Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-03-06
PROPOSED REFORM IN MAKING
STATE APPROPRIATIONS
TIME SAVER.
WOULD ALSO PLEASE
STATE OFFICIALS
Senate Not Particular Over Correct
Grammar Senator Proposes to
Legislature to Keep Railway Trains
on Time-Mulct Repeal to Result in
Construction Of lnterurban Line.
Special to Times-Republican

special TO I1meS-kepubIcan.
Des Moines, March Eff the plan
which is being worked out by leading
members of the appropriations and
ways and means committees of the
legislature for reorganizing the taxa
ton and appropriations methods of the
legislature, is adopted, as SC ms likely
the office OF the state auditor and in
that of every county auditor of the
state.
For instance, the state auditor must
keep, because of the millage taxes, 693
separate accounts with counties, on
these alone. Each nlillage tax is kept
az separate account with each and
every county. There must be annual
settlements. It is practically an impos-
Sibility to keep these accounts with
perfect accuracy. Because of correc-
lions and establishments a vast cor
respondence is necessary with the
counties. Settlement has not as yet
been effected with about twenty of the
counties, by the state auditor, on the
Dec. 81 statement. These settlements
involved already making over 1000
entries on the ledger of the state to
balance these accounts.
It would sui. the state officials who
have to deal with this subject if, at
least, there should be consolidation
of the millage taxes for institutions,
with division of the proceeds in lump
sum. There is equally great need of
III L, s1l. -.
Senators Savage, Jones. Larrabee and
others, of a codification of the laws as
to the support and contingent funds.
The forty-one separate laws relating
to allowances for the educational insti-
tutions should be put into one law. Old
statutes relating to allowances for sup
port for various bureaus and commits
sions might well be repealed and new
ones enacted to take their places, so
that half dozen old laws would ap-
pear as one new one.
This plan which has already been
somewhat extensively exploited, of
codifying as to taxation and appro-
priationS, would effect the near ap-
proach to the so-called budgets sys-
tenn" which has become shiboleth
with number Of persons. The legis-
lature does not need to wait for an
other session to effect great reform in
the matter Of handling the states
finances. This is the view now being
taken by a number Of the leading mem
bers and it may be expected that some
substantial results will come out of it.
The senate came near to converting
itself into school of grammar yester-
day, and again decided in favor Of ig-
noring bad grammar, bad punctuation,
uncertain meaning, in the bills to be
passed. The presiding officer called at
tention. as he has many times before,
to the superhuous words that get into
the bills, For instance. there was bill
amending section - Of the supple
ment to the code, 1913" What does it
mean? There is no code, 1913" to
which there might be a supplement
He wanted the ''of the struck out, so
& it would read. Section, supplement to
the code, 1913" Now it is fixed by law
that supplement to the Code, 1913" is
the official name of the latest supple
ment. The difference is whether the
word supplement is used as a common
noun or part of a proper noun. OBJ
viously if it goes into a bill as a COM
mon noun the bill is meaningless, on it's
face, it would require judicial straining
to give it meaning. But the senate
adopted the erroneous form.
A bill by Senator Foster puts the
burden on railroad company of keep
ing its trains on time or showing why
it failed It reads:
1T is hereby made the duty of COM
mon carriers of passengers by rail. OPP
Grating within the state Of Iowa, 10 use
diligence in making trips in accord
ance with its. published schedule or
time tables, and if II fails to make
such trips in accordance with said
schedules or time tables it shall be
liable to passengers for any pecuniary
loss suffered by reason Of its failure
40 perform said duty, unless said car
rier shows that it has made reasonable
exertions to comply with said sched-
ule or time tables and has been pre-
vented from doing so by accident or
delays not attributable TO its own neg
Hgence."
It is further provided in the Dill that
report shall be made to all stations on
the route. at least two hours in ad-
vance, and to stations on branch lines,
as to the lateness of trains. and no.
tees shall be posted for the informa-
ton Of the travelling public.
5e The resolution calling on the con-
gress to arrange for a constitutional
i convention to put ti-polygamy into
y the constitution was sent to a commit
tee to decide whether it should be a
Joint resolution or a concurrent reso-
utter. Luton. There Is, however, considerable
opposition to having the state butt into
nffairs in Utah.
Another advertisement for the Fords
was worked off in the senate yester-
day. It was on the gopher bounty bill
and Senator Caswell, who wanted TO
repeal the bounty provision. insisted
81: :. was DUNG Iru good and not gel
ting rid OF the gophers. He told how
one farmer had done a good deal better
by use OF his Ford in getting rid of
the gophers, by turning the exhaus;
down into the gopher holes and killing
them. But the bounty law stands
Senator Fraley says that anyway his
town is going to get some salvage on
The mlllct law repeal bill. He says that
Srt Madison people have been trying
= long time to get trolley line bull.
over to Nauvoe, eight miles away. and
& now the promoters have become con-
WINGED that after the repeal goes into