Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-04
Iowa
LEGISLATORS MEET TODAY
After a Week of Rest They Are Elk.
peoted to Get Down to Business.
MANY BILLS FOR THE CALENDAR
Clerk of the House Has Prepared a
Statement of the status of Every
Bill witch Has Come BE-
fore That Body.
From a staff Correspondent


DIES MONIES, March 3.-(Special.)-Tht
general assembly will %reconvene tomorrow
after nearly a weeks recess, and imme
diately the committees are expected 20 I'll
the calendars with work to be done. The
governor has received and signed thirty
bills and there are at least a dozen in the
hands of enrolling committees or in con.
ference. It is expected that the report OF
the visiting committees will be filed i'm.
mediately. One subject to be taken up as
soon as the members return lie that of the
alleged scandals in connection with the
management of the state prison and the
hospitals for the insane. Another Is that
of the alleged misuse of postage furnished
by the state Indirectly to members and the
rebuke of the house toward the state execu-
tive council.
II Is not generally known, but Il IL a
fact, that members of the legislature vir-
tually have an allowance of $50 each to pay
for postage. In other years the pay OF
legislators was 1900 for the session. Then
there were various allowances and the post
age bills were paid, but was not satisfac-
tory because there was such wide discrep-
ancy in the postage bills, and finally the
rule was changed and the members were
allowed $50 worth of postage each. When
the code was revised at one time this was
all included in one lump and the members
get $3.50 per session, or actually a salary
of 500 and $50 for postage. 1t IL related
that in other years 1t became customary
for members to get their postage bills paid
by various subterfuges. such as having
someone on the outside do II, and then
making an appropriation. This became al
most a scandal and finally there was put
into the code a provision making it clear
and positive that no member of the legis-
lature shall be, directly or indirectly, fur
nished postage at state expense. They get
all the printed stationery they need and
have use OF clerks for writing their letters.
but they are supposed to pay their own
postage bills out of the $50 which was added
to their pay per session.
r. c. Benedict. chief clerk Of the house,
has compiled. and 1t will be printed in the
journal of the house which goes on the
desks OF the members on Wednesday. a
complete statement of the status of every
bill that has been introduced in the house
or has come to the house from the senate.
II will show how the bills have been acted
on, or what committees have these bills.
It will be a sort of reckoning TO date that
will enable the members the better TO
know how to get down to work after the
vacation and clear the matter all up.
Tho State Parole board on its next con-
venlng will consider two cases which have
previously been passed on by the legisla-
ture. These are both life termers. One
is the case Of ". P. Glyndon Of story
county. who has been in prison for thirty.
one years and was convicted OF killing a
girl. The evidence, 1t is now conceded,
was wholly circumstantial, though very
convincing. The other is the case Of Elmer
Warren, who liz said to have killed Con.
ductor John O'Neil OF Boone and was sen.
fenced for life in 1891.
Mrs. C.. NJ. Johnston OF Ottumwa has ad.
mitted that she was not assaulted by a
negro February q, according TO Detective
D.. B. Way, who was retained by tbs
American Travellers association to hum
down the assailant. According to Way
Mrs. Johnston says she was laborin9 unde-
an hallucination brought on by drugs which
were administered after a recent operation
After the murder of Miss Clara Rosen b,
a negro, she believed that she was abou'
TO be a victim. The search for the as
sailant has been dropped
Preparing a school Bill.
Chairman. Allen of the schools committee
has divided up the work of the senate
committee on the school bill. He has ap
pointed subcommittee as follows: On gen