Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-01-28
Only Few Of His Intimates Let in On
Fact of His Going.
DoDGEs TROUBLESOME ISSUES
Legislators Would Like to Have Him
Tell Where He Stands.
CONVENTION OF ASSESSORS
Unanimous in Endorsement Of Present
system of County Assessors
REGARDLESS of Pnrty
Amliation,
tFrom a staff Corrcspondcnt.)

LINCOLN, Jan, 2I,-tSpeclal. )-lmmedi-
ately after giving his instructions to a few
of his followers in the legislature regard
ing his desires on the banking bill Mr
Bryan left the state and II was reporttd
at the Commoncr office that he will be
absent from Lincoln until some time in tho
middle of February.
Coincident with his going a committee was
appointed by the house and senate to in
vite him to address joint session OF the
legislature and to arrange for that meeting.
It was evident from the action Of the leg
islature this morning that the departure OF
the general manager was not known to the
rank and file of the party and the report
of the Joint committee selected to walt upon
him is looked forward TO with some interest.
The fact that a favored few were taken
into the confidence OF MIR. Bryan and given
Instructions. to the exclusion of the great
majority of the MEMBERS at his recent Sc
cret meeting at the executive mansion does
not appeal to the general membership of
the legislature, and in the long run Mr..
Bryan may have to settle accounts for. his
slight of the rank and file of his party.
When the legislature first organized the
speaker and others were instructed to In
vte Mr.. Bryan to speak before a Joint ses-
sion and lately inquiries as to why this
for the meeting have become pretty numer-
Gus.
speech Might he Embarrassing.
The Bryan speech is OF special impor-
tanee to the legislature because MIR. Bu an
is supposed at that time to tell all of the
members his ideas OF legislation, as he has
told them to the favored few. II is pos
sibe II they cannot get him on record in
any other way that some advocates of
county option will request that he give his
views on this question at the joint session
He may also be asked to furnish tho egs-
lators with his correspondence with the uni
versity officials regarding his school of
politics. But of course these two requests
are not likely TO materialize because Mr.,
Bryan has his legislature pretty well cowed.
A portion of the democratic platform was
pretty well torn up by the assessors Of the
state. who concluded two days session
here today. Unanimously the assessors
went on record as opposing the election of
precinct assessors Both democrats and
republicans were in attendance at the meet
| ing and not a democrat voted against the
resolution. individually the assessors said
they favored the election of precinct as
SCISSORS because 1t would remove from
them the bother and the responsibility OF
appointing Out TOT lne DeSl interests OF
/ the state they favored no amendments to
the present law governing the appointment
of deputies One member Of the legislature
informed an assessor that the bill now
pending in the house would never become
| a law.
| committee of the assessors appeared
| before the house committee having the
bill under consideration, this morning, and
| hat IN ms
should be amended so that the county as
SCISSOR should have authority, with the con-
sent of the county board. TO remove cleo
| tive precinct assessors who fail to do their
duty The committee refused to give any
encouragement to the assessors, though
democrats as well as republicans advocated
this amendment.
what Present Law Did.
Assessor Dunn of Otoe county told the
story that under the old law a precinct
assessor returned the valuation OF one
precinct at 5000. when he was elected
county assessor under the new revenue law
the property in this precinct was increased
to $4,000. No one in the township, he
said, objected either for though It was a
democratic precinct, at the following cleo
tion the republican candidate for assessor
carried II.
The assessors also by resolution
stamped their approval on Treasurer
Brian's idea to have the public service COR
I poratons taxed sufficiently to pay the cur
rent expense OF the state and maintain the
state government. The counties would
then be taxed merely to maintain the
county governments.
The johnson bill to require notes and
mortgages to be collectlble TO bear the
stamp OF the county assessor to prove that
they had been assessed and the taxes had
been paid, was also endorsed,