Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-01
SUIT AGAINST BURLINGTON
Des Moines Seeks to Enforce the Anti
Merger Law.
CLUB TO GAIN BETTER SERVICE
Complaint - Made that People In the
Southwestern Part Of the state
Cannot Reach the Cap
itaI city.
From a sad correspondent.l

VI IuAi a otdlA iltoRbhuNhA'
DIES MONIES. Sept. S0-(special)-Des
Moines Commercial club has engaged Hon.
Jerry Sullivan to start suit against the
Burlington railroad charging it with VIC
lation of the anti-merger law, on the claim
hat It owns parallel and competing lines
across the state. The suit is supposed to be
the outgrcwth of the efforts Of Des Moines
and the people of Iowa to get
better passenger train service between
southwestern Iowa and Des Moines.
A conference OF the Burlington officials
and the business men Of Des Moines and
the southwestern towns was held in this
city Monday. which resulted in no salts
factory conclusion to the matter. the Bur
lington c~ffi-'als claiming that the two trains
a day, which they now run to Des Moines,
are all that the business would pay.
In showing the conditions in southwestern
Iowa the business men point out that there
are eleven towns and fourteen counties in
southwestern Iowa which have daily train
service to and from Des Moines and south
western Iowa. The rest of that section can
not make the trip in one day. Many of the
southwest Iowa. towns. while having an al
most direct line on the Burlington to Des
Moines. can make better time by going to
Conception, Mo, and taking the Great
Western to Des Moines. otherwise It would
take them three days to reach this city and
get back home, There arc half a dozen
stage lines in the southwest section, travel
ing from towns on the Burlington to towns
on other railroad lines which people use to
reach the outside world. The Burlington
owns the line from Keokuk to Council
Bluffs, in addition to its own line, which
It is claimed makes 1t a vlolstor Of the
anti-merger law.
In opposition to the Burlington the bust
ness men point out that the Rock Island
has eighteen trains a day into and out Of
Des MONIES, all of which are paying.
The suit which is in preparation will be
brought In the federal court here.
For Legislative Preference.
At the meeting of the trustees OF the
State Library and Historical department it
has been decided to ask the next legislature
to provide for a legislative reference de-
partment. The trustees consist of the six
members of the supreme court, the gov
ernor, secretary of state and state superin-
tendent of public instruction. The house
at the last session of the legislature passed
a bill providing for such a department, but
the bill was killed in the senate. Later
the two houses agreed upon an appropri-
alton to provide for an assistant in the
library to work along those lines. Now it
Is proposed to get the Legislature If posi-
BILE to provide for the department.
The board also took steps looking toward
the purchase from the state of the Savage
collection of painting of birds. The paint
ings were shown at the Iowa State fair
this year and also last year. They are
counted a very complete collection Of
paintings of birds native to Iowa. The
Historical department is in correspondence
with the Smithsonian institute to ascertain
the value of the collection and negotiations
are under way with the estate to pur-
chase them for the value set by the in
stitute.
Miss Mann, whO has been organizer for
the Iowa Library commission, rendered
her resignation to accept a position as
librarian of an Illinois library and her
place has been filled by the election of
Miss Langworthy of the State University
library.
A movement was started at this meet
ing Of the trustees of the state library for
a closer cooperation between the library
and the Historical department.. The His
torlcal department In fact is a department
Of the state library, but in effect is man
aged quite separately, the trustees having
charge over both. The trustees hav not
entirely approved of the closer cooper
alton idea and may continue the arrange
ment as it has been up to this time.
a.