Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-03
Iowa
ATTACK ON ANTI.PASS Law
Brief Would Indicate Railroads Hope
to Knock it Out Entirely.
SUIT OVER NEBRASKA BRIDGE
state Seeks TO Have CharRe Rt
Nebraska City Observation-Disclosures
McClain Defends His Action
In Sale of Code.
From a staff Correspondent.

DIES MONIES, la. May 2.-CSpeCial.) by
the filing Of their brief and argument in
appeal case be ore the supr me court sat
urday the railroads in Iowa made it plain
that they not only intend to attack and
to have nullified the Iowa law forbidding
distribution of passes, but they will make
similar attack on all laws everywhere and
undertake to defeat the whole plan of legal
restriction Of pass business. The immediate
case is that of Schulz against Parker,
from Buena Vista county, in which the
state undertook to prosecute a local attor-
ney for having used a pass on the Illinois
Central. The railroads took it up and en-
ployed r. I. Ssllinger of Carroll to pre-
pare the case, and he has filed with the
supreme today a brief and argument OF
$50 pages in which he attacks the whole
scheme of anti-pass legislation. He goes
into every phase OF the situation and not
only contends that the Iowa law violates
contracts by forbidden 8 the giving of
passes to certain classes of railroad en-
ployes, but that it is in violation of the
constitution and in violation OF interstate
commerce regulations and everything else.
Most of the argument is Of a character
which can as well be used in other states
as in Iowa. and il is the belief of the state
officials that this is to be regarded as a
test case ana that the fight is to go to
other states as we'll. Attorney General
Byers will prepare only a short argument
and insist upon an oral u.-eussion Of the
case before the court.
Another Bridge Case,
Following close upon the case which has
been brought by the state TO compel the
owners of the big bridge at Dubuque to
..,H. 4. f.. $500, Co.. n..-- -
day took up a similar case involving the
Burlington bridge at Nebraska City. The
people of southwestern Iowa have COM
planned of the bridge arbitrary there, by
which the company charges 80 cents for
crossing the bridge, which is owned by the
railroad company. The complaint is that
this is excessive and not warranted and IN
violation Of the interstate law.
The suit will go before the Interstate Com
merce commission on behalf of the state
unless the Burlington is willing to make
a change in the rate across this bridge.
Nebraska Auditor in Iowa.
State Auditor Barton of Nebraska visited
the state house today and was escorted
sbout the building by State Auditor Bleak
Icy Of Iowa. He was here merely on a
| \lSll ana without OIIlCldl COnnecllOn.
/ II developed today that Charles Larsen
Of Red Oak, the new secretary Of the State
Pharmacy board, came near declining the
office after he discovered that the salary
was only $500 a year. lie had supposed It
was more than that. A plan was contem-
plated of moving the headquarters to Red
Oak, but it was found this would be IL
legal.
Supreme Judge in Defense.
Judge Emlin McClsin OF the Iowa su-
preme court is out in a defense OF himself
from the attacks Of petty officials about
the state house with regard to alleged
misconduct. He explains in fun the con-
nection of himself with certain annotations
of the code which he sold 10 the code re-
vision commission, and show that this
was his personal property, which the com
mission could secure In this way or So
cure in some other way. The two code
commissions believed that il was better "a
buy the McClain annotations, which WEI,
in fact prepared long before he became a
Judge, ana 10 put him under contract not