Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1917-04-04
PAST week IN
the LEGISLATURE
The House Nnd Senate Has Legislat-
ed In g tice for an Extra
Term y SherifYs, Auditors
and n of the State.
SPECIAL Mk Z FARMERS
STATE r.. y FOOD sTUFFs
Bills to ApprOpri. 100000 for
Army Volunteer Called
For, and Will >ubt
Pass.

Considering all the factional fight
ing that clogged legislative wheels
and kept them running at half speed,
the week just closed was the best of
the thirty-seventh general assembly.
The house quarreled around with
its pr0gressive-reactionary warfare.
The senate got into its first real
fight over Justice B. |. Salinger and
the need Of another justice on the
supreme bench. But in spite of the
hours thus consumed there's some
thing on the register to show for the
six days.
BY far the most far reaching act
OF the assembly was the refusal of
the house to modify the ''blue laws"
The house killed the Griffin bill, and
in SO committing murder, served no.
tice upon Attorney General H. M.
Havner hat it desired to have the
said blue laws strictly enforced.
The house was told that the attor-
ney general intended to enforce the
Sunday closing statutes If the legis-
lature left them on the books. Never
theless the 108 representatives vot-
ed more than two to one to retain
the puritanical legislation that has
been on the books since the year
one.
Therefore If Mr.. Havner keeps
his word, all the Sunday theaters,
the cigar stores, the confectionery
stores, the flower stores, Sunday
baseball, amusement parks and all
other forms Of entertainment where
admission is charged, will be put un
der the lid when the assembly says
..sine die
.,esls
There's one chance. The senate
has committee bill modifying the
blue laws in way satisfactory to
a number of ministers. Even If the
bill should pass the senate, it would
be miracle If even the Kitchen
cabinet" could swing that two to one
sentiment in the lower house.
Suffragists won the first half Of
their fight when the house passed
the senaAe's resolution to re-submit
the suffrage amendment. The same
resolution must now pass the thirty
eighth assembly before it can go to
the people for approval in 1919.
But, the senate has conceived the
idea the women of the state should
take ,,refenendum among them
selves TO see whether the women
want the ballot. The theory is that
IL the women vote against the ballot
in the majority, the thirty-eighth
assembly will call OF re-submissiOn
proceedings. If the women vote for
it the. thirty-eighth will give its con-
sent to suffragists to wrest the vote
from the men in the next following
election. The senate passed a reso-
luton for the referendum. The
house hasn't acted yet. 1t Is expect
ed to approve, however.
The house and senate legislated
into office for an extra term OF two
years 297 county sheriffs, auditors
and clerks. It passed the Coburn
bill to elect county officers every two
years. The sheriffs, auditors and
clerks had their terms extended two
years by law while the recorders
treasurers and cOrOners will not get
four-year terms until after the next
election. The discrimination takes
care of several loyal ones in the last
campaign. The Kitchen cabinet
loyalty and royalty supported the
measure.
The adding of an eighth judge to
the supreme court does not come
under the head of laws adopted" !"
altho it has passed both houses. 1t
is now tied up on a ticklish point OF
order in the house, where sudden
revulsion of feeling caused flank
attack that is expected to defeat the
bill regardless of everything its back
ers can do. The disclosures OF su-
preme court conditions in the senate,
served as q jab in the ribs for the
house. The house opened its eyes,
saw and acted.
Both houses voted for the repeal
of the anti-discriminatiOn fire insur-
ance law which created private
rating commission or bureau for hre
insurance Companies. The principal
complaint was that the law had
raised insurance rates. The next
was that 1t created monopoly