Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-23
Iowa
FEW LARGE BILLS PASSED
Much Work Remains for Iowa Legis.
lature to Do.
THREE WEEKS OF SESSION LEFT
Bill for single Control of All
state Colleges Expected to Pass
House within n Few
Days.
(From a staff Correspondent

III - SldAI 1tAttSBbhuthNV
DIES MONIES, March 2.-CSpecial with
only about three weeks of the session re-
naming the members are confronted with
the fact that few of the larger bills of the
general assembly have been acted on. The
last two weeks only minor matters have
been ground through the mill and passed on
to the governor. \ great many of the more
important bills have been passed by the
senate and a few by the house, but they
await the end of the session for completion.
During the last few days the governor has
received bills upon the following subjects:
Permitting trial of a convict on a murder
charge.
Forbidding operation of bucketshops.
Change in law as TO library taxes.
Permitting fathers of soldiers to go to
soldiers homes.
Including rooming houses In the law as
Change in law as to automobile numbers.
DEFINING powers of a sheriff and county
Taxing method for support of hospitals.
Fotoidding the marriage OF cousins.
Change in law as to guide boards.
These headings show that the work being
done is of comparatively little Importance.
Unless the house takes action to hasten
matters there will be little done, for the
senate is now far ahead of the house. The
senate will not need to resort to a sitting
NNAAiiiAiAAtCt u lie MUSE Will lot TIE llTEI
time in many years find it necessary to
place arbitrary power in the hands Of some
persons in order to get the work done. The
first step has peen taken in that direction
and the first step has also been taken look
Ing to an adjournment within ten days.
IT is expected that the bill for the placing
of the state colleges under one head will
pass the house within a few days and be-
come a law. 1t will abolish the three large
boards now controlling the institutions and
place the control in the hands OF one board,
with a small finance committee. The bill
has been favorably recommended to the
house after passage in the senate.
Working Politics in legislature.
A great deal of quiet work Is being
done by the democrats and others in the
way of accommodating political capital for
the future in connection with the work Of
legislation. One of the principal efforts
being made by the democrats and their
friends is to show that the republican man
agement of the state has been horribly
bad in recent years and that the expense
account has been something distressing.
1t is now claimed that in the work Of
handling the states business there is an
expenditure through boards and commits
sions Of over $4,000 a year. hence there
should be abolition of a great many of
the commissions and consolidation Of
others. Yet in the last week the legislature
created one more board, that having
charge of optometry, and will soon create
a new board in charge of colleges. Governor
Carroll recommended q public utilities
commission like that in New York state
which cost the first year. $3.50. 900. The at
lacks on the Medical board. the Board of
Control and various state institutions have
all been largely with a view TO making It
appear that the management of the state
by the republicans has been a failure. A
year ago it was announced, and was be
lieved by a great many, that the state
was then bankrupt and was soon going
into the business of borrowing money on
which to do business, but It turns out that
the treasury balances have been we'll
maintained and that there is $780, 900 in
sight for the appropriations for the next
two years.
In the matter of appointments to places
of trust it is claimed by the democrats
that the republicans have kept incompct-
ent persons in office and that a general
cleaning up process is necessary.
The appropriation bill for 800. 900 for a
new ampithcater for the state fair has
passed the house and is certain to pass
the senate. The bill will give the State
Department of Agriculture opportunity to
build a now ampitheater, or at least. part
of one, and to secure additional land on
which to lay out a mile race track. This
is the most important of many of the
smaller appropriation measures and 1t is
demanded almost universally by the farm
ing interests. The fair will ask no other
: appropriations this season.