The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1917-06-14
TWENTY MISSOURI BILLS TO
BE LAWS BY JUNE 1S
Halves Highway Act Promises Mod
ern Good Roads in Ten
Years.

Jefferson City, Mo, June 1o,--All
of the new laws that were enacted by
the last session of the General AS
sen1blv will become effective June Is
that is, all of the enactments that
did not have Emergency clauses at
tached, which were approved by two
thirds OF the lawmakers.
There are about 200 of the new
laws. but aside from the revenue
measures, which include the income
tax. Tax Commission, inheritance
tax, soft drink" tax and others OF
like character, the most important is
the law creating the Prison Commits
sion, which changes radically the
scheme OF management OF the penal
institutions OF the State.
Other important new statutes are
those generally termed Child wei
fare, these including all the meas
ures designed for better care of de-
linquent and neglected children.
The biggest piece of legislation,
next to the revenue measures, was the
Halves highway act, which bore an
emergency clause and has been IN
force for the past three months.
Under the Halves code, for there
are number of companion statutes
rounding out the Halves act proper,
it will be possible for Missouri to at
tain within the next 10 years sys-
TEN OF modern highways.
Operation and effect of the new
revenue laws will be watched with a
great deal of interest. There is no
doubt that some of them are going
to be big producers and on the other
hand some of them will prove disap-
pointing in the amount of revenue
that will result from their enforce
ment.
Administration of the soft drink
law will be filled with intricacies and
multftudinous detail, as State Beer
Inspector Mosby, charged with the
collection of the taxes under it, has
discovered. Strange to relate, how
ever, all of the dealers, manufacturers
and others interested in the soft
drink" trade manifest a keen desire
to obey the law to the letter. Tax
on the ingredients that enter into the
making of soft drinks" complicates
the situation.
1t is believed now that the effort
to tie up" the revenue laws by in
voking the referendum has been Wit
rated by energetic action on the part
Of Gov. Gardner and Attorney Gen
elal McAllister and the certainty that
if petitions are presented they will
be refused filing by Secretary of
State Sullivan and litigation will fol-
low.
This would in no wise stay the 60
ing into effect of the laws and they
would be in force until order and
judgment by a court of competent
jurisdiction ordered and directed
the petitions to be filed.
Legislation that does not become
effective until the close Of the pres
ent automobile registration year. jan
uary 81. 1918, is the new motor We
hicle license law which practically
doubles the State automobile tax.
This act supplements the Halves
highway code by supplying the sin
ews OF war for road building, as all
of the motor car tax will go into the
road fund.
The law that most vitality affects
the future development and growth
of Missouri in q material way is the
Harris Bates act repeating the 10
per cent" law that stood for many
years bar to the progress of the
State.
Under the law repealed foreign cor
porations were prohibited from own
ing more than 10 per cent of the cap
itaI stock Of = domestic corporation,
wszksSa a fsAaraV imUudn1b1e to f.