Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1921-02-02
LEGISLATORS down
TO real BUSINESS
COMMITTEES NOW HAVE SOME 200
BILLS TO WORK ON. EVERY
BODY BUSY.
STATE SCHOOLS ASK s5,soo,ooo
Some Of Bigger Propositions Present.
ed. Appropriations VIII Run
Into Millions
(speciaI Correspondencel

Especial Correspondence
Des Moines, Jan. 81, 1921.-A steady
grind, and promise of considerable
accomplishment marks the legislative
session, now four weeks old. Eact
house has received a hundred bills
or more, and the committees all have
something to do. Many bills and
resolutions have been passed in each
house, but few in both, and Governor
Kendall will soon have occasion tc
write his O. K. on a good many new
measures or give them his veto. II
is said, too, that he has some vetoes
right handy in his vest pocket to at.
tach to any measures that look like
unnecessary or extravagant expendi.
ture at this time.
1t has been some surprise to 8
good many Of the new members tc
find how much work and time they
can put in on Legislative measures
also how difficult 1t Is to get a mea.
sure started right, then on its way
through the committees, back to the
floor of the house and really passed as
an act CT the General Assembly.
How Bill IS Handled.
A bill for an act has to be drawn
kup just so-three copies Of it-in a
certain size and style Of arrangement
with cover indicating the title com
pletely. When introduced by the hon
orable member the bill is handed tc
a page, carried to the desk Of the
chief clerk, identified by a number
then opened and the title read a first
and second time, which is called the
first and second reading of the bill
Then it is referred by the presiding
officer to the committee having tc
deal with the subject affected by the
bill. Perhaps in day or two the
committee meets, It's chairman pre-
sents the bill, explains its object and
refers it to subcommittee OF three
or more members. who are then re-
sponsible for the custody, investiga.
ton and report on the bill. II the
subcommittee decides to favor the
bill, they report it back to the whole
committee with a. Recommendation
that it do pass. The whole commit
tee then considers the matter. picks
lit to pieces or amends it to suit, and
votes to recommend the measure fol
passage by the House or Senate as
reported back. II the committees
are unfavorable to a bill they report
it back with recommendation that il
be indefinitely postponed" That is
a genteel way of scrapping the whole
bill. Then IL the House or Senate
accepts the report Of the committee
the bill has met its fate. Very often
as was done last Wednesday, bill
is reported back by the COMMITTEES
with recommendation that it be Elm
definitely postponed" when some
member interested may protest
against such report and ask for roll
call on the question of accepting the
report, and thus beat the committee
This was done in the Senate Wednes-
day on the bill providing for an in
crease in the pay of assessors. The
increase provided for in the bill was
from $500 per day to $3.50 per day
and the committee on county and
township affairs had reported adverse
ly on the bill. A roll call rejected the
committees report and on Thursday
when the bill came up as q special
order Of the day it was adopted by
the Senate, and the chances are thai
all the assessors in Iowa will for the
next two years get $1.50 more per day
than they have been getting.
The Mountain LabOred, Etc.
Proposed increase OF the pay oi
Miss Elwood, the efficient enrolling
clerk in the House. from seven dol
lars to nine dollars per day during
the session, caused another outbreak
of bad feeling in the Senate last Tues
day that has been the talk of the SO.
Ions and spectators ever since. II
was such a piffle 1t contemplated
more taking a slap at some Of the
controlling influences in the House
and Senate than 1t did saving the
dear taxpayers" any money, because
while the Senate wasted s312.5O worth
of its valuable time in the flood oi
oratory started by Senator Pitt in
opposition to the resolution, it pos
sibly saved the tax payers $4,000 OF
salary that the young lady might have
gotten. Charges were made by Sen.
ator Pitt and others that the raise
proposed by the House resolution was
only to carry out the promises oi
some parties to the possession con-
test for chief clerk in the House
whereby if Miss Elwood would with
draw from the race for clerk she could
have the enrolling clerkship and they
would get her pay raised. This
statement had it's effect and prejudic-
ed the case against the House reso-
luton. Twice had the resolution
been voted for unanimously in the
House and twice had the Senate de-
feated it, and this fight came up on a
motion TO reconsider the last vote in
the Senate. House members declare
they have a right to run their side
of the General Assembly and do not
thank the senators who refuse to al
low them to pay lady who is now
doing the work of two former clerks
in the House the salary they think
she is entitled to. They say they will
now see how some of these senators
vote when it comes to allowing an
other million dollars for a temple