The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-04-29
HANG GRAPE ON
| UTILITIES BILL
Senators End Long Fight By
Decisive Vote.
KILLED FOR THIS SESSION

"eaou'e TAU been Hnenueu 0ut VI
All sembance 20 Former Self In
COMMITTEES I'm Hope Of Securing
Passage - Langdon Tax Commits
sion Fill to Be Passed by Senate
and Sent to conference-Agree to
Recess Saturday Night.
Columbus, o., April 29.--The long
drawn out fight against the Woods
public utilities bill was ended for
this session at least when the sen
ate, by a vote of 10 to %. defeated
the measure. The vote on the bill
was as follows:
For: Bader, Duval. Gotshall. John
son, Keller, Mathews, Phare, Rath'
burn, Tuttle and williams-1O.
Against: Alsdorf, Baker, Beatty
Cameron, Cetone, Clevenger, Cory,
Crawford. Dean, Gillette. Huffman
Kuhl. Lawyer, Mckee, Mahaffey
Mather, Mooney, Patterson, Shaffer,
Thompson, Tod, Yount---22.
The bill, in the effort to secure It's
passage In some shape, had been
amended by its friends until It did
little more than to extend the powers
OF the present railroad commission
SO 1t could protect the people from
high fares, poor service and watered
securities of the public service cor
porations.
Patterson and Mather, Republi-
cans, and Alsdorf and Cetone, Demo.
Gratis, led the floor attack on the bill,
decryiug It as ''futility bill" uncon-
stitutional and Illegal, as well as op.
pressive to business interests, and as
heavy, useless expense to the state.
They derided It as mass of amend.
ments, most OF which had been In
serted in response to their own de-
mands.
Senator Mathews OF Cleveland
fought hard for the measure, as did
Williams and Phare. They warned
the special interests that defeat only
meant much more drastic measure
which the next legislature would not
dare refuse.
Frank Woods, representative from
Medina county and author OF the
Woods utility bill, has not given up
the fight to secure the proper regulA-
tion of the utilities of the state. He
announces that he will be a candi.
date for the Republican nomination
for state senator in the district
which includes Ashland, Medina,
rain and Richland counties. This dis.
trict Is now represented by Frank N.
Patterson of Ashland
The Langdon bill, before being
passed by the upper branch, will be
altered from the shape in
which the house approved 1t, but It
will retain the fees of the Cole law
under the increased schedule, and
also the Nichols law theory of tax.
ing property OF all public service cor.
porations at more nearly its correct
value than ever before. The Lang.
don bill also will provide for an in.
crease In Willis law fees from one.
tenth to three-twentieths of per
cent OF the capitalization. The sen.
ate has tackled on amendments great.
ly strengthening the power of the
proposed commission by giving II di.
rect authority to raise and lower as.
sessmcnts fixed by local authorities.
The plan is to pass the bill In the
senate today and then send 1t to a
special conference committee, which
VIII go over 1t carefully with state
officials between now and May 10,
which Is set for adjournment, when
hnal action on the measure as
agreed upor by the conference com.
mittee Will be taken by both houses.
Lawyer members OF the house de-
feated the Grinnell inheritance tax
bill. The bill of Senator Mathews,
providing for the exemption of grade
crossing and street intersection
bonds from the Longworth law bond
limits, was defeated in the house,
then reconsidered and passed.
Predictions made that the legisla.
:ure would recess Saturday were ful.
hlied by agreement. Adjournment
Will be taken May 10.