Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1917-04-04
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
OF THE PAST WEEK
COUNTY AUDITOR, SHERIFF AND
CLERK HAVE TERMS INCREAS-
ED TO FOUR YEARS.
SUNDAY LAWS TO REMAIN
Numerous Bills Yet to BE Considered
by Lawmakers. Changes in Sen.
ntOrial Districts.

Des Moines, Iowa, March 81, 1917.-
As predicted in the first Of this series
of legislative letters the general as
sembly will not adjourn until April
IA. One day later than two years ago.
While nearly 1900 bills have been in
troduced in the two houses but few
have passed both branches. The ap-
preparation bills are yet to consider
and numerous measures that have
passed one or the other of the houses
are yet to bring to a definite conclu-
sion. The senate voted to increase
the salaries of district judges $500 per
year, but the house defeated it. The
house killed the Shortess bill p ovid
ing for a pension for teachers. The
senate passed bill permitting cities
of over $4,000 population to pension
teachers. The senate passed the Kim
ball bill to submit the suffrage ques-
ton to the women at the next general
election. Prominent suffragettes de-
clare they will have nothing to do with
it. A closed season for raccoons
passed the house. The Rogers bill to
turn the work now done by the board
Of parole over to the board of control
failed to pass. A bill passed the SEN
ate requiring a license Of two dollars
a year from all nonresident males
before they may fish in Iowa waters
A bill has passed providing for mil
itary census of the state and an in
ventory of it's resources in case OF
war. The bill requiring auto drivers
to stop at railway crossings failed OF
passage in the senate. Under the pro-
visions Of bill which passed the
house the sale of cigarettes may be
enjoined and the place Of sale de-
clared a nuisance. The LeCompte bill
providing that supervisors may re-
quire the cutting of noxious weeds be-
fore July 1st passed the senate. The
senate passed bill adding severe
penalties to the crime of stealing auto
mobiles, changing numbers of cars to
defraud and the selling OF cars be-
longing to others. BY the passage of
the Edwards bill it is just as much of
crime to puy by long weights as i.
is to sell by short weights. County
recorders have put up hard fight to
get an increase in salaries but the bill
failed to pass the house. The Gill has
passed both houses setting aside s40.-
900 to be used in paying transporta-
ton for the old soldiers desiring to
attend the reunion on the battlefield
at Vicksburg in October. Col Palmer
says that 600 have already enrolled
and he thinks the number may reach
900. The Balkema bill passed the SEN
ate making it crime for book agents
to visit schools while they are in ses-
sion
Change in Senatorial Districts.
EARLY in the session Senator Grout,
of the Black Hawk-Grundy district
introduced a bill providing for redis-
tricting the state as pertaining to SEN
atorial districts. A committee bill has
been drafted supplementing this
which places Black Hawk county in a
district by itself, adds Grundy county
to Marshall, places Clayton and ALA
makee together, and Howard and Win
neshiek are grouped with Fayette. EN-
met, Hancock and Kossuth are placed
in a district and Cerro Gordo and
Franklin go together. Clay, Dickin-
son, Palo Alto and Osceola constitute
new district and Lyon, O'Brien and
Sioux are left as they were, having
been deprived Of the company Of o.
ceola. The bill provides also that
when the number of boundary of a
senatorial district is changed by the
act, the senator holding Office at the
time of its taking effect shall continue
to represent the respective district
created by the bill of which he is now
resident, as we'll as the district for
which he was elected, until the elec-
ton and qualification of his successor.
State Printer and Binder Fight.
One of the most exciting events Of
the session occurred in the house
when the Helming bill was reached
abolishing the offices Of printer and
binder. The bill was drafted by r. M.
Haines, an attorney for J. M. Pierce,
publisher of The Iowa Homestead. By
a vote of As to 60 the bill was rejected
and substitute enacted instead. This
substitute is what is known as the
Stone Miller bill. Four of the news
paper publishers of the house, Repre-
senatitives I. A. Nichols of Hardin,
William D. Miller of Boone, A. W.
Jackson of Cedar and D. O. Stone of
Hawarden, drafted the substitute
While all these newspaper men lent
assistance and offered suggestions
from their knowledge Of the printing
business and the public printing laws
in this and other states, to Hon. l. A.
Nichols editor of the Hardin County
Citizen. belongs the credit for shaping
these various ideas into form and per-
fecting the substitute. The considera-
ton OF the measure brought out the
most vigorous discussion of the session