The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-01-04
POLITICAL GOSSIP
Farmers Will Try Their Hand
in Lobby Business.
Delegation From Allen to Seek
Repeal of High School Law.
MYERS AND MAGIC z.
Has Bills to Be Introduced on
Important Questions.
Commission Plan Law Is About
MYERS AND MAGIC Z
Commission Plan Law Is About
to Be Revised.


abolished the railroad lobby with it's
free passes and insidious seduction of
statesmen, and all other corporation
Hobbies have been dispersed by the
wave of political purity. it is interest
ing to note that the farmers of Kansas
will undertake to fill this place left va
cant in the Kansas capitol. The farm
ers of Allen county are planning to
send a lobby to Topeka at the coming
session of the legislature to work for
the repeal of the Barnes high school
law, which was so badly crippled by
recent supreme court decision.
The Allen county agriculturists
have organized an executive committee
ing arrangements to raise funds to
carry out their lobby plans on an eff
fective scale.
Senator Myers of Jackson county be-
lieves in the efficacy of the magic num-
Der seven which appears so often in the
old testament. He will Introduce at the
next session the following seven bills:
A resolution to amend the constitu-
ton by permitting the state to become
a party in the construction of public
roads and highways.
Another amendment is to permit nine
jurors out of twelve to return a verdict
in civil cases.
A bill to create a county court in
each county and providing that the
probate judge shall act as judge OF
such courts.
A bill to enlarge certain judicial dis
tricts and decrease the number of dis
trict judges in the state.
A bill to simplify and lessen the cost
of appeals to the supreme court
A bill to promote and to regulate the
planting of shade trees in cities of all
classes in the state
A bill to shorten the period of re
demption on the sale of real estate by
execution or foreclosure
In order to clear a disputed ques-
ton among county officials. the state
tax commission has ruled that all
deputy assessors must be appointed
annually: that county assessors hold
over until 1910; that deputy assessors
ought TO be named so that they can
be confirmed at the January meeting
of the county commissioners.
1t is believed that the special prison
investigation committee appointed by
the governor to make report on con-
ditions at Lansing will recommend that
Kansas no longer accept prisoners
from Oklahoma for that institution. In
speaking of the matter, Secretary F.
D. Coburn of the committee said
Understand that the idea to exclude
the Oklahoma prisoners from the Kan
sas penitentiary is my individual opln-
ion and 1 do not pretend to speak for
the rest of the committee. Kansas is
not running a big boarding house. The
nIau is wrong and it should not be re-
sumed 1t was the fact that the Okla
homa prisoners were being cared for
by Kansas that has brought about this
present trouble. The insu bordinatiOn
from the mines was the work of Okla
homa riSOners. If the mixing of the
prisoners from the two states is con-
tinued there is bound to be serious
trouble in which lives will be lost
1t is understood that Prof. BIackmar
and DR.. S. J. Crumbine, two other
members of the committee, take the
same view of the matter.
1t is now planned that a committee
of Topeka attorneys and Robert Stone,
from Shawnee and City
Attorney Dreaming shall hold a meet,
agree on the outlines of
bill to revise the law providing COM
mission plan of government for cities
of the first class in this state. The
amendments proposed, 1t Is under
stood. will embrace the best points in
the Iowa and Texas laws.
Six or eight of the Kansas cities of
the first class are more or less inter-
ested in the revision of this law, as
several of them have already voted its
adoption and the others contemplate
doing so as soon as it is amended. 1t
is expected that representatives from
counties having no first class cities
will not oppose the passage of the
amended bill as they have no interest
in the matter.
State tax commission to the legisla-
ture: I'm discussing taxation, it re
lates to the people of Kansas, the feat
ure that first demands attention and
very careful thought, is the constantly
increasing tax burden. Then follows
in the report a table giving the popu-
lation of the state. total tax for all
purposes and amount per capita for
each year from 1880 to and including
1907 From this table it is seen that
the per capita in 1880 was $5.72. In
1890 it was $9.47. In 1900 it was
seas, and in 1907 it was $12.41. The
increase in population was from $685.
996 in 1880 to 1851, 331 in 1907.
They Talked Over the Floods.