The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1911-03-10
DOINGS OF STATE LEGISLATURE
The Special Correspondent for The Echo
Spreads Before You Grist of interest
ing Paragraphs Re the State Government

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Spreads Before You Grist of interest
ing Paragraphs Re the State Government
Olympia, March 8, 1911.
After long days session the house
on Saturday passed thirteen road bills
carrying appropriations totaling ST.
$4,000. More than 100000 Of this
amount is to go on state roads and the
rest for building bridges and for vari-
Gus good roads work. The levy was
fixed at one-half mill for road purposes
and appropriated 100000 for state
rock crushers, $275, 900 for the Pacific
highway, S42, 900 for the state highway
department, and $40, 200 to investigate
the sale of the Snoqualmie Pass state
road right of way to the Milwaukee
railroad by Joseph M. Snow, former
state highway commissioner. These
bills were passed after a call OF the
house had been put in effect and the
doors locked SO none of the members
could get away.
The state tax commission has com
piled from the reports of county officials
from the various counties in the state a
statement showing the aggregate sum
of taxes paid in 1910 for all purposes
was $4,000, 900, while in 1909 the
total amounted to $24,9o3,876, or
more than So, 100000 less than 1910.
In Chelan county there was paid in
taxes in 1910 $391,921, or $37 ,080
more than was paid in 1909.
After long debate and free dis
cussion OF the provisions of the bill and
an amendment to raise the percentage
from to 10, and from 5 to 6 for initi-
ating laws and invoking the referendum,
H. B. 153, known as the initiative and
referendum bill, passed the senate by
vote of 80 to 7, Senator Smithson being
absent or not voting. The bill also
provides that one-third of the voters at
the election must cast ballots for or
against the measure before it can be
enacted.
By the passage of the initiative and
referendum bill the second choice pro-
vision was stricken from the direct pri-
mary law. It passed the house by a
vote of 81 to A, Representative Akin
son voting against the bill. Before
passage the bill was amended to return
supreme court judges under the primary
law, and the bill also provides election
Judges shall return to county auditors
all unused ballots in numerical order.
The famous detective, William J.
Burns, who investigated the land frauds
in Oregon and California, who helped
send Abraham Reuf to the penitentiary
in connection with graft in San Fran
cisco, who is now engaged in working
on Seattle graft cases, and who has
been interested in Washington state
land deals and the alleged combine IN
the insurance world, has been in Olym-
pia and held a long conference with
Governor Hay, the subject Of which
has not yet been made public, though
various reports are ahoat as to why he
came here.
Representative Appleman OF Newport
is now known in the house as the
gentleman from Pend d Oreille."
Since the creation of the new county
out of the west half of Stevens county
Representative Appleman is now from
that district. The bill creating the ne"
county has been signed by the gov
ernor.
The initiative and referendum bill is
now ready to be signed by the governor
as the house has concuued in the SEN
ate amendments to the bill. These
amendments increase the percentage
necessary for initiating a law and foi
invoking the referendum.
The bill which permits counties to
build permanent highways under the
direction and supervision of the county
commissioners and the county engineer
known as the substitute state aio
road bill-has been passed by both
l.,.,,.as oF the state legislature, thus set