Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1923-01-24
REED, GILBERTSON
ON COMMITTEES
Senator Reed and Representative
Gilbertson Placed on Num-
Der Important Standing
Committees in
Legislature.
IMPORTANT ROAD
BILLS ARE UP
One Bill Is to Allow Counties to
Abandon Paving Projects BY
Popular Vote After
Two Years From
the Initial Voting.

Des N0ines, Iowa, Jan. 22-Unless
there Is something not now fore
| seen, all of the laws of the state of
| Iowa will be assembled i'm one vol
ume about six inches thick, by one
year from today. Code revision pro-
cedure has been settled. Governor
Kendall has formally promised to
call a special session of the Fortieth
General Assembly to complete ths
job, if this regular session begins it.
The assembly already has started
TO work. Thus attending to its halt
of the bargain. Code revision, bug
bear of two governors and of three
successive legislative sessions--is on
the road TO completion.
The question as to whether the
proposed bargain with the governor
should be needed or ignored by the
Legislature, was settled last midweek.
In both houses it was the first leg
islativs question that developed or
ganized groups of opposing opinion.
The result hints at some interest
ing things, as to the probable COM
pleNlon Of the assembly on many
future issues.
Specifically it seemed a quite de.
cisive victory, in both houses, for
the so-called progressive" legisla-
ative groups. Progressive" is not
used here in a descriptive or COM
mendatory sense, but merely as az
identifying tag, made familiar By
much use mean simply that in the
Edison OF Buena Vista and Hauge
of Polk We're spokesmen on the win
ming side; and in the senate the
counsel of such as Holdoegel Of Cal
hOun, butcher of Johnson and Wich-
man of Hancock prevailed. The fin
al vote in the house was 7S to 20,
the vote in the senate was 40 to 7,
both in favor of beginning code re-
vision immediately.
The majoritieS would seem to in
dictate overwhelming progressive"
strength in both houses. In fact,
, there Is no such uneven division. The
recOriet votes do not indicate the
true situation.
In the house the vote on code re-
vision revealed clearly a three-way
Spllt-three legislative groups, each
quite clearly defined. Two Of these
supported the revision program, and
one of them opposed it.
There was one group composed
mostly Of house members who are
not famers-lawyers, bankers, mer-
| chants and the like-and that group
! followed such men as Hauge ana
Clark. Many of them will continue
to follow the same leadership on a
/ great many legislative questions.
|
| for which McClune of Mahaska was
spokesman. In it were perhaps
forty house members, mostly farm
erS, who also supported the major
| ity program. Speaker Anderson's
position placed him in this group.
The split among farmer house
members marked the failure of dill
igent effort by Children to drum up
united farmer front on the pend
ing question. To this end a meeting
had been held in the Wellingtor,
hotel the evening before, at which
some fiery speeches urging united
action were made. The failure pro-
baby is quite significant.
1t hints strongly that there can
not be made, at this stage of the
proceedings, any alliance of the six
ty-Odd house farmers, who will wors
| together under unofficial leaders and
act unanimously in favor of caucus
majority opinions upon "a variety or
legislative subjects. Children's eff
fort was directed to that precise end,
and in it he was helped by persons
who are keeping track of this legis-
lature for the Iowa Homestead.
The Indication of this first house
division is that there will be "a min
ority of the house, a group of nor
more than twenty-five who will have
opposite opinions on nearly every
thing that comes up, and an inde-
pendent, or "fluid" group of between
! 80 and 40, mostly farmers, with
whom the advice of McClune and An
derson will have much weight. This
fluid group will hold the balance OF
power.
OF course upon any strictly agri-
cultural question, or upon any ques-
ton in which farmers are vitality and
directly interested, such as taxation
or appropriations, there is likely IL
be little division. 1t is very doubt,
full If ten members of the house coul<
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