Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-04-17

ing the common law rule barring COM
pensation where the negligence of a
fellow servant can be proved and re-
taxing the rule of law which makes
contributory negligence defense to
claims for damages But one provision
makes the amount of the recovery pro-
portioned to the degree that the claim
ants negligence contributed to the ac-
cident. Each party must bear the bur
den of his own negligence.
Liability Bill Now Law.
With unlocked for promptness the
senate took up the house employers
liability bill April and after n lively
debate passed 1t by unanimous vote
the same day without alteration or
amendment. That the president would
sign 1t gladly and without delay was
assured, as this was the first tangible
response of congress to his repeated
suggestions on this line. Just before
the vote Senator Gore injected the IA
nous letter of the president to E. IL.
Hartman in which he said "you and !
are practical men,
A Hole In the Rate Law.
Under the same procedure on the
same day the house proceeded to knock
the first hole in the Hepburn railroad
rate law by passing the bill to increase
the list Of persons to whom free trans
portation may be granted by the rail-
roads. Among the excepted classes
are charity workers, clergymen, secre-
taries of the railroad Y. NJ. @. A., In
mates of soldiers homes, mail clerks
and newsboys, besides employees and
their families.
Pearl Harbor Naval Base.
With only one opposing vote, that of
Sherwood Of Ohio (DemocraD, the bill
authorizing naval base at Pearl har-
bor Honolulu, passed the house.
Minority Bound and Gagged.
Despite the new gag rules under
which the house had done business. the
minority was able to offer some OBJ
structive tactics, and another still
more drastic rule was jammed through
by the majority. This fixed definite
programme for the house lasting sew
eral days, during which the naval bill
was to be pushed through, the method
being to take recess at the end of
each day instead of formal adjourn
ment, thus avoiding dilatory roll calls.
Republicans Break Quorum.
| Another incident of the house tilibus-
i ter occurred in the committee on cleo
i ton Of president and vice president
when the five Democratic members
found themselves In majority, us only
three of the Republicans were present.
The Democrats proposed to report ia
yorably at once the bill on campaign
publicity, which had been urged by the
president, and would. have had their
way had not two of the Republicans
hastily left the room, whereupon the
chairman declared that no quorum was
present. This at least Is the version of
the affair which Leader Williams gave
| out. The men who withdrew were
Burke of Pennsylvania and Diekema Of
Michigan.
Army Bill bisturbs Senate.
The army appropriation bill, which
had already passed the house with q
total Of $84,207, 566, was rushed through
the senate SO amended as to increase
the total to $9ss20,4 400. Senator Hale
called attention to a newspaper report
crediting the war department with the
Intention of raising the army to q
strength Of 125, 900 men and referred to
this policy as being connected with the
prolonged, frequent and necessary alb
sences of the secretary" sarcasticaIly
referring to the campaign tours of
Taft. The talk Of danger Of invasion
by foreign power he called 'sheer
nonsense" and deplored the extrava-
gance Of this war budget Hale's mo-
ton to reconsider was tabled. This in
cident was significant as showing that
the younger element Of senator's no
longer obeyed the will Of the SO called
'old guard"
First Flag of Forty six Stars.
On motion of Senator Gore resolu-
ton was adopted directing that the
first flag containing forty-six stars
which had been raised over the capitol
of the nation be presented to the state
of Oklahoma
A Message on Anarchy.
In brief message to congress Presi-
dent Roosevelt transmitted letter
from the department Of justice dealing
with legal aspects Of the exclusion Of
anarchist publications from the mails,
and especially in connection with the
recent exclusion order against the Pat
erson Italian anarchist paper, La
QUESTION: Sociale. The president ex-
presses the opinion that existing laws
give him the right to forbid the post
master general from "being used as an
instrument In the commission of crime
that Is, to prohibit the use of the
mails for the advocacy of murder, ar
son and treason"-and says that he
will act upon such construction. But
be believes that there should be
further legislation on the subject. He
adds that every other question sinks
into insignifcance in comparison with
the suppression of anarchy and that
1.-THE anarchist is the enemy Of hui
manity."
The legal opinion Of Attorney Cen
eral Bonaparte referred to first de-
clared that the article complained OF in
La QUESTION: sociale, If rightly trans
lated, advocates the use of arms and
dynamite against the police, and hence
constitutes a "seditious llbep' and lis
undoubtedly q crime against the COM