Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-02-01
SENATE APPROVES.
ENFORCEMENT BILL
Passes Measure Enlarging Pow
ers Of County Attorneys as
Well as Sheritfs
FORCES IN BATTLE ARRAY
Utilities Commission Would Increase
Expense to State But Might Be
Shorter Cut to Reduced ToIls-Many
Bills to Increase Pay of Various Pub
lie Officials.
Special to Times-Republican.
Special to Times Republican.


Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines. Feb. 1.-As supplement
to the bill giving sheriffs additional
duties in regard to enforcement Of the
laws. passed last week, the senate
passed unanimously the bill to give
additional duties and responsibilities
to the county attorney. There was lit
tle discussion and it was explained
that the sole purpose Of the bill was
to require that county attorneys pros
ecute all offenders against the law. and
in case they fail to do so there will be
grounds for their removal.
The senate also passed the bill to re-
quire the placing out at intervals In
terest of county funds in the hands of
the county treasurer and a bill to "e-
quire the placing of lights on steam
boats in Iowa.
The house passed a bill to exempt
dentists from jury service and bill to
gve $50 for the burial expense Of old
soldiers In the house Stillman intro
duced a resolution for a select COM
mittee to prepare changes in the drain
age laws to conform to the constitu-
tional amendment adopted last year.
Alfred introduced a resolution TO
forbid members of the house from Civ
ing dictations to stenographera while
they (the members) have their feet on
the desk, or while they are engaged in
smoking. and requiring members to do
their smoking in the cloak rooms.
Des Moines, Feb. 1.-The fight IS
soon to be on for a change in the gen.
erafSpolicy of Iowa with regard to pub
PIC service corporations, and to take
from the various municipalities the To-
cal control and regulation of these COR
poratons. The bill introduced by Rep
resentatives Grier, White and LARA
bee, embraces as nearly as it can be
done, the plan of the New York public
utilities commission under which he
entire local control Of the public serv-
ice corporations is taken away from
the city and town authorities and Civ
en- over to a state commission This
commission has force of fifty or sixty
employees at work all the time and 1T
costs a great deal more than a half
dozen Iowa commissions. The work Of
this commission in New York has thus
far been largely confined to making
Investigations with view to arriving
business. It is estimated that if the en-
tire direction of the public service cor
porations Of Iowa is placed In the
hands of the state commission as pro-
posed in this bill 1T will much more
than double the entire cost of the COM
mission. The bill as it stands will add
s13,50O to the cost of the Iowa COM
mission in salaries to members of the
commission, and it would certainly add
as much more in the matter of greater
clerical force.
The people in the state interested in
getting cheaper gas and water rates.
cheaper and better telephone service,
and similar matters, have already been
informed as to the character of this
measure and some petitions are ex-
pected directed at the bill. On the 9TH
er hand there is very strong pressure
to have this done and to take the local
control of all franchise matters of this
kind from the members of the city
councils.
1t is expected. also. that there will be
a bill introduced to enlarge the powers
and duties of the railroad commission
with special reference to all rate mat
ters and to give the commission a
small measure of authority over pub
lie service corporations only in so far
as they have functions Of general
nature, but distinctly leaving in the
hands Of the local boards and councils
the control of franchise and other mat
tiers. This would be a measure of a
vastly different character from the bill
proposed.
The campaign being made on behalf
of an increase in the pay of the short
hand reporters of the district courts
of the state is meeting with much ia
vor at the hands of the legislators. OF
course there are all sorts of bills pro-
posing increase Of pay, but in the case
of the official reporters there seems to
be more reason for 1t than for other
proposals. What is wanted is a rate of
9S per Qay Wnlle lHe IepOIlei Is dCl-
ually engaged in the taking down Of
testimony in a case, a guaranty Of
81 800 year instead of $1,000 and 10
instead of cents per page of tram
script 1t is pointed out that the stand
ard of qualification is as high in Iowa
as anywhere and yet the rate of COM
pensation does not compare with that
in other states.
The latest of the salary raising bills
is that to increase the pay of the four
district judges in Polk county by per-
lnitting the county to pay them each
81 500 a year in addition to the $4,000
a year they each now get from the
state. This is on the theory that Polk
county gets very superior quality OF
judges for the bench. At the same time
it is proposed that the law be permitted