The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-02-27
A LEGISLATURE LETTER
Des Moines, Feb. %, 1919.

Des Moines, Feb. %, 1919.
1t took the lower house of the leg
islature over three hours on Thurs
day to put the little word shall IN
to bill providing that when the peo-
pie of any county secure member
a amoounti lin to $1,000, the board Of
supervisors shall appropriate to such
organization to be paid from the gel
eral fund of said county sum double
the amount of such subscription not
I to exceed, however, five thousand
dollars in any one year.
May or shall are very import
The word may leaves it optional
and the word shall makes it man
datory. Changing the old county
farm bureau, law from a member
the sum $1,000, and doubling the
said sum to be appropriated by the
boards of supervisors, and making it
mandatory on the boards to make
such appropriation instead OF leaving
it optional with them, caused Hood
of argument and oratory on this Dill
! that was not eQualed on the import
ant matter of ratifying the constltu-
tional prohibitOry amendment, on
the changing of the state primary
laws, nor on any other measure that
| has been uD in either house or SEN
ate this session.
The joint agricultural committees
of the two houses met and discussed
this bin many times, finally reporting
it as stated, with the word shall in
place of the may in the old law
An amendment was offered on the
| floor to change the two words back
again as in the old law, and from ten
to fifteen members spoke on the
question. The word shall" was
amendment and will doubtless pass
the senate in like manner, it is said.
| The county farm bureaus and agents
are thus to become fixed and per-
manent policy IN this state unless
said agents lack tact and Judgment
and go to splitting their own beans.
Recess Comes Next Week.
Both house and senate will ad-
journ next week Wednesday after
bank bank tn the necessities Of the farm. tho
office and the store, as well as OF the
| families of members require this
| weeks intermssion in the session
each year, and they always take vt.
The chance to also confer with con-
stitutents is valued by. the members,
and many changed opinions both at
home and among the members will
result from this conference. 1t is a
good thing to have this vacation and
there is no question of abolishing 1t
at present.
Code to BE Annotated
a special order OF business was was
in the senate providing for COM
mission of three persons to edit and
annotate the laws Of this state, at
Thursdays session. and the bill went
through as committee bill with lit
tie amendment. 1t is said to be
strong enough to also pass the house:
The, bill as passed is three weeks
means that during the next year a
commission of two able lawyers will
assist the code editor in going over,
picking out the dead-wood. the scar
red and broken pieces. the foreign
matter, if not the mistakes, and pre-
sent their report in volume at
which will have to be called for that
purpose. or set by the present SEES
sion, sometime about next year in
provided for, stenographers and
clerks hired, and the entire work
done up in ship-shape, it is said, Tor
Thus, it is explained to us, the legis--
lature will not have to go over and
consider every law on the statute
books, and to enact such laws as are
needed, but it will deal only with the
report of the commission, consider
the stuff they report should be elm
mated, clean up and furnish the
whole code and present finally COM
plete code of the laws of the state in
one book about half the size of eth
er of the codes now numbering the
desks and shelves. The plan con-
templates in no sense general re-
vision of the laws and re-enactment
of them as was done when the last
revision took place in 1897.
Working on Utilities Bill.
The subcommittee working on
the public utilities bill have not re-
ported their findings yet, but it is
said are working hard to get some
thing that will be fair and practic-
able; A big public hearing was had
Likewise the banking committees
are said to be drafting bill for reg
ulation of private banks, and barring
new ones from organizing in this
state. Anybody can imagine the
furore that will be kicked up by such
a bill, but everybody knows that one
will sooner or later be passed.
Another new proposition. and a
revolutionary one, is contained in
concurrent resolution presented the
other day by Senator Wilson of APP
panoose county. 1t calls for a refer
endum in advance for an expression
of the voters at the election in 1920
as to whether the present form of
legislative bodies in Iowa shall be
abolished and single house or COM
mission, or court of Statement, or
whatever it may be called, be estab-
lished instead. Every ten years the
voters of this state vote upon the
vention shall be called to amend and
revise the constitution of the state.
1t will be voted on next year. Sen
ator Wilson's resolution provides
that eff" the voters do vote to have
such constitutional convention held
the form of general assembly or law
making body shall be submitted to
such convention for a change to a
body of one assembly, or house, or
whatever it may be called. Senator
Wilson admits that no state now has
such plan of state government,
but he believes the time will come