Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-03

about sixty. 1t is safe to say that at
least third Of the work of the legis-
lature is put into these committees.
About forty-five appropriation bills,
practically duplicates, have gone to the
appropriations committees OF eacn
house and about dozen have been
acted on by each committee. 1t is GUS
tomary to hold bac il the big bills
and get the minor 9 tiers out of the
way. but 1T can not = denied that there
must be great s al Of hard work
done to get thes' lis hammered into
shape. Senator 8 tag and Represen-
hand IS
The WAYS means committees
have gone 81 :. The senate committee
has reported - 1T the Inheritance tax
bill and the /. to require payment OF
interest on county deposits, and both
have gene over to the north end. The
house committee has not reported a
bill.
The agriculture committees, those OF
highways and those on cities and
towns and municipal corporations all
have had a great many bills under
consideration and have reported out a
good many. The committees on COM
pensation of public officers have re-
ported out very little as compared with
what they have IN hand. A number OF
committees have made no reports OF
work done, such as: In the senate -
Telegraphs and telephones, corporal
tions, libraries, printing, mines, dis
tricts, pharmacy, commerce and retail
trade, psrdons, claims, manufactures
federal relations. fish and game and
public buildings. In the house-com-
merce and trade. schools, constitutional
amendments, telegraphs, telephones,
food and dairy, mines. lands, buildings
printing, public accounting. state uni
versity, private corporations, domestic
agriculture pharmacy, woman suffrage,
police regulations. ETC. There are a
great many committees i'm both houses
that have not a single bill referred to
them.
The senate committe on elections
promises to take up and consider some
very important bills relating to the
form of ballots this week. The Peter
son bill provides for rotations on the
primary ballot. and it is agreed on all
hands that the recommendation of the
biennie message for a revision of the
law in this regard must be followed.
The Peterson bill is to provide for ro-
tation of names, making change for
every 100 ballots printed. Representa-
tive Lee is convinced that this would
be too expensive a plan and so he has
prepared a bill which removes the In
equalities in this, way: on state can
didates change in certifying out to
the various counties so that in the
state as whole each candidate has
his name first as often as any other;
on county and district offices rotation
by precincts to accomplish the same
end. 1t is believed this change will not
involve any expense sufficient to make
it Objectionable.
A bill is being prepared which will
require a telegraph company to trans
nit and put on a message the exact fill
ing time of the same so that the send
er may know when the message was
sent.
The senate committee on insurance
will meet tomorrow when it will be
known whether this legislature will do
anything toward the re-adjustment of
official duties in the state house for
greater economy The insurance change
bill will be passed upon. 1t is in the
hands of subcommittee. One of the
strange phases of the case is that the
persons who are blocking the matter
have apparently got the democrats SOL
idly against all bills to make changes
in official duties, even tho the demo-
cratic party as a party is committed
in it's platform to the reforms.
A bill for the consolidation of the
state historical department and state
historical department and state his
torical society will be introduced as
soon as 1T is deemed prudent. The ap-
preparation bill for the department
has this in view. 1t makes a fiat APP
preparation of $4,000 a year, with
$4,000 for the legislative reference de-
partment. leaving it to the board to
fix all salaries and apportion the work
The head of the department. is to be SUI
perintendent and under him is to be
the curator of the museum, a reference
clerk, etc.