposition 10 the
bill was expected at the last session and
| where the law met It's defeat, discloses
that there is some favorable sentiment
At the last session, however, the defeat
of the measure was accomplished by tho
lobbying of members of the faculty of the
State Agricultural college with the house
members, and especially the farmer mem.
bers of the house.
! 1t is understood that Governor Cummins
is opposed to the proposition, though he
has made no recommendations and has
taken no active interest in the matter.
Fate Follows Woman Suffrage.
| Some strange fate follows the cause Of
woman suffrage in Iowa. The law provides
that before the constitutional amendment
can be submitted TO the people to vote upor
a resolution must pass two successive leg
islatures. A number of sessions the neces
sary resolution has been gotten through
one house. One session back in 1884 IL was
gotten through both houses, but the mex
session it failed and the women had to be
gin all over again. Many sessions the com
mittees in both houses have been unfavor
able, some sessions they have been favor
able. But before the people can even vot,
on the proposition the resolution must b.
reported favorable from the committees o.
both houses, pass both houses and then q
through the same process at the succeeding
session. Then the people can vote on It