Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 94, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1919 — HEAVY TAX ON DOGS IS PLANNED [ARTICLE]

HEAVY TAX ON DOGS IS PLANNED

House of Representatives in Favor of Increase. KENNEL OWNER TO PAY $lO Southard Measure, Which Would Protect Water From Municipal Works by Prohibiting Drains Within Mile, Finally Killed. Indianapolis, Feb. 21.—The house of representatives apparently Is In favor of a heavy tax on dogs. It laid on the table a motion < by Representative Laughllng to strike out the enacting clause of the Ratts senate bill to change the dog tax law to increase annual dog license fees in Indiana, and then voted to put an emergency clause In the bill as it went on to engrossment from second reading. The measure also was amended to provide that an owner of a kennel of dogs should an annual license fee of $lO if his dogs were kept in the kennels. It was expected that today’s session of the house of representatives would see the regular appropriation bill entirely out of way so far as the lower house Is concerned. Leaders of that body intended to devote the entire day to consideration of this measure as a committee of the whole, if the consideration consumed that much time, and It was believed that the bill would be passed under suspension of the rules and go to the senate without longer delay than today’s’sessions. The senate was expected to act on the bill early next week. The house handled many 'bills on second reading at the afternoon session and finally when the speaker began to hand down house bills or. third reading, his desk was clear of both senate and house bills on second reading. Several senate resolutions, among them being proposed constitutional amendments, also were read a second time. On motion of Representative Winfield Miller of Marion county, senate Joint resolution 21, which provided originally for amending the constitution so that It would provide that "the general assembly shall provide by law for a system of taxation,” was amended by the house to read, “The general assembly shall enact laws for taxation.” Representative Miller explained that the general assembly might desire to enact laws that were not particular parts of a system of taxation. When the Harris bill, to provide for amendments to the law governing the licensing of nurses by the state board of examiners for nurses’ licenses, came up for second reading Representative Smith Introduced an amendment to strike out parts of the bill, which provided a three years’ course of instruction for applicants lor licenses and which would have given the state board of nurses’ registration and examination power to- prescribe rules for hospitals, which were to give courses of training for nurses. Several representatives spoke against the amendment, but it finally w’as adopted by the house by a vote of 44 to 37. Then the bill went to engrossment. Among the bills read a second time was the Newman house bill, to provide for the sale of a part of the present site of the Marion county courthouse and the relocation of the building on another part of the site and the paying off of indebtedness that exists on the present courthouse and site.

The Southard bill, to protect water from municipal waterworks by prohibiting drains within one mile of reservoirs or wells, finally was killed by the house, after some argument on it had occurred. Several representatives said such a bill would .work injustices in their own local communities, and finally Representative Craig moved to strike out the enacting clause and this was done by viva voce vote In the house. One of the bills that went to engrossment was that introduced by Representative Miller of Mar<qn to provide for the relocation of the Indiana reformatory at Jeffersonville to some other site and the sale of the present site. Senator Mcßavens of Madison, who represents Dearborn, Jefferson, Ohio and Switzerland counties in the upper house of the legislature, will not be unseated. gThls was decided on when the senate committee on elections reported they had Insufficient evidence to ask the southern Indiana senator to give up his seat. Senator Munton introduced a eugenics bill which would require applicants for marriage licenses to present a physician’s certificate showing they had been examined not more than 86 hours before the application wai filed and that they were free from disease. The senate passed the McConaha bill providing that all road taxes must be contained in the first semiannual report. The house passed the bill in the senate to reimburse Putnam countj- for expenses in apprehending escaped prisoners from the state penal farm. The bill providing for Increase in salary of judges of judicial and superior courts upon petition failed to pass. The senate spent the entire after-* noon in a long fight on the bill to legalize Sunday motion pictures and finally was forced to adjourn with the vote standing at .25 to 23. Neither side could muster enough votes to win The “movie” lobby is working harder than ever before in an effort to obtain the necessary vote to pass the measure.