Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-03-16
SOLONS ARE AFTER
THE SALOME DANCE
BILL TO BE INTRODUCED PRoHiB'
ING FINE OF $1,000 FOR STAG
ING OF IMMORAL DANCES OR
DIALOGUES.
Des Moines Bureau OF
The Ottumwa Courier.


Des Moines, March 13.
The thirteen Republicans who are
members of the legislature from the
ZENITH district united in telegram sent
today to Congressman Frank F.
Woods at Washington saying "Can.
nonism should be ended once and II
all, stand firm"
They had received information that
he was taking a leading part IN the
"insurgent' fight at Washington.
The senate passed a bill to author
ize the school district in Des Moines
to increase its Indebtedness for the
purpose of building new high school,
q bill to authorize he sale of fly pa
per and similar poisons by others than
druggists and bill to have an out
side Judge sent into Lee county for "A
part of each year to hold court.
The house passed the bill to author
lie search warrants to find cigarettes
and passed a resolution authorizing a
probing committee to send for wit
nesses from the state insane hospl-
tails.
After SaIome Dance.
Senators Dowell and Stuckslager
are preparing a bill which will impos
a fine of 81, 1000 on any theatrical man-
ager who stages play Of a lascivious
nature or one in which Objectionable
language is used This bill was arous-
ed by the protests against the salome
dance and other exhibitions of similar
nature which has brought about tha
cry for the reforming of the stage.
The senate passed Moons bill r
leealize the acts of the OttumWa Gem
etery association, also his bill for the
reincorporation of cemetery associa'
tons.
Sunday baseball will not be prohibit
ed in Iowa The house yesterday in
definitely postponed the Meredith bill
forbidding baseball, horse racing and
other amusements on Sunday. Inc
committee reported adversely on the
bill. and the report was adopted by the
house without discussion
Recent legislative events have dis
closed that there are two very distinct
schools of thought relative to the reg
ulation of public service corporations
in the cities and towns of Iowa, ano
those of statewide character. 1t was
found in the senate discussion of tht
Van Law bill to give cities the righ
of inquiry before acting in matters q
regulation, that practically all those
who oppose making it possible to reg
ulate city franchises are favorable tt
the White-Grier plan of having the
state take over, through commits
sion, all the powers now vested in the
municipalities. 1t also showed that al
between the White-Grier bill and thu
Smith-Lee bill, there is wide differ
ence. Senator Van Law explains hi
position in regard to his bill as fol
lows:
1.-THE state should undertake to reg
ulate all those public service corpora
tions that are not now regulated o
that may not be kept in regulation
but the fact is that those franchise
for water, gas, etc, in our cities ar
under the control of the municipal
ties and are now regulated. No stat
commission can take over control Q
these without taking the authorit
away from the people most directly ir
terested. AS far as we ought to 6
now is to give to a state commission
the authority to regulate where tn
municipalities cannot very well do 81
Hs in the case of telephones, tele
graphs and interurbans. When W
have done that we have provided tina
all corporations shall be subject t
regulation"
In the hearing which was given o
the two bills in the house committe
on railroads 1t was brought out tn
pther day that the plan of having on
state commission undertake the regl
lation and control of all local publ
utilities has proved a very expensiV
luxury in New York. In response
an inquiry it was brought out thu
the first year of its operation the VI
state commission cost s2S5000. {
course it was stated that Iowa ougf
not to cost as much, but the figure
were given to indicate how expensiy
1t is to handle franchise matters fro
central point. The commission r
Ierred to, which has charge of bus
ness only outside of New York cit
has about $50 employees and clerks c
the pay roll. The plan of having tt
Iowa commission take over only sue
matters as cannot be handled local
would be comparatively cheap.