The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-03-21

Z II Il + = p z l. X
A clause in the agricultural APP
preparation bill for the next fiscal
year provides for the establishment
of a federal plant quarantine. This
action has long been urged by the
scientists of the department, with a
view to aiding them in their efforts
infected with various diseases or
pests.
A radical departure in campaign
methods was introduced this week
when Speaker Clark posed for NOV
ing picture machine on the floor OF
the House. All of the Speakers
movements in calling the House to
order were photographed, and the
pictures will include the official
stenographers and other employees,
with scenes around the capitol. In
addition to the moving pictures,
several of Mr.. Clark's speeches were
recorded by photograph. The
Speakers duties preventing him from
doing much travelling, the idea of
sending out these moving pictures
and photographic records is being
put into effect for the purpose of
bringing him into closer contact with
the people and furthering his presl-
Dental aspirations.
That the actual net loss due to de-
fective methods of distribution of
documents has been not less than
5,0OO,0O0, and that 100000 is
a conservative estimate of the loss
caused by the accumulation of
100000 documents stored away
at the government printing office,
and that great waste and extrava-
gance exist in the big printery, are
few of the charges made on the floor
of the senate by Senator SmOot, OF
Utah. Senator Shoots charges were
made during the presentation OF a
speech in favor of the bill for the
revision of the printing laws, which
has been agreed upon by the joint
printing Investigating committee OF
the two houses. The senator as
serted that the enactment of the bill
would effect a saving of 100000 a
year and stop the sending of mill
lions of useless documents through
the mail. BY way of illustrating the
waste of public documents under the
present plan of distribution, Senator
Smoot said that representative
!
reports as does repre-
sentative from Kansas, and being
more or less useless to the city men,
Der many expensive documents find
their way into the hands of junk
dealers. Under the new plan, the
Kansas representative would use
agricultural reports, while the con-
gressman from New York could sup
ply his people with consular reports,
immigration reports, ETC., and an es-
timated saving OF $600,O0O would
be effected.
decision affecting every house
hold in the country has just been
rendered by the supreme court. 1t
is to the effect that the owner OF
patent has unrestricted monopoly
upon all articles used in it's opera
ton, may fix it's price and prescribe
it's uses In this decision the court
stood four to three. Chief Justice
White and Justices Lamar and
Hughes dissented, and Justices Lur-
ton, McKenna, Holmes, and Van
Devanter joined in the majority rul-
ing. In his dissenting opinion Chief
Justice White expressed his fear as
to the result of this decision, asking
who could foretell the extent of the
monopoly and wrongful restrictions
that would arise, and declaring that
congress should act to head off "un-
told evils which would follow the
courts construction of the law. He
arraigned the majority as having
broken all presidents, saying that
the court in it's history had never
failed to do it's duty to the whole
people and to stand as the protector
of every household.
1t is probable that prompt legisla-
ton will be enacted to cover this
grave defect in the law, and Senator
Kenyon already has bill pending
which would enable the government
to cancel patents used as the founda-
ton of monopOlies.