Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1921-03-08

loSSuI Ou the pubic utilities COnnlS-
sion that a professional engineer and
a business man be appointed. passed
by vote of "a to Is after some de-
bate. It's author argued that the three
members of the commission were attor
neys, that an attorney was engaged
TO do the work for them and the at
torney general to advise for them to
see the legal side of questions. pre-
scented Senator Whitcomb upheld this
argument and declared he was not sit
isfied with the present commission
being all attorneys. Senator Witty ar
gued that such a bill limited the APP
pointive powers of the governor and
that it might handicap him in the se-
lection of a man eminently fitted for
position on the commission
Passage of the forestry advisory
board bill and the Witty tax relief bin
and defeat of the budget bureau bill
featured the house session Tuesday af-
ternoon. Halls resolution for the sub
mission OF a constitutional amendment
to give the legislature direct control
of the funds of the University of Idaho
was also defeated.
The primary controversy broke loose
in the senate again Tuesday when Sen
atOr Featherstone moved that the sen
ate refuse to concur in the amend
ments made to senate bill No. 294, by
the house of representatives Monday
rhe senator from Shoshone county also
moved that a committee of five sena-
tors and the president of the senate
confer with a like body from the house
and try and reach an agreement on
h. ..ss., h.,
ton was put IL members opposed the
motion and % upheld it.
With the session two days from the
finish there was every indication Tues
day that the legislature had reached a
deadlock on the primary problem. At
he morning session the senate prompt
ly voted not to concur in the house
amendments to the senate bill Later
a conference committee was named
This was made up of Lieutenant Gov
ernor c. c. Moore and Senator Smith,
Senator Thomas and Senator Whit
comb. Soon after a similar committee
was named in the house. 1t consisted
of Speaker Johnston and Representa-
tives Youny, Van de Steeg, Hail. Par
IRISH and Fait This committee was
named by Speaker Johnston while the
senate committee was named by the
lieutenant governor. All the senate
members are understood to be con-
vention men while all the house mem
bers, except the speaker, are under
stood to be direct primary men.
Conservatives in both houses pre-
dicted a compromise. One plan that
seemed to meet with favor was to leave
the present law as it is, but provide
for a referendum vote on this issue at
the general election two years hence
At that time, under this plan, all the
electors would be give an opportunity
to vote for the convention plan or the |
primary plan, and the result of the |
ballot would be considered a mandate |
to the next legislature that would be
Obliged by the vote to enact either con-
vention or primary laws in strict con-
formity with the wishes of the major
ity of the electors. The conference
committees are expected to get busy |
at once. The joint committee is un-
derstood to stand seven for a conyen- |
ton bill and five for primary bill.
Governor Davis has been forced to |
abandon his program for raising one
million six hundred thousand dollars |
for state highway construction as out
lined in his special message to the |
legislature After a long conference
in the governors office Sunday, a con-
ference that consumed the greater part ,
Of the day, the steering committee
made up OF senators and members of |
the house designated by the lieutenant
governor and the speaker, it was
agreed that the proposed gasoline tax
must be abandoned altogether and that
the plan to increase the license tax
on automobiles must go by the board |
also.
By means of the gasoline tax of 2
cents gallon the governor hoped to
raise 100000 in the biennium, and by
the automobile tax it was
planned to raise at least $500 900 more
for the two years. In the automobile
tax it was proposed to increase it to
such a degree that although the coun-
ties yielded so per cent of it to the
state, instead of 25 per cent, the coun-
ties would still derive as much revenue
from that source as before. For illus
tration: Under the present law IL the
license tax on an auto is $40, SIS of the
amount goes to the county and IS to !,
the state. The governors plan was to
increase the license tax on such a ma
chine to $50. and of this amount the
county and state would each receive
S15. Both of these plans were rejected
in the conference.
IL was further agreed that whatever