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Show ASSEMBLY HAS JUST 72 BILLS Number Same as at Last Session, Many Meritorious Measures Will Have to Be Slaughtered. Comploto Information Is Needed to Enablo tho Dawmnkers to Framo a Good Bounty Law. Seventy-two now bills Is the material now rft hand for tho Legislature to grind upon durlntr tho remaining forty-eight days of tho session. It Is a striking colnclilcnco that on tho twelfth day of tho last session tho number num-ber of bills was exactly tho same sov-enty-two. But at that tlmo forty-fivo of tho measures had been Introduced in tho Houso and twonty-soven in tho Senate. This time tho Houso Is tho industrious body, having put in flfty-thrco bills to tho Senato'a nineteen. Thus far both houses havo been spared tho "freak" measures that wero co numerous nu-merous two years airo. It may bo that tho crop Is still in resorvo and that tho newspapers will havo something to make merry over before the end of tho session. Good Bills Doomed. It Ir sad to think of tho slaughter of really meritorious measures that will Uiko place if the Legislators keep In 'low their economy programme Ton per cent of tho bills Introduced at this tlmo call for the croatlon of now offices and tho appropriation of larger or smaller sums of money. As a rulo tho sums called for aro modorate, but In the aggregate they mako a largo total for a Stato that Is ncarlng tho end of its financial rope. Among tho new offices proposed is a poultry commission, a mlno Inspector, with two deputies and a clerk, a Stato veterinarian, a boiler Inspector, a board of commissioners to promote uniform legislation, a board of plumbing Inspoc- fnrn Whnn In onnnnr-llnn xvlfh thn flllOVB. one remembers the bills for oxporlment farms and county schools of ogrlculturo and domestic economy, It becomes plain enough that the country Is not at all backward In asking for what it wants. Even without bounties and largo road appropriations. It Is likely to got tho lion's sharo from tho Stato treasury. Naturally, Nat-urally, tho appropriations for tho Stato Institutions mako an Imposing total, but thoso expenditures are as much for tho benefit of the rural population as for tho dwollors In towns. No Season for "Alfalfa Club." Thero Is no apparent reason at this tlmo hy tho "Alfalfa club" should mako complaints. Doubtless It has becomo a habit to suspect tho city delegates of deep-laid plots. At any rate It pays, for tho country members havo raised the cry of distress co often that the mom-bora mom-bora frOm tho cities bellcvo there is something to It, grow sympathetic and make moro concessions than they othcr-wlso othcr-wlso would. Duo credit should bo given to tho country coun-try members. A good deal of their success suc-cess Is duo to clOYcrness and organizing ability. "When the representatives from tho cities want to got something through thoy go to the ' cow county" contingent for help. It Is confidently expected that tho fur will lly beforo a new bounty bill is agreed upon by tho two hoiLscs of tho Legislature. Legisla-ture. At the first glance It may oocm a comparatively easy matter to framo a law for tho payment of bountlos that will afford no opportunities for grafting. But Just try It! Thero Is not a bounty law in tho surrounding Statos that cannot bo beaten by a clevor gang of swindlers. Tho only reason tho fraud3 wero detected In Utah wus that the gang became too bold and overdid tho graft. Had the-y been content with small profits tho robbory might havo gono on for years undetected. Conflict of Interests. Any bounty law involves a conflict of interests. The sheep n.en want to get rid of tho coyotes. Tho farmers and fruit growers suffer from rabbits, ground squirrels arid gophors. Tho coyotes are of Immcnsj valuo In keeping down tho tho coyotrs becomo extinct thcro would bo such nn Increase of rabbits and squirrels, squir-rels, some of tho farmors say, that still larger bounties would bo required for tho protection of tho fruit interests. Tho subject sub-ject scorns to be ono on which thcro Is much Ignorance. To deal with It Intelligently Intelli-gently tho Legislature should havo such Information an could be collected by tho Agricultural collego and tbo experiment stations. Municipal Election Bill. In tho bill introduced by Mr. Fishbum of Box Elder to hold municipal elections at the same timo aa tho general elections, Homo of tho local politicians see a schomo to give tho present administration control con-trol of the million dollars that la to bo realized from tho ealo of water bonds. Tho argument for tho bill Is that it will savo the cost of a separata election. Tho chlof objection will be that it will dlvort attention from Important local questions to State matters to hold both elections at tho samo tlmo. A roport from tho Louisiana Purchase Exposition commission Is promised early noxt week. If thlB Is forthcoming tho investigating in-vestigating committee appointed by tho Houso and Scnato will havo somothing tanglblo to work upon and It Is fair to prcsumo that the Items will be checked up oo carefully as to sllonco all tho criticism criti-cism which has been heard on tho streets and In official quarters. If tho accounts are found to bo complete and correct. Will Demand Referendum. Tho labor organizations and others are taking a great interest in the inltlatlvo and referendum bill which is soon to bo Introduced. The officers of the State Federation Fed-eration of Labor and tho Salt Lake Federation Fed-eration havo called a mass meeting which is to bo hold Tuesday ovcnlng, January 2, at Federation hall to demand the pas-sago pas-sago of tho law. It Is understood that Hon. Henry W Lawrence -will prcsldo nnd that tho list of speakers will lncludo Republicans, Democrats and Socialists. A potltlon is already In circulation which has secured about &000 signatures in various var-ious parts of tho Stato. The referendum Is growing in favor among tho labor unions un-ions and this may explain why they are oo anxious to extend the samo principle to Stato legislation. |