El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-12
LEGISLATURE Of
ARIZONA FINISHING
Continued from page y
on farm bill. There was no division O
either
The Senate.

Ol TIL DlI. Ihere was no DIVISION on
either.
The Senate.
The tax levy bill made its appearance
IN the senate. 1t was drawn by the tax
commission. introduced by senator c. b.
God labeled senate bill No. 70, and
referred to the finance committee. Tins
Is merely a formal measure. providing
Tor the levying of taxes in 1913 and 1919
House bill No. II, the election CODE
was read a third time. Breen, Brown,
Hubbell, Willis, LOvin and Sims vOteo
against 1t, because of the educational
qualifications Tor voters. There were
only y Sc atOrs for it and there are
10 members in that body. laTrisOn was
absent The bill has an emergency clause
and 13 votes are necessary to pass an
emergency measure. II. r. Wood saved
the situation BY changing his vote IA
order that he might move a reconsidera-
ton. He made that motion and final
action was deferred till today.
House bill 81. defining the powers and
duties Of the land commission in the
selection and administration of state
lands. was passed without division.
The Brooks bill, for the issuance Of
S35O,000 worth OF bonds Cor buildings
at the university and two normal schools,
was referred to the appropriation COM
mittee.
Corporation Commission Probe.
Most of the time of the members or
the house Saturday was taken up with
an investigation of the state corpora
ton commission and with hearing argu-
ments by shippers for the inclusion in
the corporation commission code of
clause fixing Is cents a ton mile as the
minimum freight rate that can be
charged IN this state. Just one point
was made by the shippers against COM
missiOners W. p. Geary and A. W. Cole,
against whom the guns of the Maricopa
Count Commercial club are directed.
This point was that the commission
ers h&.e been slow in proceeding against
the Ray q ella Valley Railroad COM
panY for publishing rates in excess Of
the maXsmulns allowed in the commits
siOn's recent class rate order. Commits
sioner +. A. Jones. who did not sign
that order and published a dissenting
opinion, declared that, in his opinion,
the R. & q. V. IS clearly in contempt
in having published a rate of 40 cents
ton mile on first class freight. On
the stand Saturday. before the code re-
vision committee of the house. commits
siOner Cole explained that the law gives
the commission 80 days from the time
new tariff is filed to investigate its rea-
sonableness.
Roland johnson. who did most of the
questioning for the shippers, asked Cole
a number Of times why the new rates
had not been suspended and the investi-
cation made afterward. Cole replied
that he did not think it within the prov
ince of the commission to take any such
action. johnson aroused Coles ire BY
asking him if he was not acting as at
tOTneY for the Ray & ella Valley. Com
missioner Gearv asked commissioner
Jones II he was representing the Mari
cOpa County Commercial club, of which
he was formerly traffic manager. Jones
reDlied that. he was representing no one
except the people of Arizona
Representative Barker announced thas
he had received a telephone message to
the effect that the r. & G. Y. would
cease TO do business as a common carrier
II the new rates published by that road
were lowered. Both Jones and attorney
general Billiard stated that no road could
cease to be common carrier without the
consent of the corporation commission.
The ostensible purpose of the hearing
was to present to the code revision COM
mittee of the house reasons why the old
Is cents a ton mile maximum should be
placed in the corporation commission
code.