Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1915-03-03
IOWA LEGISLATURE
.Rttf WAY THROUGH
But Heaviest Work Of the Session
wiz Come q vt Period.
MANY ISSUES uNAA NED
LOTS OF WI REMAINS
ficwevcr, Several Measur 4 First
Importance Have Beeif
posed Of.

Importance Have BeefS
when the legislators locked UP,
their desks last Thursday and went
home for weeks rest they had fin
ished at least half Of the work OF the
Thirty-sixth session. 1t was the ear
lier half, however, consisting chiefly
of proposing legislation. The amount
of legislative work actually ended
was small compared with what re-
mains to be finished.
What is probably the biggest sim
gle piece of legislature that will be
accomplished. however, was ended on
Thursday when Governor Clarke
signed the clarkson bill to repeal the
mulct law. 1t had passed both
houses, and by his final act prohibi-
tion in Iowa after Jan. /. 1916. was
assured.
Amendments Finished.
The house finished up two other
big pieces of reform legislation when
ii passed on Tuesday the bill to sub
nit the constitutional amendment
for prohibition and the bill to
submit the equal suffrage question to
& vote Of the people, Both had PAS
sed Tie senate and now require only
the approval of the governor, which
they will doubtless get. The consti-
tutional prohibition matter will have
TO go through another general assem-
bly, but the suffrage amendment has
been approved by one general assem-
bly, heretofore and can 60 now 10 the
people for decision.
House Reversed Itself.
Only seventeen bills were passed
by the house and eight BY the sspate
eaa r. 7ean z
The house did tho unisqsi by recon,
siderfng the Anderson bill to pro-
vide for employment by the state 81
special agents to aid local police Off.
GERS in law enforcement and passing
it by goodly majority. The strong
urging to work by interested mem
bers succeeded in reversing the de-
cision the house had passed upon tn,
bill week before. 1t was amended
to put the agents in control OF thu
governor instead OF the attorney gen
\ eral
The Perkins bill to provide Wa.
for giving free surgical and medica
treatment to sick and manned chill
dren of the poor was passed by tn
house. It had already passed tn
senate. 1t is perhaps the most i'm
{ portant piece OF humanitarian legis
la.ion which has come up.
The good roads programme wa
forwarded by passage in the senat
OF two bills by Balkema Of Sioua
One would allow supervisors to con
demn land for highways to be bull
in order to avoid railroad crossing
The other would require the poll ia
to lie paid In cash. The senate al
proved also the house bill to appr6
pirate $4,000 to pay the cost
Iowa farmers OF the hoof and mout
plague.
with only four days in the week
session. the record on bills introdu.
ed fell below that OF any previou
week. The total was 81. of whic
So were filed In the senate and onl
30 in the house. Several joint res'
lutions proposing constitution
amendments were filed in the tw
houses.
Nearly Up to 1918 Record.
The total number Of bills filed
the senate so far Is 3s5 and in Il
house 433, q total for both houses
S1S. That is only 20 behind the re
ord OF the Thirty-fifth general asser
bly,, which, to the correspondir
date, had on file SAT bills. 504
them in the house. and 34S in Il
senate. The house of this gener
z assembly has been slightly more co
servative in proposing new legisl
tion, but the senate this time h
been more active than the senate
two years ago.
Among the bills proposed durii
the week were several of new inte
est. A clear cut law to permit citi
to adopt the city manager plan Of go
ernment was presented by Represe
tative McFarlane and Senator Gro
Of Waterloo. Senator Perkins intr
duced at the request OF the railroa
but without undertaking to back
y, 4 AZ C0nt IN N M m lnaf rAwn'N !.