Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1919-02-19
ACTIVITIES OF THE
STATE Legislature
SENATOR WHITMORE INTRODUCES
BILL, If PASSED, WILL CURB
HAULING OF BOOZE.
SENATE VOTES ON PRIMARY LAW
Senator Ratcliff OF Montgomery Co.
Would Abolish Office Of County
Coroner.
(By Ex-senator G. L. Caswell.)

(By Ex-senator G. L. Caswell)
Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. Is, 1919.
1t appears that every community In
the state is pestered with the pestif-
erous booze peddler, otherwise known
as the bootlegger. Regular UNDER
ground booze routes are said to exist
down the line from Minnesota through
counties in northwestern Iowa, and in
southwestern Iowa northward, where
the underground passage of liquor ra-
diates from the state line northward
and northeastward Each corner and
the center of the state lines reports
something Of the same kind of SUR
reptitious transportation of liquor, and
the question with all is how to deal
with the nuisance. It was thought
that the last two General Assemblies
passed enough bills for acts to cover
every possible contingency, and yet
the Illicit traffic is reported as bad as
ever.
Now comes bill by Senator Whit
more, who is the Noah Webster OF
liquor legislation, that it is hoped will
get these nocturnal and eternal birds
of booze. This bill, introduced in the
Senate last Thursday, repeals the old
law governing illegal transportation
of liquor and substitutes therefor q
law providing for the detention Of per-
sons and vehicles found illegally
transporting liquors and making such
vehicles nuisance, and providing for
the sale of such vehicles and for the
payments of fines and costs out of the
proceeds of such sale. Not only that,
but it provides for forfeiting this
liquor that is seized to be either de-
troyed or condemned for other uses
than making men feel like million
aires for the. sum of seven dollars a
quart. Not only that, but it provides
that transportation of liquors in We
hicle owned by another person or that
is mortgaged is felony punishable
by imprisonment. In addition 1t pro-
vides for the search of vehicles for
booze. 1t is assumed that this bill,
having come forward SO deliberately,
is designed with more architectural
skill than the old laws were, and that
booze routes through Iowa will be eff
fectively disarranged thereby.
o.
Petitions keep on coming in to
"A casual glance at the
Journals showing their character de-
notes that now there are petitions fav-
oring better and permanent roads as
we'll as against. The proposed anti
cigarette law is being already bonn
barded at long range by petitions.
County superintendent election laws
are shelled occasionally, and some
body doesn't want the highways num-
bered instead of named as at present.
County officers are getting some Pc
titions in favoring the four-year term
bill. while some others are against it
and against all proposed raises of sal
aries of county or state officers.
.- O.
Senator Ratcliff of Montgomery
county would do away with county
entirely as separate and
distinct office. He has bill making
the county attorney fill the duties Of
coroner and if necessary to hold in
quests and procure and preserve evi-
dence in criminal cases. why not?"
he says 1.-THE attorney is the officer
who has to do the prosecuting in
criminal cases and usually is not over
worked in that capacity"
The first spectacular debate and
fight over any measure of importance
to come up in the lower house this
session went to finish on Thursday
when House File No. 122, providing
for an increase of $4,000 for the use
of the attorney generals office for hir-
ing and paying expenses of state
agents, or employing special help for
that office, came up for passage Rog-
ers of Carroll county had filed an
to the bill that would take
away the extra appropriation and
leave only the four state agents pro-
vided for the governor and attorney
general under the old law; also max
ing it the duty of sheriffs and other
peace officers to secure evidence and
ferret out crimes in their localities.
and on failure to do so making it the
duty of the governor to suspend such
officers and give them trial within
ten days.
Many speeches were made on this
amendment and the debate grew hot
and interesting as amendment after
amendment was proposed and voted
down. Not a change in the original
bill got by, and in the end not even
reduction of the amount asked by
the attorney general was very warmly
supported, though several members
tried to cut down the allowance for
this special work from $4,000 to $780,
coo.
1t is regarded as very probable the
Senate will also pass this bill, though
cutting down the appropriation some,
and that the attorney generals office
will next year have enough money to
use state agents to stop all kinds of
crime in any way deemed necessary.
o.
Changed the Primary Law.
The Kimball bill to change the ex-
listing Primary law got by the Senate