The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-18
Senate Passes Blank Book Bill
as Amendment.
Provides That State Furnish
Counties With Blanks.
GIVEN A SURPRISE.
Austin Plan Had Been Defeated
in Committee.
Vote on the Measure Was One
Sided.

Sided.
| In committee of the whole this
morning the senate slipped one over
on the Kansas blank book makers and
printers and decorated the Ganse bill
providing for uniform system of
bookkeeping in all counties and town
ships with all the poison from the
Austin printing bill Under the pro-
visions of the reconstructed measure.
the state printing plant is authorized.
10 print all blank books and furnish
tnem 10 the counties, townships and
scn0ol districts at actual cost.
Ihis Is the very thing that the big
printing houses of the state have been
nghtlng since the legislature con-
vened. Two weeks ago George Crane
OF Topeka, J. T. Moore of Pittsburg,
Z. G. Finch of Lawrence. and other
book binders appeared before the
ways and means committee. They were
loaded to the guards with figures and
statistics; They convinced the COM
mlttee that the work would prove a
loss to the state and the original Aus
TN plll was reported adversely. The
printers returned to their homes. They
thought the fight was won.
| When the GaGSe bill was un.ier com
s1deration this morning, Senator Price
OF Clark county started fight that
resulted in the injection of ali of the
strong features of the Austin plan in
the bill. The standpats Joined with
the insurgents, the Democrats climbed
into the band wagon and by a vote of
Is to IL the book binders were
| dumped in the snow drifts
No sooner had Price finished a plea
for the printing of these books at the
state printing plant, than Ganse was
on his feet fighting for the change.
His action was endorsed by Hamilton,
! Quincy and Stannard of the insur-
gents, and Cook and Hodges for the
| Democrats, rounded out an over
whelming majority. Glenn and Huff
man stuck doggedly to the old plan.
They objected seriously to the new
plan. They declared that the state
was destroying commercialism. On
| the other hand, the new coalition
pointed to possible great saving to
the state. They declared that books
| would be furnished at a saving of rs
| per cent of their present cost and the
regulars denied the claim.
The original Ganse bill provided
merely for the establishment of
commission to perfect a uniform sys-
| tenn for use in all localities; and the
printers did not object to this policy.
1t was w. c. Austin, state printer
elect who originated the new plan. He
made the theory a platform policy in
the 1908 and 1910 campaigns and
| thereby won the undying enmity of
every book binder in the state. In
1910 Austin was elected by bare
houses attacked his plan. They shift
| ed it through three committees and
| finally won before the ways and means
| committee. But Austin and the adj
ministration forces have never quit.
The new bill provides for a uni
formity commission composed of the
state printer. attorney general and
| secretary of state, who shall devise q
uniform system of books for all coun-
ties, townships, cities and school dis
tricts. It provides that these books
must be bought of the state printing
plant and that they shall be furnish
ed at actual cost to the consumers.
1t sets the new plan in operation July
/, 1912; and sets aside an appropria-
ton of $4,000 for increasing the
facilities of the plant and establishing
the work A revolving fund of $25, 900
is also provided.
4 Printers who appeared before the
committee, declared that 1t would be
/ impossible to furnish this work from
| the state printing plant and alleged
that new building would be neces-
Sary and that the state would event
ually lose money from the transaction.
So strong was their argument and so
complete were their estimating and
cost system that the committee was
convinced that the plan was futile. In
the move this morning the two bills
are combined in a general plan and
an effort will be made to push the bill
through on third reading when II h
called next week.
/ The roll call on the Price amend
ment was as follows:
For-Bender. Cooke, Fagerberg.-
Fowler. Ganse, Harris. Hamilton.
Hodges. Hostrup. Hunter, Milton.
Murphy, Myers. Potter, Price, Quincy,
Stannard. Stavely. Total Is.
Against-Brown, Caldwell, Camberu
Denton, Glenn, Huffman, Lower, Por-
ter, Smith, Stewart, Stillings. Total IL.
Tn a lengthy, y,oasso ca RI the so,a+o
Ike s. Lewis, insurance commissioner.
today replied to the resolution offered
by F. c. Price, of Clark county, in
which it was intimated that insurance
rates showed a decided increase over
former years. although it had been
currently reported that there had been
a reduction in the rates on general
risks Lewis goes into detail regarding
rates and gives large bundles of figures
to bear out his statement that the
state is not nearly as rich a proposi-
ton for the insurance companies as
either Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado
or Missouri.
He also contends that there has been
: reduction of rates since the San
Francisco fire and not an increase.
Lewis, in his report, shows that the
insurance companies are not making
an extensive profit on Kansas risks
and that the companies take a smaller
profit in Kansas than in many states
where they write the same risks at
greater rate. His statement covers
about II typewriter pages and was
not read bodily in the senate. On mo-
} | ton of Frank L. Travis, of Allen coun-
: ty, 1000 copies of he report were or
, dered printed for distribution
The senate did not look kindly on
the Stavely bill this morning and
: promptly removed its enacting clause.
[ The bill called for the payment of