Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-09-15
Nebraska
OFFICIALS PUZZLED OYER LAW
Pure Seed and Commercial Stock
Food Act Under Inquiry.
DISPOSITION OF FEES AN ISSUE
auestiOa whether Food COmmissiOneE
May Use All the Funds Paid I'm
for Purposes Of Department
without Appropriation. 81
From a staff Correspondent.l


LINCOLN, Sept. Especial State
officials are facing several puzEling aues-
tons as to the enforcement OF the pure
seed and commercial stock food law and
the Gerdes accounting act. both OF which
measures were put upon the books By the,
last legislature.
II the food commissioner IL allowed to
draw from the state treasury all Of the
fees Of his department. viii he be able.
under the state law. to hire an extra
chemist and enforce the law?
Does the Gerdes bill allow the expendi-
ture of funds after It has provided that
all Of the state funds shall be collected
and paid into the state treasury by the
heads Of each department?
II this can be done. may each OF the de-
partments Of the state government with
draw all Of the funds ii collects and spend
these amounts Of money within each bien-
mum?
These are qeustions which have caused
the state officials to become suddenly in
terested In the provisions Of the Gerdes set
of accounting measures
Letter from jackson.
Food Commissioner W. r. Jackson has
written Auditor Barton as follows;
The last legislature passed a pure seed
and commercial stock food law and placed
the enforcement OF il under this depart
ment. This law provides for the analysis
Of seeds and stock foods by the department
and the collection OF certain fees. These
fees under the same law in Iowa amounted
IN eighteen months TO $4,000. 1t is safe
4 20 assume that Nebraska viii collect at
\ least one-third OF this amount. In passing
this law the Legislature made no appro-
priation for its enforcement and the law
must become a dead letter unless the de-
partment can use such OF the money col
lected as is necessary to fit up a seed
laboratory and employ seed analyst
and an assistant chemist to handle the
work necessary for a proper enforcement
of the act The attorney general informs
me that under house roll No. 5u we can
| use the money collected in fees from this
? Jaw. but we do not wish TO enforce the
law unless YOU are willing to draw the
warrants against this money after it has
been deposited with the state treasurer II
you can do this AL Immediate reply will be
appreciated as the law is effective October
!. 1871
The auditor has referred the mooted
points to the attorney general.
FIeEe Case i'm Supreme Court.
The supreme court OF Nebraska will con.
VRne next Monday and continue in session
IN week. The Flege murder case will be
argued Wednesday. william F1ege OF
Dixon county, convicted OF the murder Of
his sister. and who is now at liberty on q
$4,000 bond. has appealed for a reversal OF
the Judgment Of the lower court and jury.
Joseph Whiteiey Dead.
Joseph Whiteley. one OF the Oldest resi-
dents OF Lincoln. died this morning at L
o'clock at the home OF his son-in-law, c. A
Lyman, 224O Y street He was 81 years old
Mr.. Whitley was q carpenter and builder
Twenty-four years ago he built the Lyman
residence in which he died He was at one
time a roadmaster for one OF the trunl
lines OF Canada Nearly half a century
ago he was employed a bridge foreman
on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad
While in its employ he built a number o.
Its passenger and freight depots along tn,
I nne