Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-02-07
LEGISLATIVE CONTEST STILL
UNSETTLED AFTER THREE
WEEKS, AND WILL GO INTO
THE FOURTH WEEK.
PRIMARY BILL MAY
MEET WITH SUCCESS
HARDING. MEASURE WAS REPORT:
ED az COMBINATION OF STAND.
PATTERs AND DEMOCRATS;
PRoGREsslvEs MAPPING.
.IBY W. H. POWELL

IBY W. H. POWELL
Des Moines, Feb. 4.-(Special.) ~
After Three Weeks-not by Eiynor
Glyn--the Iowa legislature is Just as
close to eleoting a senator now as y
was at the beginning Of the session.
A man with an analytical mind mlgnt
opine that it isn't quite as close TO an
election as it. was on the2frst day, but
for all general purposes the preceding
statement is sufficient.
The Funk men have voted for Ken
yon and the Kenyon men--some OF
them, at least--have voted for Funk.
A quartet of them insisted yesterday
on voting for Kenyon again, despite
the fact that most Of his supporters
were lined UP for Funk as q reciprocal
ton for the action Of the Funk men
in throwing their entire strength 10
Kenyon earlier in the week.
The friends of Senator Young have
stood by their guns, and they say they
will continue to stand in the same spot
until there is some action, on the Hard
ing primary bill. They don't know
whether that measure will carry or
not, but they are going to stay IN the
game long enough to see.
There have been fifteen ballots on
the senatorship, and Judge Kenyon has
the distinction of having come closer
than any other aspirant, with 66 votes.
Senator Funk, with his fifty-five yes
terday. is second in line, and Senator
Young, who scored forty-three yester-
day. has that as his high mark. He
isn't third. however, for Claude Porter,
the democratic favorite, has had fifty
four votes on several occasions, that
heing the total democratic strength in
the present general assembly.
prooressives Outwitted In Harding Bill
indications are very strong that none
of the three. republicans now leading
In the race-for Garst is still there
with his lone supporter, Senator Cady
Chase-has any chance Of winning the
plum for which all are reaching with
outstretched hands. Next week might
bring rsome solution, but no one Is
brave enough to hazard guess as to
what twill be. ItNis high time that
dark horse be trotted out, but unless
he Is a standpatter he is going TO
have a lot of disappointment when he
starts breaking into the phalanx OF
Young supporters. II he is standpat-
ter. he will be equally unlucky when
he attempts to gain the necessary
thirty some votes from the progressive
side. SO, what's the use?
There is still a strong probability or
the passage of the Harding Dill II II
comes up without load OF amend
ments. ITS Journey through the com.
mittee, by the way, is the subject oil
considerable comment, and not IT.
tie laughter, when Speaker Stillman's
back is turned. The speaker, be II
Known. was quite careful in making rp
his committee on elections, and there
were so many progressiyes on It that
it was hard to see how The Harding
sill cor'd come from 1t with favor
able Recommendation. But the stand
matters made combination with the
democrats and caught the progress
siyes mapping. During the absence
from the committee meeting Of most
of the. progressives, the motion was
carried to report the bill to the house
for passage.
The standpatters showed their graft
tude to the faithful ones, too, when the
Olson Boomgarten contest committees
report came before the house yester-
dav afternoon. Although the progress
Eiye committee had reported In favor
of a special election in Clinton county,
the vote being tie according to the
recount. the standpatters joined with
the democrats in carrying substitute
for the report, which seats Olson, the
democrat, who was given certificate
of election. Boomgarten, a progressive,
IS defeated in his contest for the seat
Legislative Wheels Locked.
There has been little real legislation
fins far this session, despite the
claim that the deadlock does not de-
lay the work of making laws. While
this may be considered blessing in
some parts OF the state, there is still
the insistent fact that there should be
some new laws besides those which
would repeal a number of the existing
statutes.
Good roads and tax legislation are
the most important matters claiming
the attention of the lawmakers. AL
though the house has passed the anti
tax ferret bill, it is still awaiting action
by the senate. The Whitney good roads
hill. which Is as long as the moral law
itself, and includes practically re-
arrangement of all the existing road
laws. is still an unknown quantity to
most of the legislators. And still the
legislature has been in session three
weeks.
The farmers in the legislature are
blamed for the lack of road law re-
vision. Each farmer member seems to
have a favorite road-making method,
and he wants the legislature to embody
~Acr0plH ro,,uf.n,s and c.ssn,