Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-03-07
ENOUGH TO KILL AN AMENDMENT
Measure Almost at Vote When Mem
bers Adjourned.
PLAN TO CHANGE SENATE BILL
Purpose Was to Incorporate Them in
Other Measure.
AGREEMENT STILL HOLDS GOOT
vote VIII Como Up To-day when Call
OF House Wm Probably Re
auire Every Members
Presence to Decide.
ICON a SOD corresnondent.l }


LINCOLN. Ncb March 6-CSpecial Tel
cgramD-An attempt to kin the Initiative
and referendum bill now before tho house.
was roned this afternoon by an adjourn
ment Just before II came to third read
ing and a vote.
During the last few days petition has
been repeatedly circulated among the
members Of the house and the men who
signed pledged themselves TO vote against
the bill There were forty-one Of these
when the petition was withdrawn from
circulation and. as il takes sixty votes to
pass a bill for a constitutional amendment,
these men could have defeated the bill.
The scheme was to take up the senate
brl now i'm the committee and having got
the house bill well out Of the way the
senate bill could he amended and robbed
Of it's decisive features. The Prince
amendment to incorporate provision
which would preclude any abrogation OF
the bill Of rights, and the Sink amend
mont. which raises the percentage Of total
votes necessary to pass constitutional
amendments from IS to 90, were the inn
portant changes that the people behind
the scheme seemed to have had in mind.
Agreement stiI Holds.
The petition or agreement which pledged
the vets 10 nhnB NoBtNllei anu hih INV
house bill will hold over, Of course, but
there were a number OF absentees and It
seemed that a favorable opportunity had
been lost.
Tomorrow morning when the bill comes
up it will probably fail by at least one
vote of having the sixty necessary for
passage II will get a majority however
and the majority viii probably demand
call Of the house. The forty-one men can
defeat the bill, but they cannot raise
call of the house, and the matter will hang
In the balance until every member Is
brought to the bar of the house and put
on record Then II will be seen whether
the vets can carry out their plan to throw
the bill into the scrap heap and pass an
altered senate bill
Tibbet's street Railway Bill.
A new street railway law introduced by
Senator Tibbets OF adams county and now
in the hands Of the Committee on miscei-
laneous corporations has attracted consd-
erable attention because its seventy-two
lengthy sections provide for numerous fun
damental changes in the present street rail-
way laws
The bill IL passed viii help the street rail-
way companies of the state to accomplish
the absorption OF a number OF more or less
hypothetical interurban lines and will help
the companies I'm both Omaha and Lincoln
to make certain changes In their systems
which they have been prevented from max
ing by the present laws
In the first place the bill does not pro-
vide for a street railway franchise as
basis of existence for a company. A com
pany may operate under location"
very indefinite sort OF privilege which is
to be issued by the city council and no
provision is made for restrictions by the
city excepting those specified in the law.
Section so Of the law authorizes any
street railway using electricity as a motive
mower to sell II for commercial lighting and
power, a right at present denied such COM
panies. The Omaha q Council Bluffs com
pany has had long and involved suits over
it's right to furnish electricity to other COM
panies.
No Occupation Tax.
The occupation tax upon street railways
will be practically eliminated by section
65, which prohibits the levying Of an occu-
patton tax which shall exceed the excess
Of the net earnings OF the company over
per cent on the capital stock Few com
panles earn more than per cent on their
capital stock, and there is nothing to pre-
vent their turning back such excess into
improvements on the physical property
II is a possibility that a street railway
company under the new law might con-
tract with a railroad company TO carry
freight for ii over the lines through any
part OF the city. The forty-sixth section
allows any contiguous lines TO run bag
gaze, freight or other articles OF transpor-
tation and there Is nothing to prevent
a street railway from carrying for a
steam railway A street railway is allowed
to go upon private lands with the prac-
tical right of eminent domain II In that
way the line may be improved.
| For the Omaha Street Railway company
one OF the most important provisions is
the one in section A. which allows one
company 70 lease the lines OF another for
operation. This will, II practically car
ried out. give the Omaha company the
right 70 take over the Ralston interurban
| line Of which It is the heaviest creditor.
| It has been prevented from this absorp-
/ tion by the law as It has stood.
The Lincoln Traction company would be
enabled 10 abandon the line on Twelfth
street In Lincoln which II has been COM
PEELED TO keep going because Of its fran
chise and which II has wished to give up.
The power Of absorption would allow the
Omaha and Lincoln companies to absorb
the isalhtoh ana belhduy INES bno6f
the provisions OF the bill the companies
are subject TO the state Railway com
mission, which could prev ent the execu-
tion Of any or all OF the matters per-
mitted In the bill,
XIII school bonds BiII.
The school lands bill, offered by Lee OF
Boyd, S. f. 81. 10 enable the state TO sell
the lands now under lease, was indefinitely
postponed by the senate, In favor OF his
bin Senator Lee stated that IN his county
lands were leasing for tSs quarter sec
tion while lands lying next TO them were
bringing the state so per quarter section
I'm taxes II was urged that selling them
would lead 10 their Improvement The op-
pOnents OF the measure urged that the
state had already lost large sums Of money
by selling lands which soon after rose
materially In value. Senators from the