Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-02-05
NEWS OF KANSAS LAWMAKERS
Another htsrsstns Letter Fram representative FEEDER.
hs" OHs lantAus TO Pour nO&cs County Assssser Abolished
. Topeka, Feb. l, 1909.

LUZ tne committee. of the whole
, and tlnal passage than has evel
oeen the case. Especially i.
this true of the house. Almost
2 6OO bills have been introduced
and this morning there are abour
10 on the calendar up for third
reading, and almost 100 are un.
der general orders. The house
has been very busy, all the COM
mttees are putting in extra
time and working late at night.
What may be termed the i'm
pOrtant measures of the house
have not come before the COM
mlttee of the whole yet. These
measures, such as amendments
to the new tax law, the road
laws, the banking bill, and the
text book bill are being threshed
over in the committee.
What is said to be the admin
istratiOn bill concerning the
. tax commission has been intro-
dueed by Hopkins of Finney. 1t
provides for a tax commission
of three members to be elected.
In counties of less than 10000
population, the county clerk shall
be ex-officiO county assessor, witt
an allowance of from 5000 to
$400 for clerk hire. In counties
greater in population, an assessor
shall be elected. Deputy as
SCISSORS for the various town.
ships and boards in number as
may be needed, shall be appoint
ed by the county commissioners
and county assessor. The bill
is now before the committee on
. assessment and on taxation, as
are about twenty-five other bills,
a number of which have been pre-
sented by the tax commission,
which latter are for the pur-
pose of strengthening weak
points in the present law.
The house and senate commit
tee on banks and banking have
held several joint sessions with
the governor, in an effort to
draft a committee bill which shall
fill the requirements. The re-
quirements asked for by the gov
lernOr are embodied in a bill
drafted by William McFerran OF
this city, at the instance OF a
committee of which D. W. Null
vane was a member. The govern
or, we are told, has gone so lar
as to intimate that unless a
bill is passed which meets these
same requirements, he will veto
. it. 1t looks therefor, as one OF
the committee put it, that
there are warm times ahead. The
committees have number OF
hills before them, some OF which
were introduced by members OF
the committee, and naturally
thew do not want to give way
to the governor, or his bill.
The administrations forestry
bill, which provides for a state
forester at a salary Of &,OCo'
was before the house in commit
tee of the whole Saturday, and
after having been chewed up
5 : spit out, and tramped upon was
ordered back to the forestry
committee with instructions TO
. bring in a bill putting the state
forestry department in charge OF
the agricultural college
The reapportionment bill as
passed by the house was accept &C
ed ed by the senate and will be-
come a law as the governor has
sipnified his willingness to sign
il. This adds five more mem
hers of the legislature to the
Seventh Congressional District
taking three from the first and
one each from the second ana
fourth. -,
The State of Kansas will i be
strapped" by the first Of De-
tober, was the forecast of State
Auditor James M. Nation IN a
communication sent to the Leg,
islature. The 1908 taxes Will
he spent and state warrants re,
tnrned with the words, mot
naid for want of funds" stamp
IN their face. This c0ndl'
ton Of affairs, so the State Au, u,
ditor says, is on account ., .,
the enormous appropriations o. q
the last Legislature and i''