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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1907)
1 fin 0 A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO POLITICS, AGRICULTURE AND HOME LIFE Twentieth Year. RAILROAD BILLS JQIXT COMMITTEE VOTES TOR A " TWO-CENT HATE. WILSEY DECIDES THE TIE HOUSE MEMBERS FOR TWO AND OXE-IIALF CENTS. SUB-COMMITTEES ARE NAMED TO FORMULATE ANTI-PASS AND COMMISSION BILLS. Commissioner' Salary Fixed ut .".,000 House Kills Tlaii to Give, State Fair a" Levy of. One-eighth 3H1I. WEDNESDAY Sub-committees to draft bills were appointed by the joint railroad com mission at a meeting last night held In the senate chamber. It was decided to draft separate 'measures providing for a two-cent passenger fare; for an anii-pass law; and to empower the railroad commissioners to have au thority over all rates. The committee decided to fix the salaries of the com missioners at $3,000. Walsh of Douglas started the work of the evening by moving that it be the sense of the committee that a sub-committee be named to draft a bill providing for a two and one-half certt passenger fare. Of the members present, Representatives Marsh of Seward, Harrison of Otoe, Keifet of Nuckolls and Walsh of Douglas were favorable and Senators Gibson of Douglas, Aldrich of Butler, Epperson of Clay and Hanna of Cherry were opposed. Chairman Wilsey, senator from Frontier, voting to remove the tie decided against the motion. Senator Aldrich then moved that a committee of four draft a two-cent passenger fare and the proposition carried, the committee naming Sena tors WiltFe of Cedar, Ilanna of Cherry and Representatives Keifor of Nuck olls and March of Seward. Walsh of Douglas moved that t compensation of the commissioners be fixed at $3,000 each per annum. Sen ator Wilsey rose to interpose the ob jection that he was opposed to any offlTr of the state receiving greater compensation than the governor. Com missioners Winnet and Williams were present and they were asked what they nridred to state to the committee to i Vfmhiff compensation. Dr. WinnHt raid hs would merely give the figures paid In other Mate. Out of flftcn Htates north and isnuth win r there war elective commission, f north" rrn state paid an average of $3,133 and nine southern states paid an average of 2.00. The QraRe salary paid where there t elective itnmnlsin was Jilti itHl average of Appointive and Uc the t 'r-r:! vi"n wan l.'.SbS. ..iiHters Aldrich, llanru and lieprc Mntnttvr Kcifcr, Wal.-h and Haiti noil otd f..r the J 1.009 Kifrit y and it Prter of Cmiiilln. Thrrt foliowel U Kt"d d .tl . f .!! CtiNdn Ri to Mie proper way t pro Cefd to draft u Mil empowering th" i-onlion with authority to ru late. tfenitr lit r.. f iviuc.i m j uli'd Mil. tittf n the organisation mid cum Lincoln, Nebraska, pensation . of commissioners and another defining their duties and the mode of procedure. Senator Aldiicli was just as much in favor of one bill as Senator Epperson was in favor of two. Senator Epperson said the con stitution expressly stated that only one subject could be included in a bill and he feared that If the whole matter was covered in a single bill the constitu tionality might be successfully at tacked. Senator Aldrich said that the laws of Texas, Iowa and Florida had been in effect a long time and that they had withstood attacks in . court. These were single comprehensive bills. He thought by far the better way was to' cover the entire subject at one lime. Walsh of Douglas moved that a com mittee consisting of two from the house and two from the senate be ap pointed to draft a single bill covering the commission's duties. This carried and Senators Aldrich and Epperson, with Representatives Walsh and Har rison were named by Chairman Wil sey. More discussion followed as to the ad visability of one or two bills and Ep person made a motion for the second committee Mvhich was seconded by Keifer. This motion failed. On motion of Walsh' of Douglas a committee of four on anti-pass bill was appointed 'consisting' of Gibson of Douglas, Gould of Greeley, Farley of Hamilton and Knowles- of Dodge. This completed the business of the evening. It wa3 understood that the action of toe evening was simply to get the committees at work at some thing definite. The vote does not bind the entire committee to the determi nation arrived, at as to vital points but simply divides the members up to the .end that progress may be made. The committee " adjourned subject to the call of the chairman and mean while the sub-committees are expected to take steps to cover the duties as signed them. Firemen Visit Lincoln. Four captains of the Omaha fire de partment with a delegation of firemsu numbering fifteen in all, held a ses sion with the house labor committee yesterday on the Leeder double shift bill, which Omaha business men have been opposing. They stated that the cost of the innovation for Omaha has been overestimated and that in taxa tion it will amount only to a tax of 75 cents on every $2,000 of property. The committee will meet this morning to act on the measure. Telephone Bill In Committee. .The standing committee on railroads of the senate, Wilsey, chairman, which has the Epperson telephone bille be fore it, met during the afternoon and after considerable discussion, which disclosed much opposition to the bill, adjourned without action. The bill places telephone companies under the control of the state railway commis sion and requires such companies to connect for the transmission of mes sages. The provision regarding ' con nection is "viewed with alarm" by many members of the committee. Some say it is unfair to require a big company to connect with an exchange compris ing a few members, such as many of the farmers' exchanges. The ind? pendend telephone companies are said not to desire such a bill and the Hell company opposed anything of the kind two v ars ago, but not a few senators belhve tin1 Hell favors the bill more than the Independents do. The Hell Is reported to have connections at the presuu time with 170 independent companies In Nebraska, representing 37,noo p!une. A man is on the rnd constantly making contracts of this kind. The fate of the bill I hi jet unknown. hrch l vnr County option. At the First Haptlst church last Sun day morning, the membership and con grcxalion adopted unumlously by a ris ing vote, resolutions referring to the county option bill, known a.i hoinse roll No. f. The resolution are jim follow: '"Whereas, A measure known th county option bill, houe roll No. !, H n-iw pending In the legislature, lelng in" the hand of the judiciary commit ti. UH, "Whi t, as, Wo believe that thl measure Is an eminently fair and re on !! one, L-in,t c ilcul itrd to place some nuhitary restriction upon the 1! pjor traffic, placing the responsibili January 24, 1907 ty for the saloon, where If properly be longs, and gives promise of doing much to eliminate the whole saloon problem from partisan politics, therefore, "Resolved, That we hereby express our hearty endorsement of this meas ure and trust that it may receive fav orable action in both houses of the legislature. "Resolved, That we hereby earnestly and respectfully request our represent ative, Hon E. P. Brown, chtlrman of the judiciary committee, with our oth er representatives and senators, to use their utmost endeavors to secure fav orable ;,?tion on this bill In the com mittee, and in both the senate and the house. "Resolved. That a committee of three be named to convey to the gentlemen named above, the resolutions herewith offered." ' . E. E. Bennett, M. J. Waugh and R. Q. Williams were appointed by the chair' as a committee to present the resolutions passed. Impeachment for Keeping Lid Off. Senator Saekett of Gage, has intro duced S. F. No. 180, which if it be comes a law, will place the responsi bility of. enforcing all laws directly up on the governor. That officer will no longer be able to do as Governor Mick ey did when asked to enforce laws, say that the local officers are respon sible and if they do not carry out the intent of the law the people must go into court to get redress. The act makes it the duty of the attorney gen eral of th state, when directed by the governor to oust from offlco any of ficer, including mayors, wlio wilfully neglects to enforce a law and it makes such neglect punishable by ouster from office. During the first three years of Governor Mickey's term of. office he was appealed to by citizens of Omaha to remove the Omaha fire and police commissioners because they neglected to enforce the laws against gambling and the sale of intoxicants. Ho replied that he had no power to do so and told the citizens to get reJress in the courts. He was asked to stop prize fights and he usually notified the sher iff of the county where the complaint came from of the provisions of the law prohibiting such contests. He was asked to prevent the exhibition of a carnival company in a town where the local officers had declined to act, and he replied, bucked up by a decision of the attorney general, that he had no power to do so. The Sackett bill is In tended to remove local officers who re fuse to enforce a law and it is made stronger by making it the duty of the attorney general to proceed against such ofiiccrs, when directed by the gov ernor. The bill is as follows: Section 1 Any county attorney or prosecuting officer, sheriff, police judge, mayor, police ofneer, or police commis sioner or other, officer who shall wil- fully fail, r.egloet or refuse to enforce any law which it Is made his duty to enforce shall thereby forfeit his office and may be removed therefrom. Section - 2 The attorney general of the. state, when directed by the gover nor, shall institute and prosecute quo wairar.to proceedings in the supreme court against any such county attor ney or prosecuting officer, 'sheriff, police judge, police officer or police commissioner, mayor or other officer, and if the court shall tind that such officii" has wilfully filled or refused to enforce any law which It is his duty ns sur.'h officer to enforce, thn the tour, shall ivr.der judgment of ouster au ii.i t Mich officer and the office .-hall th-ir!;y lnvorue vacant. nnf' Funny Mnn. S- ! t?..r Kt pe-"! of t'lny county I add in;; to hi reputation as the funny nun of the Miute, Although ;. is lawyer, it is difficult to tell when he Is joking and v,h-n he Is in earnest. 0 is chaitin-Mi of th committee on taili tary ' affair and recently aiu:..uneed that he Intended to have a J. -Jut tn-et-log of Ids Committee with the SUva tlm ant.y. Y-sterd.iy a irKoiutlon wiut Irtro-'ueod by ;iie q t,f D,,iiK!,t uu. th"i Wing ;, i,.u-.r K j rr.ton to borrow and we-ir a unlf. ttit of the rank of ad Jut ins tfn!al and to ait -cort of the t.-i'.e to t!i - MeKtr.'.ey banquet at onah.v Senator ltpj erson dlstinauh".. -d him. s lf two j ".irs auto by making un at t.u U ott a bdl to nuk it ilawe ca won f"f the UUtf. of nquirrvls, YU-rd,y Subscription $1.00 when a bill came up for consideration providing for an open season of two months in the year, Senator Epperson said: "Mr. Chairman, two years ago I made a very able and eloquent speech on this subject. I have forgotten what I said, but I ask that the clerk of the committee of the whole read the speech from the records to apply to this oc casion." Gibson of Douglas who was . In the chair, said: "The gentleman from Clay must remember that his speech two years ago was made in committee, of the whole where no records are sup posed to be kept. Therefore his speech would not have been printed unless a special act of the legislature had been passed embalming It in print. I have heard of no such special act, so the speech will probably be lost to pos terity." ,' The gentleman from Clay informed the senate that he hardly ever said the same thing twice sto he would not endeavor to repeat the speech. The failure of, the bill to make 'an open season of two months will be sad news to ex-Senator Jones of Otoe who is now -living on the Pacific coast There was no closed season in the Ne braska game laws and he Introduced a bill two years ago to close a portion of4 the year. The senata got Into a wrangle over it and closed the entire year against the introducer's wishes, and the house passed the bill in that form and it became a law. "By all means, repeal that law," said Mr. Jones to Senator Buck of Otoe when the former left for his new home on the Pacific coast. "Carry the news to Jones," said a senator, yesterday after that .body refused td change' the 'law which he admitted ho was responsible for by mistake. V ; : , ' - AN ISLAND WAS ENGULFED Tidal Wave of January 11 Caused Great Loss of Life. THE HAGUE, Jan. .22. The tidal wave which devastated some of the Dutch East Indian islands south of Atchin, as announced January 11, practically engulfed - the island of Siniaiu. According to the latest infor mation received here Simalu has al most disappeared. It Ls said that prob ably 1,GC0 persons lost their lives. Vio lent earth shocks continue to be felt daily. According to the' brief official dis patch which first announced the de struction wrought by the tidal wave in some of the Dutch East Indian is lands, 300 persons perished on the In land of Tana and forty on Simalu. Simalu is situated off the northwest coast of the island of Sumatra. MORE PAY FOR MAIL MEN Tto 1itllojt Needed for this I'ur lione Sujk Hitchcock. WASHINGTON. Jan. 22. -First Assist ant Postmaaler General Hitchcock recom monded in his annual report that the sal aries of the officials and clerks in past offices anl the salaries of letter carriers bo increased to enable them to meet the Increased expense of living. In Ills testimony before tlio house commute- vn n.n t.. (Tit t a unil nostroada, Mr, Htlchccck ha re ! rated that recommen dation, supplying the committee with centsi fer ible data u:i the .ubj ct. At thd recommendation of the comn:ilte h- ha estimated th ttniount u-eesjry to carry his proposition Into ehW.. According tu tl ee t'mo s the KSHcm of Increase which ( Mr HluheocU 'tc.l will require oO,i fur the oiHct-rs and clerks ol post-ott'e-v. not tnclti!!j"; j a r :.i -t- r and their lep,ul- nrnj $.V '.' r t r lett.'r ear rl. ri. The c'linidtt'-e li i - n it yel teache.J a dfi--;itri on the mailt r. I TWENTY-NINE WERE KILLED i ..... Itrkult of )lNMroti Uteek mi (lit IliC l our Itontl, Ti;uni; hai ti:. ind.. Jan. :ia rld li.it of irad and lajuird ft out th ep!.ion and wr-ck of Big Four t'...ie!iii r train Mo. .". "N.itiir.l iv J at Sanford. li,d., Miomm twenty -ntn ! -i.i . I t: itty-itto Injured. Ul llie tM eighteen have ftcen Identified. CVt rotter K. 11. LeaMtt bo K u- work on the cause of the dluir to b y. The jiue ,f the etpKt,lau U 44 mud a tnytery rvir.