Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 February 1913 — CLASSIFIED COLUMN GOOD ROADS BILL PASSED BY HOUSE [ARTICLE]

CLASSIFIED COLUMN

GOOD ROADS BILL PASSED BY HOUSE

Motion Calling on Governor Ralston tb Accept Keegan’s Resignation is Tabled. In a session Monday afternoon asting from 2 td 5:20 o’clock, the louse passed ten bills, killed one, received fifteen new measures, tabled a Branaman resolution calling on i;he governor to accept Representative Keegan’s resignation, refused to reconsider the vote killing the Norris bill to exempt Greek letter fraternity houses from taxation, and sentenced the Billman garnishee bill to death by making it a special order of business for March 2, which is Sunday. Among the bills passed was the Hawkins-G. W. Spencer measure, in which the house committee on roads worked out its ideas on roads legislation and put forward a measure* to be substituted for the Hughes highway commission bill, which was defeated some time ago by a movement which was led by the farmers of the house. The vote was 76 to 12. The bill embodies ideas which were discussed by Governor Ralston and representative house farmers, and is to be passed as an administration bill. It is one of the few big bills now marked for early action and enactment. Another bill passed on third reading was the Boyer teachers’ pension bill, applying to Terre Haute. The new bills Introduced included a primary bill, bearing the name of Representative Judkins, which represents the ideas of the progressive party. Representative Hawkins and G. W. Spencer stood together in meeting all opposition to their road bill, and so well did they answer arguments against the measure that only twelve opposing votes were cast. The bill, which places supervision over county roads in the hands of a county road superintendent and assistants, had been indorsed by the house road committee, the fanner members of the house, and is said to have been approved by the governor. Both Representatives Pierce and Combs made unsuccessful efforts to amend the measure. The latter sought to strike out Sections 9, 10 and 11, which provide for a tax on automobiles, the revenue to be used in the repair of roads. Representative G. W. Spencer defended the automobile tax feature, though he said that he owns an automobile and will be affected by the law. He moved to table the Combs amendment. On the roll call Mr. Combs asked permission to explain his vote, saying that he opposed the bill because his constituents are against the automobile taxing feature and the creation of new offices.

Representative Sands failed in an effort to amend the Stotsenburg senate bill, providing that railroads pay their employes semi-monthly instead of monthly. The bill provided that payments be made between the first and tenth days and the twenty-fifth and last day of a month. Mr. Sands sought to amend it so that payments would be made between the first and fifteenth, and the fifteenth and last day of the month. His motion, on motion, was tabled. Representatives Beatty and Daugherty were the only ones to vote against the passage of the bilL The bill killed was the Stahl measure to require counties to assess the maximum tax levy for school purposes before drawing on the state deficiency fund for aid. With Representative McKnenan agreeing to withdraw his motion to postpone further action indefinitely, it was voted, on motion of Representative Bedwell, that the Kattman senate drainage bill be made a special order of business for 2 o’clock Tuesday afternoon, A motion of Repws&nfative Cravens to reconsider the Norris bill exempting fraternity houses from taxation was tabled on motion of Representative Weisman.