Arizona republican., 1915-06-10
House Committee of the Whole Will Conclude It's Consideration of the Land Bill Some Time Today
FEW CHANGES
 HAVE BEEN MADE
Senate Passes Prohibition Bill and Utters the Last Word on Subject of Ap- propriation for Expenses of the Session

The public land bill was so nearly whole house yesterday that the fin ishing of it today is regarded :iS a short job. A little after noon all the sections of it had been read to the repeating and emergency clauses when it was decided to revert to certain sections that had been passed and especially to three or four which had been re-referred to the committee on public lands. A recess was then taken for the redrafting of the sec tions by the committee. When they were later brought in, after cOnsid erable wrangling the committee view was sustained in the main.
 There was some talk among the friends of the bill of striking out the emergency clause. They were not sure of the necessary two-thirds vote. There was a possibility that on the show-dow from eleven to twelve votes would be cast in opposition to the bill but it was finally decided to stand by the emergency clause with the determination that this land bill essentially in it's present form would pass or there would be no land legis- lation. They argued that no other reasonable compromise of the various views on land legislation had been proposed and that the interests against this measure would have to assume responsibility for failure if there should be failure.
 The reading of the bill was resumed at section 90 yesterday morning and though the whole forenoon was de- voted to debate. most of it purpose less and all of it unconvincing. no changes of consequence were effected. A vigorous effort was made to strike out the section relating to farm mort gages. It was declared that it was an innovation; the old cry of sO- cialism was raised. But MT. Flana- gan showed that that system had been employed with the most bene- ficial results in many of the western states and he referred to the speech last spring at Denver of Elwood Mead who described the operation of the system in Australia.
 A sharp attack was made upon the l section fixing the amount of the fees to be charged with the result that the | classification and appraisement fee was reduced from two per cent to one | per cent of the purchase price of all l land sold, but the effect of that re- | duction was offset by estimating the l percentage on the purchase price also l of the improvements.
 Among the matters which had been | re-referred to the public lands com mittee was section fl relating to re- disbursements for improvements. Ob- | jection had been made to this section l on the ground that it classified and | fixed the values of various kinds of | improvements. It was further con- tended that it was unconstitutional | The committee therefore decided to eliminate it as provision had been 1 made elsewhere for determining the value of improvements by appraise- ment.
 Another section that had been re- referred was 47 concerning the trans mission of application to appraisers The committee brought in an amend ment which was satisfactory to some of the objectors without changing the purpose of the section. Other amend ments leaving the land department without discretion when application is made to purchase. were voted down.
 Several amendments for the mater ial alteration of the bill were defeated by decisive majorities. The first was offered by MT Richardson of Pima in the organization of the land department, the state auditor for the state engineer and vesting the au ditor with the powers of surveyor general MT Richardson explained that the object was to form a de- |
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