Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-02-13
PERFECTED MEASURE OF JOINT
COMMITTEE SOON TO BE
BEFORE LEGISLATURE.
HARD suRFAciNG ONLY
ON DESIRE OF VOTERS
Property Owners Must Make Request
Thru Boards Of Supervisors and No
District TO Be Paved Can Be Less
Than Mile in lensth-Generai Plan
Of Financing improvements.
TO Times Republica n.

Des Mo!nes Feb. l3.-lt is possible
that within another week the joint
committee Of the house and senate
which is drawing up the road Dill VIII
have completed its work and the
measure will be introduced.
The general outline on which the
committee is working provides Tor
grading. draining and surfacins OF
roads their method of construction
financing and mode OF procedure
necessary to institute improvements
The bill will also outline how the ex-
pense will be met. 1t VIII designate
two systems. the primary system IN
GLIDING all OF the roads not included
in What are known as county roads
and the county road system.
Under the plan now being worked
on by this Sub committee the roads
to De surfaced must be properly
GRADED and drained as approved by
the buOrd OF supervisors and highway
commission before surfaCing could De
undertaken.
Voters 10 Be Given Say.
The voters will doubtless be given
oppotunity to vote on the kind of
road improvements they want or
whether or not they want such I'M
provement at all. Application for nara
surfacing would have 10 be made 10
the board of supervisors by properly
owners and a special election would
then be called to vote on the i'm
provement. The proposed improve
ment must have the approval OF
the state highway commission. NO
district to be improved can be less than
one mile in length and the land on
either side Of the highway 10 ne
assessed certain per cent Of the cost
for one half the distance TO the next
parallel road system, but in no case
shall any district be less than mile
wide
The plan OF financing rs generally
outlined or the plan suss eeted in ire
outline for the road bill now before
the committee names the following:
A-By general tax; B. Assessment
OF adjoining property: c. State aid
from general millaee tax on all assess
able property in the state. D. Not ca
ceeding-per cent on freight and pas
senFer lines as provided under the
primary road system. D. A wheel tax
on all automobiles In the county"
The primary roads which would in
clude the main market roads other
than inter-county roads would be
graded. drained and surfaced. II
was voted to surface out OF fund
provided by the motor vehicle tax. by
assessing adjacent and adjoining prop
erty, by government aid and possibly
some other source Of revenue.
Attack on judiciary Law.
A red hot attack on the nonpartisan
judiciary law was made before the
senate committee on elections Thurs
day by Senator Price Of Monroe coun-
ty. author Of the repeal measure now
pending in the senate. He declared
that the law made 1t possible for the
judiciary of the state to build up the
greatest political machine in the his
tory Of the state and that IL is being
built up.
Several attorneys from Fort Dodge
were present to protest the present
law and to favor the repeal Of the law
now on the statute books. One attor-
new from Fort Dodge charged that the
clerk of the supreme court had been
ordered to take a poll of all attorneys
appearing before the high court on the
question OF the repeal Of the nonparti-
san judiciary law and those who fav-
ored the repeal were chastised on the
floor Of the supreme court by mem
Der Of the court.
Senator Price demanded that Judge
c. G. Lee of Ames. who 1t was claimed
had been so rebuked, be brought be-
fore the committee and Senator Kim
bah demanded that the supreme court
justice who was charged with so chas-
Using attorneys also be brought in.
A messenger brought in note to
Senator Kimball which did not seem to
satisfy him and Senator Whitmore ad
journed the meeting before there was
opportunity for further hostilities.
After the meeting Of the committee
Clerk Of the Supreme Court Garrett
declared the charge that he had been
ordered to take poll Of the attorneys