Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-05
TWENTY COUNTIES
WITHOUT LIBRARIES
Surprising Condition in Iowa
Developed in Report of
State Commission
TRAVELLING LIBRARY POPULAR
M any Thousand Books Thus Circulated
-Flasrant vioIation'of Law Prohib-
itins Distribution Of Patent Medi-
cines-MiIIer Still After Doctors
Trust.
Special to Times. Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Jan. 5.-That there are
twenty counties in Iowa without "a free
public library, is the rather startling
information disclosed in the biennial
report Of Miss Alice Tyler of the state
library commission, just filed with
Governor Warren Garst.
Several counties have a number of
libraries. Linn county has the most.
having four. In all Iowa has 102 free
public libraries. The counties having
none such are Adair, Allamakee. Au-
dubon, Butler, Clayton, Davis, Grundy,
Hancock, Ida, keokuk, Louisa, Osceola,
Ringg6ru, Shelby. Taylor, Union. Van
Buren,, Wayne, Winneshiek and Worth.
Miss Tyler reports that the travel
ing library of the state has rapidly
increasing demands. During the bien-
NAL period there were sent out over
the state 37.323 books by the travelling
library This library now has 16,S49
volumes.
She reports that library instruction
is being given at summer schools and
that during the period some art has
been sent out over the state to IL
braries accompanied by books upon the
subjects dealt with. In this way 1t Is
sought to arouse greater interest in
the better class of literature and art.
Violation of one important law
passed by the last general assembly
is said to be fragrant all over the state.
1t is in Des Moines at least, because
the proper authorities fail to enforce
it. That is the law prohibiting the dis
|, tribution on lawns. porches and other
public places samples OF medicine.
During the past few days there was
scattered all over Des lMoines samples
of headache tablets" One state Of
fetal was told by his wife that head
ache capsules had been gathered up
from the neighborhood by neighbOrs'
children and they We're just on the
verge of eating "tlle candy" when their
mothers discovered them. There was
kenough poison in the powders accord
ing to the prescription printed on the
package to have killed the children.
An effort is being made to ascertain who
Is responsible for the distribution and
then the attention of the county attor-
ney will be called to the matter. Dis
tributers are supposed to be licensed
in Des Moines. The law has been vio-
lated here quite frequently but no ac-
ton has been taken and now steps
are considered to try to jar the county
attorney into action.
That Representative Charles Miller
will come to the legislature with "a
proposed law to put down the doctors
trust" is certain. He waged f1ght
against the doctors in Bremen county
and the supreme court held that under
the present laws the doctors have a
right to join In fixing prices. Mr.. Mil
ler will ask a law that will not permit
Of any such Interpretation by SUI
preme court. Concerning the decision
of the supreme court and the doctors
nine of that profession are members
Of the assembly-Mr. Miller says:
"The antitrust, law Is for farmers
and men Of trade only. If two farm
ers or grocers conspire together to
raise the price of eggs cent dozen
they are liable to punishment; but if
fourteen doctors agree to add from
$500 to $500 to the maximum fee for a
surgical operation as was done In
Bremen county, they are acting entirely
within their legal rights and you are
an anarchist If you don't respect It,
"Tho it be the law as handed down
by the highest court of this state that
physicians may combine to practice ex
tortion, it is the very essence Of irony
that their right so to do should be
grounded in the statutes enacted for
most if this right were denied them.
For there are just two things that ac-
count for most Of the privatfon and
poverty among working people, One is
whisky and the other the extortion of
doctors; and 1t Is toss up as to which
should stand first in the list. But bad
as whisky is in its fmpoverishing In
f1uence, the working man suffers from
it thru the fault of no one but him
self. But sickness will come into his
home despite his efforts to guard
against it and the services Of ply
sician become essential. If his home
be in community where the doctors
have surrendered individual heart and
conscience to the allurement of get
rich quick figures of fee bill, and
pledged themselves to show no mercy
nor give any quarter under the most
distressing circumstances, as was the
case in Bremen county a little more
than a year ago. then and in that case
the falling i'll of himself or a member
Of his family is apt to be equivalent
to sentence at hard labor for long
term Of days or months or even years,
depending upon how far the illness is
prolonged and the number of surgical
operations that may be introduced in
its subjection."
These sentiments indicate that Mr..
Miller is on the war path and will
have some pointed remarks to make to