The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-02-25
CAN NOT AGREE.
Majority and Minority Reports
on Utilities Bill.
First Named Is Similar to Stone
Measure.
DEBATE HEALTH BILL
No Registration of Deaths and
Births in Kansas.
Recommendation for COnsOlida-
tiOn OF Boards Filed.

tlOn OF Boards Filed.
The majority and minority reports
of the house judiciary committee on
the public utilities bill will be pre-
sented to the house some time late
this afternoon. The completed draft
ing of the reports and the two bills
was not done until this morning.
The majority report recommends
the enactment of the utilities bill in
troduced by Robert Stone except that
the powers conferred upon a state
commission are definitely conferred
upon all cities so that the mayors and
city councils or mayors and city COM
missions will act as the utilities COM
mission for each city. The general
Dill is re-enacted except with these
changes.
The. minority report provides two
amendments to the present laws and
makes it definite as to the powers of
the cities to regulate utilities. There
are four propositions and comforting
of powers in the minority bill. They
are:
The city can cause an examination
of the quality of service or commodity
furnished and require good service
and a good quality of goods to be
furnished by the company
The city can fix maximum rates for
make physical valuation of the
property.
The city can examine or order an
examination of the books of the COM
rates should be.
The city can not make rates which
would reduce the profits to less than
10 per cent. For overcharges the city
pay the consumers.
The bill gives the cities the right to
regulate. supervise and control the
water, light, both natural and artifi-
cial gas and electric light, power, heat,
street railway, telephone and tele-
graph and express and parcel delivery
services.
The house went into committee of the
whole this morning and took up house
bill No. 1, by Allen of Wyandotte,
which provides for the immediate regis
tration of all births and deaths
means of certificates of births and
deaths and burial or removal permits;
requiring prompt returns to the CEN
trail bureau of vital statistics at the
capital of the state, as required to be
established by the state board of
health, and to insure the thorough or
ganization and efficiency of the regis
tration of vital statistics throughout
the state.
Davis of Bourbon started the debate
on the bill by moving that the enacting
clause be stricken out. Among the
many speeches made for and against
the measure was one by Kreihbel of
Harvey. who called attention to the
fact that Germany has had such a law
for one hundred years and declared
that Germany was one of the most ad-
vanced of the nations of the world.
Sekavec- of Ellsworth in reply to the
gentleman from Harvey said that we
did not want to adopt in this grand
young republic any of the customs of
the old country. He said: This is no
good bill. This registration business is
done in Germany so that the govern
ment can keep track of every male citi-
zen and make him serve in the army.
Neither the gentleman from Harvey or
myself would have been in this country
fathers, desired to escape from the
customs of the old country and live
like free men in America"
A petition was read from the North
west Kansas Medical society in the
form of a resolution urging the house
to pass the birth and death registra-
tion bill.
Davis of Kiowa spoke for the bill. He
declared that long after all the mem
bers of this house had been dead and
forgotten their good deeds as repre-
sented in the passage of this bill would
live after them. He was interrupted by
Mercer of Chase who asked him to eX-
plain how this bill would help the pub
lie health and replied that there was no
such thing as public health, that health
is the private property of the ind1V1d-
nal The laugh was on Mercer.
The house. after spending the morn
ing in debate on the birth and death
registration bill, finally voted to kill
the bill by striking out the enacting
Sekavec's speech decided the house to
kill the bill.
The special committee appointed
by the house to see If there were any
departments which could be abolished
made its report today. 1t provides for
cutting down the state expenses about
thirty thousand dollars year by re-
moving several departments to others.
The recommendations follow
Put all educational institutions un-
der one board of seven members.
Send poultry dairy and entomo-
logical commissions and forestry de- |
partment to the Agricultural college.
Make the travelling Libraries COM |
mission a bureau of the state library.
Give the academy of science, the |
Goss natural history collection and !
historical records new building and
take them from the state house.
Reduce the forces of the oil, grain |
and live stock inspectors to employ |
all of the assistant inspectors on FULL
time
Reduce the judicial districts by five. !
Put free employment bureau under |
bureau of labor.
Put the board of medical registra- |
ton and examination under the
school at the State university. |
Reduce the $4,000 appropriations
for the national guard.
The house judiciary committee has |
made a favorable report on the Gran |
ston resolution to amend the state |
so that the state may en- |
gage in good roads work. This is re- |
garded as of as great importance to |
the general improvement plans for /
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