Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-04-16
MEASURES OVER WHICH LEGlS-
LArURE FOUGHT FAIL TO
GET ANYWHERE.
sALlNGERs LOBBY THEIR
WAY TO BECOME ISSUE
Last Half Of Session Devoted Largely
to Undoins What Already Had Been
Done-Govsrnor Hardins's Program
Isnored-Two New Road Laws
Work Of "kitchen Cabinet
IMPORTANT LAWS PASSED.

Repeal Of the non-partisan judiciary
law.
Appropriation of 100000 war fund.
/ Acceptance OF s2,2oo,OOo federal aid
in road building.
Submission of prohibitory amend
ment Oct. Is to- people.
Establishment Of road patrollng
system thru Foster bill.
Repeal of presidential preference
primary.
reau law.
Adoption of resolution for re-sub-
mission Of suffrage amendment.
Adjustment of Offices Of state print
er and state binder.
Return Of the circle to the election
ballot.
Creation Of separate state banking
department. ),
Adoption of budget system Of taxa :
ton thru Weaver bill.
Des Moines, April 16.-The Thirty
seventh general assembly which
closed it's three months session Satur-
day night. can lay claim to one dis
tlnction, If 1t can be called a disfinc-
ton, without fear Of successful con-
tradiction.
It was different from the rest.
The issues its members fought over
most never lived to see the light Of
day. The measures to which legisla-
tors devoted most Of their time have
not added paragraph TO the code of
Iowa. Not all bills fought over we're
killed, but those which saw the hard
est trench warfare are now buried in
No Mans land.
Legislative machinery was choked
the first half Of the session by the
road fight in the house 1t lasted
for weeks. Scores of pages of road
legislation We're introduced. And when
the final count came, every page was
slaughtered. The only real road laws
adopted came from the senate where
members dwelt in peace and harmony
most of the time.
Undoina tho Past.
The last part Of the session saw a
frantic scramble to undo what had
been done earlier. Both houses were
wonderfully successful Both had dis
covered some things that had gone on
in the session they didn't know about
when they passed the bills they later
slaughtered soNgleefully. The principal
discoveries were the kitchen cabinet"
and Salingerism. 50 impressed were
they with these discoveries that they
took the Thirty fifth general assem-
bly's non-partisan judiciary law and
hut oil m, q ~ l..
myers, and added it to the list OF dead
four-year term bill and the eighth
judge bill.
Governors Program Ignored.
A familiar legislative expression Is
pass the buck" That's what the
Thirty-seventh proceeded to do to
Governor Harding. They ignored the
administration program-economy, re-
trenchment in state finances reduction
in numbers-of state departments, re-
duction in the number Of state en-
ployes, adjustment OF commissions
reorganization Of county, city and
state government to eliminate over
tapping departments--and all. The
only part of the governors program
that reached first base was code re-
vision and It was tagged out trying
to reach home. the taggers being the
sitting committees.
And yet the majority OF the legis-
lators are returning home fairly we'll
pleased with themselves. They
stepped on the sallngers and tho
kitchen cabinet. They also managed
to slip in some pretty good laws and
measures between fights.
Start Of Faetionaiisnn.
We shall consider the belligerent side
Of the legislature first because 1t was
the most prominent. Factionalism
started In the house. Speaker Pitt
started 1t when he sighted large
number Of competent men in the house
because they vefe not "for him" in
the speakership fight He gave them
no important committees. They i'm
mediately banded together for future
mutual protection. when Pitt and his
followers conceived the idea that they
were charged with the duty Of ABOLISH
ing the state highway commission, the
----------------------'