Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-26
No JUNK[ING TRIP
says IOWA SENATE
House Joint Resolution Turned
Down by Tie Vote in
Upper House
CLARKE WIELDs BIG STICK
CLARKE wIELDs BIG STICK
Tells Senate Committees to Get Busy
and Report Out Few BiIIs-House
Receives Bill to Remove Incorpora-
tion Fees From Cooperative TeIe-
phone Companies.
pecial to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
! Des Moines, Jan 26--At noon the
senate voted on the house joint reso-
slution to adjourn and appoint commit
tees to visit the state institutions. The
vote was "A to "a and the resolution
was declared lost for want of major
dty.
z President Clark called the senate to
time this morning for want of dill
sgence. He announced that forty-nine
bills introduced and referred to sixteen
committees and but one had been re-
ported out. lie said the senators should
get busy to avoid the work piling up.
Immediately a half dozen committee
meetings were called for this after
noon.
In the house Bowman, of Linn, In
troduced bill to remove the incorpor-
alton fee from farmers cooperative
telephone companies, the same as from
the farmers cooperative creameries,
etc.
All contest committees will meet this
afternoon and commence taking evil
dence.
A somewhat remarkable petition was
read in the legislature yesterday and
1t was greeted with laughter because
Of its crudity and evident misunder-
standing of facts. 1t was from the COM
missioners of Des Moines, begging not
to be relieved of any responsibility for
franchises for public service corpora
tions. 1t was directed against both
Governor Garst and Governor Carroll
Unfortunately, on the theory that
they both recommended the New York
plan OF q nlblic utilities commission
to take from the cities all authority as
to these matters. An extended argu-
ment was made to show that private
ownership is better than municipal
ownership of these things. At the close
Of the reading, Senator Moon called at
tention to the fact that Ottumwa had
been cited as city where there was
splendid regulation Of these things and
he said 1t was not true. The members
smiled when the Des Moines commits
sioners referred to the Chicago street
car experience as proof Of the capacity
of city to handle its affairs. 1t is
stated that the protest was drawn up
by a clerk in the city building Of Des
Moines.
'"The trouble with this whole matter
is" said one of the older senators, that
the Des Moines commission is not
demonstrating it's capacity to handle
any kind of public business, and it is
continually quarreling over all sorts Of
matters. Then, again, the commits
sion does not discriminate as between
the message and the inaugural address.
The recommendations of the message
do not lead to the New York plan Of
public utilities commission at all, for
in that warming is given to be sure
and leave control in the local author
titles. Then the Des Moines commits
sion is apparently under the impress
sion that what is proposed is state or
municipal ownership of utilities. The
matter seems to be in a hopeless jum-
BILE, but it is certain there will be moth
ing done in Iowa to take from the mu-
inequalities their right Of control in all
matters of purely local interest. Those
corporations that do business in all
parts of the state at once, like the
telephones and interurbans, ought to
be regulated in some way, but this
is about as far as the legislature will
ever CO."
Some of the members of the legisla-
ture have received communications
from Lee county which indicate that a
desperate effort is being made to stir
up factional troubles over the manage
ment of the Fort Madison prison. So
far as they can learn it appears that
there is very great soreness over the
fact that Warden Jones was not re-
elected and that certain manufacturing
interests in Fort Madison are determ-
ined upon making it appear that his
successor is all wrong in the way he
handles the prison. The older members
recall that the prison contract labor in
been very active in the lobby and they
do not conceal their suspicious that
these same interests are back of the
agitation there for trouble. 1t is even
limited that a legislative investigation
is to be demanded. The trou-
BILE started last summer when a new
warden was selected. The state board
of control had long been dissatisfied
with the old fogy methods still en-
ployed at the prison and had given up
hope of adoption of any modern sys-
tenn until a new warden was secured.
The change was made. Members of-the
legislature do not believe there is any
call for an attack upon the board of
control for making the change at the
prison.
When Mr.. Clarke, now president Of
the senate. introduced in the house
few years ago a bill to reduce the time
sor taking appeals in criminal cases
he could not get a vote in support of
the bill. But Senator Cosson, the ener-
getic young senator from Audubon.
fathers a bill to cut the time from one