The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-03-10
INDIANA GETS 100 NEW LAWS;
GOOD AND BAD ONES KILLED
Assembly Which Has Just Adjourned Enacted Only
Half as Many Measures as It's Predecessor Did
Stacks of Vicious Bills Are Ignored

introduced and passed by both houses
Monday night and was signed by the
governor yesterday, reduces the state
tax levy one and one-half cents and
means that the total state taxes col
lected in 1911 and 1912 will be about
100000 less than in the two years
preceding. Even with this reduction.
it is figured that the appropriations
will be paid and a surplus left on
hand.
Laws Affecting Cities.
Two bills affecting cities and towns
have been passed at this session OF the
Legislature. One regulates the matter
of street improvements 1t provides
that when a board Of public works
orders street improved the property
owners affected may have the right of
appeal to the circuit court to determine
whether the Improvement is necessary
or whether their assessment is proper
and just. When, after the improvement
is finally determined on, the board of
public works shall advertise for bids
on not less than four different kinds
of material for the pavement. and the
property owners shall have the right
to select the kind of material to be
used after the bids are filed. This pro
vision, it Is pointed out, will prevent
combinations Of bidders and make it
impossible for any deal to be put up
that will be detrimental to the prop
erty owners
For Intersection Assessments
Provision is made also that at street
and alley intersections half of the cost
of the improvement shall be paid by
the city and the other half by the abut-
ting property owners. In case 1T is
found on appeal to be inequitabIe for
the property owner to be assessed in
this manner, provision is made by which
the property owners half of the cost
shall be assessed against a district
the center of which shall be the inter-
section.
The bill also makes porvisions that,
1t is said, will make a better market
for the bonds issued for street improve
ments and enable the contractors to
sell them to better advantage.
The Repeal Measure.
The other bill is the one on which
such hard fight was made Original
ly is provided that city officers in all
cities might be candidates to succeed
themselves, but this was changed on
the demand of Governor Marshall to
read that officers in cities Of the fourth
class shall be eligible to recollection.
| Officials of cities of the first. second
and third classes are not allowed to
succeed themselves. The bin also aboI-
ishes the offices of city controller and
city judge in cities of the fourth class.
and makes it optional with the city
council whether they shall have a board
of public works. If the council de-
cides to not have such a board, the
mayor, the city engineer and one citi-
zen, appointed by the mayor shall con-
stitute a board of works, and the citi-
zen members Will be the only one to re-
ceive extra compensation for his serv-
ice. The mayor shall act as city judge
Amended to Suit Marshall.
There was an awful demand for the
passage of this law. All Of the fourth
class cities of the state demanded it
and they insisted on its passage. AS
/ the bill passed originally it contained
i some provisions that were not salts
4 factory to Governor Marshall and he
/ had decided to veto it when arrange
ments were made to amend the bill to
suit him. AT first there was a plan to
pass it over his veto. but it was found
that it could be amended to suit.
! Nine Cities to Move Up.
There are nine cities of the fourth
/ class in the state at this time They
are Michigan City. Hammond, Logans-
port Elkhart Vincennes, Marion, Rich
mond. lafayette and Kokomo. The new
| law Will enable all of these cities to
i orc ri IF a 1pf of
teen other cities Will go into the fourth
class after the census next year. and
ADD LEGISLATIVE FUDGE
will be governed by the same law.
They are Gary, Laporte, Mishawaka.
Goshen, Whiting. East Chicago. Roch-
ester, Peru. Wabash. Huntington.
Frankfort. Charlottesville. Columbus
and Madison.
For the Laboring Man.
Two of the bills signed by the gov
ernor that are of special interest to
laboring people. are the Orndorf bill,
providing for the establishment Of a
free employment agency in connection
with the office of the state statistician.
and the Thornton loan shark bill.
Must Write TO State Statfstician.
The Orndorf bill provides that per-
sons who wish employment may write
the state statistician and file their ap-
plicadon with him, for which no fee
shall be charged. Employers who are
seeking help also file their applications
with the statistician and IT will be
the duty of the statistician to get them
Together. No fee shall be charged eth
| er party
Against the Loan shark
The Thornton bill provides that no
married man shall assign his future
wages as security for a loan without
the written consent Of his wife. and
that interest on such loans shall not
be more than 2 per cent a month. in
stead of the 10 to 25 per cent month
that Is charged now. There shall not
be any charge for other expenses in
making the loan.
1t is figured that this bill will pre-