Show r 0 a I I II ll lU der lite the thi J I lii V Ill r r itol Q By U. U S S. S P P. P A A. A Service To buy or not to buy that is the question Anent this of buying by thirsty denizens of Utah will probably probably probably ably know by the end of next week whether or not they are to be permitted permitted permitted per per- to buy those products by-products of ot corn and rye well known as hard liquor by the drink and by the bottle bottle bottle bot bot- tle or by the bottle only To 10 keen up of sentiment fore and aft art in house and senate it looks very much as though the by- by the bottle only fellows are arc holding the whip hand They proved conclusively conclusively last week that as far as the lower house Is concerned the question question question ques ques- tion of liquor control is no longer one of state stores versus licensed private selling places with no privat private private vate vat sales by hotels and restaurants restaurants ants only The sole and remaining hope at least in the house of the private private private vate the drink sales exponents now seemingly lies in the reten retention tion of a semblance of such sales as a apart apart part pare of a state operated stores measure That they are arc faced with witha vitha a bitter last-ditch last fight to obtain even this small leaven is admitted Hardened proponents of stores the by sales only are apparently apparently apparently unwilling to grant the hotel- hotel restaurant sales concession and are claiming victory for state tate stores I with no the drink sales at all I Under House Bill 41 41 the the committee committee committee com com- of 49 bill reported out favorably favorably favorably last week by the house judiciary judiciary judiciary ju ju- ju- ju committee as amended Saturday power to name a liquor control commission of three is vested vested vested ves ves- ted in the governor Amendments adopted further provide an anti snooping section prohibiting records records records re re- re- re cords being made public excepting in court actions elimination of a section n th Flint t nn no stor e t P b shall be established in any county in which 60 per cent of the voters at the last repeal election favored continuance of prohibition eliminated eliminated eliminated elim elim- another making it mandator mandatory mandatory manda manda- tor tory for the commission to determine determine deter deter- mine how much of monies allowed allow allow- ed shall be invested in various brands of alcoholic beverages and another giving liquor enforcement I Isome powers to all peace officers and some state officials i Senatorial as well as house opinion opinion II ion seemed to favor quick disposal of the liquor problem This was vas shown when a move to place liquor control measures last on a list of bills to be considered for action by byan byan byan an powerful all-powerful sifting committee to be appointed by Senate President President President dent Maw was defeated While a house caucus of members members members mem mem- bers showed a majority apparently in favor of state stores without private sales sentiment in the upper upper upper up up- per branch may not be so strong along this line Powerful elements there are said to favor state stores with private sales permitted in certain state licensed places such as hotels and restaurants Is labor through its legislative representatives outsmarting the farm bloc supposedly bloc supposedly its lawmaking lawmaking lawmaking ing bedfellow bedfellow in in the daily dally doings on Capitol Hill Some legislators allied with the agriculturists profess to believe this this this- that the soil toilers thus far have been taken for a legislative ride by their perhaps more politically politically cally skilled coalitionists As evidence evidence evidence evi evi- dence they point to the record of measures passed upon by house and senate seeing there more for labor labox bills than those deemed important to agri agri- culture 0 8 Labor has succeeded with the cooperation of lawmakers from the rura communities or districts in getting action on several in which its keenest supporters are vitally interested On the other hand a goodly proportion of the bills in which h rural are evincing the greatest interest are yet to come before the house or senate for consideration Three measures of great concern concern concern con con- cern to labor labor child child labor underground underground underground under under- ground miners' miners work day and control have control have passed the house Only one of interest to the farmers Carmels the homestead tax exemption ex ex- emption bill and its benefit to farmers is questionable questionable- has wc we final approval in the lower branch And the last received practically unanimous support Many agriculturists agriculturists agri agri- culturists however opposed the child labor resolution but labor delegates held it non The agriculturists have benefited benefited bene bene- by some minor balms In passage passage passage pas pas- sage by the house of such bills as those providing for labeling of in ingredients ingredients in- in In commercial foodstuffs foodstuffs foodstuffs food food- stuffs flood and erosion control encouragement regulation of the commercial fertilizers and Ini- Ini gation stock redemptions The senate has recognized the farmers by enactment of the bill enabling the f federal deral government to buy lands for flood and erosion control Of more importance was its passage of the homestead tax exemption act Neither has it done much that labor wants excepting passage of the child labor resolution resolution resolution tion originating in the upper house It did pass the underground miners' miners hour 8 bill but with an amendment which the mine workers workers work work- ers declare destroys the measures measure's effectiveness The bill in which labor is most vitally interested interested interested-H. H. H B B. B 4 providing providing providing pro pro- viding for many major changes in inthe inthe inthe the state workmans workman's compensation law law law-is is receiving much attention much of it adverse In fact so strong were the objections that it has been rewritten The Hall bill regulating produce I dealers a measure of great interest interest interest inter inter- est to agriculturists was under floor discussion last week but remained in status quo due to ad ad- It was unfinished business business business busi busi- ness for Monday Chicago versus the Intermountain tain tamp country This might well be a title cap tion for the battle now being waged by western industry against the proposal to open the way for fora forI a return to the alleged discriminatory discriminatory discriminatory back haul system of freight charges thru the repeal by bythe bythe bythe the national congress of the transportation transportation transportation trans trans- act familiarly known as th the long and short haul The real motivating force behind the railways' railways effort to repeal the law is said to be a keen desire on the part of Chicago territory industrialists industrialists in in- in- in and wholesalers to regain control of western mar mar- This they had before t the e i I i II Panama canal was built Construction Construction Construction Con Con- I and andI of the big ditch I consequent steamship freight movements movements movements mo mo- brought the East into competition with Chicago and eventually eventually eventually ev ev- opened the intermountain country and Pacific coast to the eastern seaboard and Pittsburgh territory markets Now say westerners Chicago wants to destroy this competition They argue that the railroads base their for repeal on a desire to at least share in the coast to coast traffic now running run run- ning fling thru the canal but that that what they really want is destruction destruction destruction tion of this traffic and to substitute substitute substitute tute for it a similar line of merchandise merchandise merchandise mer mer- chandise from Chicago hauled west by the rails Intermountain industrialists and merchants claim that repeal of the law would result virtually in removal removal removal re re- re- re moval of manufacturing establishments establishments establishments establish establish- ments to the seaboard They point to industrial development here having been made possible by abolishment abolishment abolishment ab ab- ab- ab of the old discriminatory rate structure under which the rate included the freight charges from Chicago to the Pacific coast plus the back haul charge to Salt Lake City Repeal of the law would they say make it possible to return to the old system of freight charges thereby increasing increasing ing rates to such an extent as to put them out of business in this section Utah legislators are being urged to memorialize congress against passage of the repeal act The Utah Citizens Rate association is support supporting ng the memorial Some railway brotherhoods are opposing it on the ground that repeal would help the railroads and thus result in increased empl employment S. S M. M Welsh state legislative represent representative representative sent tive of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen is supporting it a e t According to representatives or of operating companies additional burdens would be imposed on consumers consumers consumers con con- sumers with no compensating benefits to the public thru passage passage passage pass pass- age of a long list of public utility measures introduced in the Ule house The bills sponsored by Representative Representative Representative Warwick C. C Lamoreaux of Salt Lake County propose many changes in existing regulation regulation regulation regula regula- tion by the public utilities commission commission commission com com- mission of gas electric and telephone telephone telephone tele tele- phone utilities They enter into practically every detail of company company company com com- pany management including holding holding holding hold hold- ing companies Mr Lamoreaux at a recent public public public pub pub- lic hearing on his bills was unable to explain the intent or purpose of some of the proposed changes in existing regulations Deputy State Attorney General John C C. C Rice was called upon to aid in making explanations but he admitted unfamiliarity unfamiliarity unfamiliarity un- un familiarity with many of the Ule bills R R. R R. R Garey public utilities commission commission commission com com- mission engineer declared that H. H B B. B 46 pertaining to contracts with affiliates was and there is some doubt as to its It was pointed out that H. H B B. B 58 requiring different accounts accounts accounts ac ac- ac- ac counts for and strictly strictly strictly utilities business would be a direct blow at the rural consumer The substance of arguments against Lamoreaux measures was that the utilities commission already already al al- al- al ready possessed sufficient power to protect the public and that requirements requirements re reo re- re mandated would add unnecessarily to costs of operation which of necessity would be reflected reflected reflected ted in burdens upon the consumer Nine of the group of 17 Lamoreaux Lamoreaux Lamoreaux Lamor Lamor- eaux bills have been reported out favorably by the house public utilities utilities utilities util util- committee One H. H B. B 67 making it mandatory for utilities to report rate schedules and unit costs on consumers' consumers monthly statements statements statements state state- ments was passed by the house last week H. H B B. B 46 is as yet un un- un- un acted on by committee |