446 



IOWA. 



all of the minor offices, and a majority of the 

 committees. The details of this agreement are 

 as follow : 



The Democrats to have the Speaker and second as- 

 sistant clerk. 



The Kepublica'ns to have the Speaker pro tern., chief 

 clerk, engrossing clerk, enrolling clerk, file clerk, bill 

 clerk, and postmistress, serjeant-at-arms, doorkeeper, 

 six assistant doorkeepers, two janitors. 



That the Republicans shall have first choice of 

 standing committees and choose five committees, the 

 Democrats shall have second choice and choose one 

 committee. The .Republicans have third choice and 

 choose one committee. The remaining committees to 

 be chosen alternately j until all committees are ex- 

 hausted. The Republicans to have a majority of and 

 including the chairman in all committees chosen by 

 them ; the Democrats to have a majority of and in- 

 cluding chairmen of all committees chosen by them. 



The Republicans shall have the right to name the 

 chairmen of the committees chosen by them and the 

 share of the membership of all the standing commit- 

 tees to the Speaker, and he shall respect the designa- 

 tion so made by them ar.d make up and announce said 

 standing committees accordingly. 



All visiting and investigating and special commit- 

 tees shall be equally divided unless otherwise agreed 

 upon, and the Speaker shall so appoint said com- 

 mittee. 



There shall be thirty committee clerks, one half of 

 which shall be named by the Republicans and one 

 half by the Democrats, each party to designate which 

 committee, chosen by them, shall be clerks. 



The choosing and division of the standing commit- 

 tees as aforesaid shall be made by a committee of six 

 members, three of which shall be chosen by the Re- 

 publicans and three by the Democratic caucuses. 



The first five standing committees chosen by 

 the Republicans under this agreement were 

 Ways and Means, Appropriations, Judiciary, 

 Suppression of Intemperance, and Representa- 

 tive Districts. The Democratic second choice 

 was the Railroad Committee. 



One of the first duties of the session, after or- 

 ganization, was the selection of a successor to 

 United States Senator Allison. At a Republican 

 caucus on Jan. 16 the Senator was accorded a 

 unanimous renomination. The Democratic nomi- 

 nee was S. L. Bestow, while ex-Gov. William 

 Larrabee received support among the Labor and 

 independent members. The vote taken in each 

 House on March 4, resulting in the re-election of 

 Senator Allison, was as follows : Senate, Allison 

 28, Bestow 20, Larrabee 2 ; House, Allison 50, 

 Bestow 41, Larrabee 6. The legislation of the 

 session includes an important act concerning 

 railroads, elsewhere considered. Another act 

 provided for submitting to the electors of the 

 State at the general election in 1890 the question 

 whether a convention should be called to revise 

 the State Constitution. The law regulating the 

 sale of liquor by registered pharmacists was so 

 amended as to be less onerous. The provisions 

 requiring applicants for permits to file a petition 

 signed by one third of the voters of the town, 

 city, or ward where the permit is to be used, 

 and requiring permit holders desiring to pur- 

 chase or procure liquors to obtain from the 

 county auditor a certificate therefor, specifying 

 the amount and kind, were stricken out. The 

 anti-" trust " law of 1888 was amended by in- 

 creasing the penalty for violation of its pro- 

 visions, by declaring forfeited the charters of 

 all corporations engaged irr " trust " combina- 



tions, by requiring the officers of all corporations 

 in the State to answer under oath an inquiry 

 from the Secretary of State as to whether they 

 are interested in any " trust," and by releasing 

 purchasers from any " trust " from liability for 

 payment of the purchase money. The State 

 was redistricted for the election of members of 

 the Lower House, and the levy of a State tax of \ 

 mill, in addition to the regular 2-mill levy, was 

 ordered for 1890. An Industrial Home for the 

 Adult Blind was established and $40,000 ap- 

 propriated for land and buildings. The follow- 

 ing appropriations were also made : For an 

 additional wing for females and other improve- 

 ments at the Clarinda Hospital for the Insane, 

 $180,400 ; for a hospital building at the Soldiers' 

 Home at Marshalltown, $25,000; for a main 

 central building at the Soldiers' Orphans' Home 

 at Davenport, $30,000 ; for a chemical laboratory 

 building at the State University at Iowa City, 

 $50,000 ; for a building for the museum and for 

 recitations at the Agricultural College, $35,000. 

 All attempts to secure a resubmission to the 

 people of the prohibitory constitutional amend- 

 ment, or to nullify the prohibitory law, failed 

 through the opposition of the Republican mem- 

 bers. Other acts of the session were as follow : 



Extending the boundaries of all cities having, by 

 the State census of 1885, a population of 30,000 or 

 more, two and one half miles in each direction. 



Authorizing cities of the first class to issue bonds to 

 refund their indebtedness. 



Authorizing cities of the first class to deepen, widen, 

 straighten, wall up, cover, fill, alter, or divert from its 

 natural channel any water course or part thereof, 

 within their corporate limits, and authorizing the levy 

 of taxes and assessments to defray the cost thereof. 



Giving cities and incorporated towns the power to 

 authorize or forbid the construction of street railways 

 within their limits and to define the motive power to 

 be used. 



Fixing the rate of interest on all permanent school 

 funds hereafter loaned at 6 per cent., but the counties 

 having permanent school funds in control shall be 

 charged only 5 per cent. 



Authorizing the boards of directors of school districts 

 to purchase and sell at cost text-books for the schools, 

 and allowing the electors of each district and county 

 to decide the question of uniformity of text-books in 

 the district or county, and to provide for carrying out 

 their wishes.- 



To establish a weather and crop service for the 

 State in connection with the Signal Service of the 

 United States for the purpose ot collecting crop sta- 

 tistics and meteorological data and of disseminating 

 more widely weather forecasts and warnings. 



To prohibit discrimination between insurants of the 

 same class in the amount of premium charged or divi- 

 dend allowed on life-insurance policies. 



Revising the fishing laws. 



Providing that the shares of capital stock of banks 

 shall be assessed to the banks in the city or town 

 where they are located, and not to the individual 

 shareholders. 



Changing the limit of legal interest from 10 to 8 per 

 cent. 



Providing for the appointment of guardians for ha- 

 bitual drunkards. 



Providing for the arrest, trial, and punishment of 

 tramps. They may be sentenced to the county jail at 

 hard labor not more than ten days, or at solitary con- 

 finement not more than five days, or a heavier sen- 

 tence may be imposed, if they are guilty of trespass 

 with unlawful intent or other misdemeanor. 



Designating as a public holiday the first Monday in 

 September, to be known as Labor Day. 



