The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1917-01-11
GOV. CLARKE IN
LAST MESSAGE
SEVERELY cRlTIcIsEs AND ASKS
REPEAL OF PRIMARY LAW.
FAvoRs BONDS FOR ROADS
Defends the Iowa Insurance Rating
Law and Opposes Return to For
mer onditions-Uraes County
Business Manager.

Des Moines JAM 9.-Severely criti
cising the present Iowa direct pri.
mary law, the presidential preference
primary and the non-partisan judicia.
ry ballot Governor George w. Clarke
in his biennial message read at a
joint session of the 9th General AS
sembly here this afternoon, asked
that these laws be repealed.
Governor Clarke urged a return to
the convention system of nominating
candidates for everything above
county officers. The delegates to
the county conventions in Clarke S
proposed substitute for the direct
and preference primaries would be
elected at strictly regulated party
precinct primaries. The county
conventions would select delegates
to senatorial judicial and congress
sional conventions.
Governor Clarke urged retention
of the state highway commission
which he said saved the people OF
S. Iowa $4O00,000 annually. By retain.
ing the commission he said the state
could secure 100000 federal aid in
the next four years for better roads.
Touching on the much discussed
road bonds issue, Governor Clarke
said he favored counties issuing ser.
ial bonds running over a period OF
years in anticipation of certain high.
way revenue just as farmer mort
cages his place in anticipation OF
what he will produce.
In his 10000 word message, posi-.
bly, the longest ever read before any
Iowa legislature, Governor Clarke de.
Tended the Iowa insurance rating law
and opposed a return to former con-
ditions when, he said, rates were
merely something to be juggled with
by agents, rested upon no scientific
basis, and embodied no principle OF
uniformity or equity"
The governor repeated recommend
ations in former messages to the leg.
islature for creation of the office of
county business manager, for ap-
road commissioners for reducing by
half the membership of each house
in the legislature, majority verdict
in civil cases, reducing time for ap-
pealing cases at law and abolition of
the grand jury system for the most
part.
With his biennial message Cover
nor Clarke submitted to the joint
session his budget for the next two
fiscal years, calling for estimated eX-
penditures totaling $12,803,660. The
states revenues in this period will
exceed this sum by $917,74O, it was
estimated.
In conclusion, saying "good-bye,T
the governor said:
Il have made mistakes. They are
as apparent to me as they are to the
people. But on the whole the peo-
pie are generous and kind. l have
had what is no doubt the usual ex-
perience. / have known the pleas
urable feeling and encouragement
that sympathy and appreciation bring
and | have known, also, the severity
of disapprobation and l have felt the
keen, rapier thrusts of bitter criti-
cism. l beg to say that these last
were soon out of my mind and |
have nothing in my heart but graft
tude too all of the people and an in
spring hope for the increasing growth
of the greatness of the state and the
constant improvement of her moral
and political life and ideals. Men
come and go and so officially, the
record is closed and with every good
wish and hope"
Governor Clarke will turn over the
reins of the Office of chief executive
of Iowa to w. l.. Harding on Thurs
day.
Governor Clarke retires to private
life as dean of the Drake University
Law School, in Des Moines.