Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1919-04-04
BY MEAD PUBLISHING co
)ifIeial Paper Of the City and the County
Issued on Friday of Each Week
Entered at the Post Office at Cresco
\ Iowa, as second class mail matter.
Our De. Moines Legislative Letter
By j. w. Jarnagin.

Our De. Moines Legislative Letter
By j. w. Jarnagin.
Des Moines, Iowa, March 81, 1919.
Legislation the past week has been
seriously handicapped because of the in
vestigation of the Rathbun pardon
case. There are thirty members on
the committee on judiciary and the
trial is before these men. This takes
nearly a third of the membership of
the house. Many of the remaining
members wanted to hear the evidence
in The case and the result has been q
badly disorganized house. However,
the forenoons have been undisturbed by
the trial except mental condition that
prevented the best service. In spite Of
the handicap much useful legislation
has been disposed of.
Among the most important develop
ments of the week was the introduce
ton of the highway bill in both houses.
The bill in both cases was presented as
4 committee bill and therefore wasrec-
commended for passage. In neither
house was the vote in the committee
room unanimous for the bill but there
wss . sufficient majority to give the
measure a strong support when it comes
up for consideration. There are soma
some doubts as to the final outcome of
the vote. The bill is very long and
somewhat complicated. 1t covers
fifty printed pages.
( The following brief summary gives
an idea of the plans and purposes of
the bill:
. To create system of substantial and
durable highway improvements for
each county, coordinate same with the
requirements of the federal govern
ment and secure the benefit of present
and future aid acts and pledge the
state to meet the same.
To divide the highways of the state
into . primary system and secondary
system, the primary system (embrac-
ing about 5000 miles,, to consist Of
the main market roads which connect
all county seat towns and cities and
main market centers being the inter-
county system already designated un-
der the federal aid act and to which ali
federal aid is expressly limited.
To provide for the grading and the
draining Of said primary system by each
county from funds derived wholly from
motor vehicles and federal aid, and to
provide for the hard surfacing thereof,
such hard surfacing to be paid Is per
cent from the motor vehicle and FEEDER.
q did fund and Is per cent from spec
ial assessments on abutting and ada.
cent property within zones specified.
To provide for the grading and the
of the primary road sys-
TEN, consisting of (s) federal aid funds
already. available (b) federal aid funds
appropriated, (c) receipts
from motor vehicles, I'D proceeds of
special assessments.
It is contemplated that the county
shall have three options. ~ To drain
and grade all of the primary road sys-
tenn before doing any hard surfacing;
(2) to hard surface (slways after drain
ing and grading) year by year as the
primary road fund becomes available.
or (3) to anticipate its revenue from
the primary road fund for which pur-
poses by issuing bonds on vote of the
people, such bonds to be redeemed from
revenues from the primary road fund,
and lin case of hard surfacing) also
from special benefit assessments.
OF RATHBUN PARDON
The investigation of the Ida Grove
pardon case has attracted unusual in
terest. The hearings have been public
md the committee room has been pack |
ed. Sessions are held afternoons and
1t pight People are here from all over
the state to hear the evidence. Nu-
merous witnesses from Ida Grove have
testified and there is considerable dis
in the testimony given. The
friends of Gov. Harding take delight in
the evidence that looks bad for Attor-
nsy General Havner's part in the revo-
cation of the pardon, and the friends
Of Havnef smile voluminously when the
evidence looks bad for the Governor.
The entire bar of Ida comfy has been
mixed up with the case and some un-
pleasant things have been brought to
the surface concerning the ''social'
games that have featured the passing
of numerous bank checks. Tho evil
lence will all be submitted this week.
Senate Approves Hotel Bill.
With the passage by the Iowa senate
II the hotel licensing and inspection
measure which previously passed the
house, hotels in Iowa will hereafter be
held to strict sanitary and health rules
b we'll as requirements with reference
to posting their prices in each room and
fxing their charges accordingly. This