Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-02-25
AMAZING NUMBER OF OBSTACLES
PLACED IN PATH OF MULcT
BILL.
GOVERNOR
HARDING AIDS VETS
Refuses to Certify to Correctness Of Bill
Because Of Change of Ono Word-eiII
Being Used as instrument to Promote
Political Ambitions Still ION Its
Way" to Governor.
Special to Times-Republican

Des Moines Feb. est is simply
amazing what rocky road can be laid
out for bill which received such
overwhelming approval by the legis-
lature as the mulct repeal bill. The
story of the devious wanderings of this
tape makes an interesting story. When
the sessions opened today the bill was
stuck at a new point Yesterday the
drys had winning day; perhaps to-
day the vets win score again.
Yesterday morning, as had been fore
Swallowed. the bill was in the pocket or
the vet chairman of the house enroll
ing comm ittee, and with the dry author
of the bill IN the senate welding big
club on the adjournment resolution.
Clarkson at noon gave fair notice he
would not loosen up on adjournment
until he heard from the house and the
bill was shown up. In the afternoon
Sawyer carried the bill back 10 the
senate upon adjournment until he
heard from the house and the bill was
shown up. In the afternoon Sawyer
carried the bill back to the senate
with some mutterings The rest looked
easy. but
Harding Sets Precedent.
Just before adjournment President
Harding set a precedent which in the
ewes of the drys had some significance
He refused to certify as to the cor
rectness OF bin which had come to
him from the enrolling committees
There was word in the enrolled bill
not in the original. Now what pre-
siding officer really does Is to merely
certify as 10 the absolute correctness
of a bill sent TO the governor. That
certificate is all the evidence the gov
ernor has that the bill really passed
the legislature and in the exact form In
which it Is presented to him. Il is a
clerical duty on the part OF the
speaker and lieutenant governor. but
the courts have recently held that 1t is
a very i'm portant duty and is essential.
1t is plainly the duty of presiding Of
ticer TO know whether his certificate is
true or false.
Then cropped out the old runors
about the Garrison mulct law repeal
bill having errors in it. The author
of the bill himself held i, UP for two
with the attorney general to decide
whether the defects which. it IS nov
admitted are in the BILL. would invali-
date it. The attorney general held
they were not. such errors as would
make the bin imperative. But suppose
the president OF the senate. also a
lawyer, fails to convince himself that
the errors are OF such trivial nature
no -i. cd What
then?
Minor Errors.
Some of the errors seem tritlins
enough to a rank outsider AS for the
stance where certain section Of the
supplement TO the code is referred to
as Sec. 1111-A. when it should have
been Sec. l111-a- the difference being
between a capital letter and q small
letter But there are said to be other
differences. In fact it has been assert
ed right from the first tina! it became
necessary 10 injec; into the bin some
where the line words or characters not
in the bill or its amendments, in order
TO make it read just as wanted, Friends
of the bill deny this. but the rurnors
persist.
OF course IT all leads up to the time
about q year nence NHeH Ger tdlu ANN
tious gentlemen will be going up and
down the state garnering votes as can
didates for governor and other high
jobs.
There was not little alarm in the
dry camp as the new situation be-
came known. Suppose President Hard
ing should find that the bill is not cor
rectly enrolled? Suppose he should find
that he could not truthfully certify to
the governor the correctness Of the
bill az ii came to him and should re-
fuse TO sign? What would the senate
do? OF course If he should surrender
the gavel. the president protein might
sign up in his absence, if he had the
bill. 1t was at once seen that the stu :
alton was full of possibilities.
All announcements that the governor
has the bill or is just on the Joint of
getting 1t should be killed off. The bill
is still on its way.
There is very little doubt that If
there should be found defects in the
bill such tina. it ought to be passed
over again, the legislature would pass
it again, but probably modified in some
respects.