Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-02-05
ELECTION
LAW BADLY MIXED
Promoters of Measure Agree to
Accept Byers Interpretation
of the Statute
TROUBLE SURE TO FOLLOW
Numerous LesaIizins Acts May Be
Necessary to Correct Mistakes Of
Cities and Towns - LATE Young,
According to Washington Reports,
to Spend Summer in Europe.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Feb. 5.-W. II. Brem-
ner, city solicitor of Des Moines, ana
member of the legislative commit
tee of the League of Iowa Municlpall-
ties, and Mr. Pierce, OF Marshalltown,
also a member of the league, and OF
the legislative committee, which drew
the bill to make the elections OF cities
and towns biennial instead of annual
have accepted the Interpretation or
the law as put upon 1t by the attorney
generals office. Other officers of the
league have also accepted that inter-
pretation as being correct In the last
issue Of the Midland Municipalities,
the official organ of the league, Mr.
Bremner has an article calculating the
! law and putting on it the same inter-
probation as the attorney generals
office.
While the cities of the state general
ROSAS''Hs ~O'.'~
not and it is reported that the city of
Coon Rapids has decided to ignore
the Interpretation of the attorney gen.
eral and will elect but one alderman
at large this year and thus reduce Its
board of aldermen at once to five men.
In the opinion from the attorney gen.
~ holI hot oh
not be done.
1t is generally conceded that the law
is badly mixed up. 1t left the hands of
the legislative committee of the league
in good shape it Is claimed but the
legislature undertook to make it a
little better by amendment and thus
got the law badly tangled and many
things that ought to be in it are left
ou. Lawyers believe that there will
almost certainly be a lot of legalizing
acts necessary by future sessions of
the legislature because Of the law and
especially if the cities do not accept
and adhere to one Interpretation of it.
Acts of a city council which is one
alderman short it is claimed will not be
legal.
Information that the Hon. Lafe
Young is preparing to spend a great
part of the summer in Europe has
reached Iowa in dispatches from
Washington. All during the session
of the Thirty first general assembly
Mr.. Young was in Des Moines at his
editorial desk and was welding his
editorial pen against many reform
measures. 1t is recalled by legislators
that he was very active. The reform
| measures failed to pass at that ses-
sion and during the campaign that
followed Mr.. Young was again active.
But after the campaign was fought
so successfully on the part of the pro-
gressives, and it became apparent to
everyone that the Thirty-secon gen
eral assembly would enact several re-
form laws, Mr. Young was absent
from Des Moines during the larger
Battle Creek, Mich.
| The Thirty-second general assem-
bly, enacted many reform measures,
among them the primary law which
prohibits candidates paying news
paper for it's editorial support and a
law prohibiting corporations contrib
uting to political campaigns. There
remains barely sixteen weeks till the
| primary election, and yet there is
scarcely a thing doing in the lines of
the old-time activity in politics and in
| the face of this situation it is an
nounced that MIR. Young will go to
Europe soon to spend much of the
year.
1t is the common comment of the
politicians who reach Des Moines that
the lines of past campaigns are not
being followed in this. Thus far there
has not been discovered any evidence
of the use of money. If there is any
money being used it is in small
amounts 1t is not believed that $780,
900 can be spent in the campaign this
! year, as it was for Perkins in 1906,
without everyone being thoroughly
aware of the fact as they were in that
campaign.
A short time ago information came
from direct sources that Ed. Hunter
was getting busy. He showed his
hand when the state central commit
| tee was in Des Moines to fix the dates
of the conventions, but since then there
is no evidence that he is doing any
| thing to mould public opinion" in his
| old time method.
In his address in this city. opening
the campaign for Governor Cummins
+, for United States senator, Judge Prou-
ty prophecied that Hunter and Blythe
would be i'll at ease in this campaign
without their old side arms of the po-
litical caucus, the railroad pass and
use of money. 1t was hardly suspect
ed. however. that Hon. Lafe Young
would skip the entire campaign and
go to Europe to spend much of the