Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 12, Decatur, Adams County, 15 January 1959 — Page 9

THURSDAY. JANUARY 15. 1959

Vet Newspaperman Recalls Assemblies Shake-Down Bills Os Old Recalled By Eugene j. cadou United Press International INDIANAPOLIS 'UPD — The present session of the Indiana General Assembly is as pure as the well-known driven snow and smells as sweet as the proverbial rose, compared to the days of yore. If the purists of today begin

wfe 131 k itT3 Hill MrZ IH I SM low-low PRICES pits HOLDEN RED STAMPS with each 10c Food Purchas ALL PURPOSE DETERGENTS II DE or BRE EZE23 ——- SO FRESH GOLDEN YELLOW ? : , I————— -—..1 BEEIIMNEi fork Loin Sale ■EEQSfI IttKuSS lEESufI I HOLDEN red •JSIsSLJ' LEAN I STAMPS B cut thick JM and it j —** 25 /olden I ™ N Wwß Tt Y k<■ I • 4-LB. ▲ ▲ WE RES€RVE the right to L i AVG - MMIT QUANTITIES ■- - - -■™ra«ESSßEß™l| ” lB ib "WT NEW PACK • JUST ARRIVED FROM FLORIDA M^—i—' - ■!■ - Large Bologna u 49« | smoW mauiisiihweioee u.59* bolledham - ™ -69‘ I Dreaded SHRIMP I SSST NORTHERN OR PINTO FREESTONE IN RICHf| 2 X A t BEANS 4 49 «“«jL-r 2 - 39c wpi £ AA — TOMATO SOUP R c E a G n We AMERICAN DELUXE ■■ SJ P j ■ FROZEN W COFFEE ™J“ CRACKERS 3l | HHRiMWWBIB A .JM> SPRY =1 3 89 ■ r 4FH»IV» W sis BABY FOOD - -MQ. ADAIEAEC hoZo-s J> LB . J» K& Vl,s - 29/ - 0 BflG QwT SUNKIST C * UFO * M '* LOUISIANA yam TUBE 1 ' JU *«o < ORANGES SWEET POTATOES tomatoes PASCAL CELERY 2»«2a/i2 M ”gg/J oo: 49/ uTS. 3- 39/ Vi3tl9/ s-« 19/ LUX LIQUID • LUX TOILtf SOAP wo s°o d a b p ry ■ffiMKHnBOM BREEZE SURF ' 2 B £™ 33cEE&3KESHO^H^75 r 29< PINEAPPLE ys2MS<JOICE

criticizing the current crop of legislators, it would be well to recall the sins of yesteryear before the hot Spotlight of. improved newspaper coverage and fierce radio and television recordings reformed the lawmakers—to a degree. Hie writer and some of his contemporaries recall vividly a certain type of bill years ago. It was known as a "shake-down” or a “tambourine" measure. It was designed to extort tribute from .the business or special interest against which it was aimed. After introduction, there often was a conference with the target of the bill followed by its withdrawal after certain "arrangements” had been made.

(Meo BUI Cited ‘ A typical measure of this nature was a bill to prevent the use of oleomargarine in state institutions. On the surface; this might seem to be an innocent attempt of organized dairy farmers to boost the use of butter. But it usually was a well-laid plot to collect from the oleomargarine industry. Another foul-smelling bit of ancient legislation would be a bill to place a state tax an each utility pole. In the dear, dead days beyond recaU, before lobby reforms, there sometimes was a payoff for withdrawal of this measure, according to reliable reports. Other past bills of a suspicious

' T "1 THE DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT, DECATUR, INDIANA

nature would have provided: —-To force a revaluation -of public utilities for tax and rate purposes. —To compel the use of Hacktop paving under certain rather vague conditions. —To champion the use of certain types ■of school textbooks. —To increase the distance from a church that a tavern could be located. lb maneuver with' the axle weight of trucks. Editor Rapped Party The lobby headquarters of yore were not exactly centers of sweetness and light. The writer recalls that the crusading editor of an Indianapolis newspaper asked the utility lobby-

ists to arrange a poker and drinking party for- him. No sooner said than done. A day or so later, the fervent editor ran an editorial criticizing the sins of the nocturnal utility lobbyist! In the olden days, ladies of the evening added zest to such legislative . efforts as the Evansville bridge across the Ohio River, the creation of a state cosmetologists’ board and the important financial award of the printing of legislative bills. There are lobby rooms nowadays where a thirsty legislator can get a free drink and talk shop with his fellow statesmen, but the pressure has gone and the bawdy atmosphere of our salad days is no longer with us.

Label Sen. Conrad Rebel Os Assembly Colorful Figure In Upper Assembly By HORTENSE MYERS United Press International INDIANAPOLIS (UPD—The Indiana Legislature, already up to its haunches in bills, might best serve Hoosiers by being a “good, do-nothing” body, according to Sen. Roy Conrad. Conrad, a veteran Monticello Republican, has become known as the “Fidel Castro” of the 1950

session, away his associates found to tag him as a GOP rebel. Ever since the stocky restaurant proprietor and farmer was elected in 1940 as senator from Carroll, Clinton and White Counties, he has been one of the most colofuL figures in the upper chamber. Conrad is a Republican who, in his own words, “tries to do what I think is right.” This individual approach sometimes puts him at variance with GOP chiefs. "I don’t 'try to play a rebel role,” Conrad said. “It just happens that in the pattern of events I sometimes am in that lot.” The current Legislature was only two days old when legislators and newsmen had reason to look for another term by which to identify Conrad as an independent. He let it be known that in his opinion the 1957 “right to work” law had done the GOP serious harm and that he had no intention of following a party line and voting against a move to repeal it. “Too Many Laws’ “I dont understand why there is so much interest in my particular vote,” Conrad said. "People don't seem to remember there are six Republican senators in the 1959 session who voted against ‘right to work’ when it passed two years ago. That’s more than enough to repeal it without my vote." “There are too many laws now,” Conrad said. “What this state needs is a good do-nothing Legislature.”. Conrad also plans to help take another bill off the books — this With GOP blessing. It is the 1957 compromise time law which was roundly criticized and widely flaunted. “There are so many different ideas about time and we can’t enforce this law even though we tried to put teeth into It. It's seldom a government can enforce a law which most of its people oppose," he said. io Conrad, the time argument has its amusing side. He volunteered for World War II service even though as a state legislator he was exempt. He became a chief petty officer in the Coagt Guard, convoying military ships on their hazardous trips across the Atlantic from this country to Europe. “All of my mail as a state senator was sent to. m e in the 1943 session in which time was a big issue,” Conrad recalled. "Once when the whole crew had received no mail for three weeks, this mail

lire

Give A Gift That Will Last! 't If IGF* Ji 1 JRHK! ■r / AJiWMi \ : $ ■■■S -:<W % ' ,-y GUARANTEED . FOR PERMANENT VALUE! .* —1 IAITHAMFTON MT CARLTON MT FJCm Ring • • • • $250.00 fn(a««iMnt (inf . . . t $240.00 JI ; Srldst Circlet SI3.M Irlds't Clrdut $135.00 •Trad* rxark Price* incl. Fed. Tax. Rings *nl*rr»<i to show * JW’-' Choose an ARTCARVED Diamond Ring and lasting satis* , . faction is yours forever! Value is fully assured thanks'to •j ARTCARVED’s Permanent Value Plan.* For, as Hated in the guarantee, you may apply the full current retail price fleas tax) toward a larger ARTCARVED Diamond Ring, anytime, anywhere in the USA. Come in and let us show them j | to you, now! Beloved by Brides for over 100 years! • NOTE • ■ j Beautiful Mountings Like The _£x. .J . Ones Shown May Be Pur- ‘ chased F° r Mounting Your _ J Own Diamonds. H,, ' ML '• 1 * Authorised Jeweler, j BOWER JEWELRY STORE

PAGE ONE-A

r*’ ■ ■ t.ewi!" I." 1 I" 40 • ■ ’ J ' , ..wW 4* .. MP Mr V"' • “4 SADIST'S VICTIM—St Louis police are searching for the sadistic sex slayer who left body of 32-year-old Mrs. Ruth Ann Montague (above) in her car in front of 'a friend’s home. She had been strangled, her legs slashed, her lingerie cut away. bag arrived. Some of the other officers started reading these letters about the time issue. “Then pretty soon the whole crew was reading them and asking for more.” Measles and Mumps Conrad’s departure from military service came under conditions he now finds laughable. He became ill simultaneously with measles, and mumps. • • . “It's one way to get a private room in a military hospital,” Conrad said. “The doctors didn’t want me to give the measles to the mumps patients or the mumps to the measle people So they finally decided to send me home.” Unlike many of his fellow legislators, Conrad says frankly he has no interest in running for governor. “I’m too happy at home,” he said. “Beth (my wife) and I like to watch the people come and go.” Conrad and his wife own the Sportsman Hotel and Restaurant on Lake Freeman, and the lawmaker also is a widely known breeder of Black Angus cattle. Even though Conrad disclaims any intent of being a rebel, he is quick to join in the humor. Mrs. Mary Wedding, Governor Handley’s secretary, came into the Senate after Conrad drew his “Castro” tag.