| Show PENDING legislation A NUMBER of important measures are pending in the legislature among these are the two school bills introduced by mr allen alien one of which aims to establish a system of free schools in cities while the other a lengthy one is designed as a school code for the entire territory these theae measures have not yet been reported upon by a committee where they seem to be receiving deliberate consideration it is generally admitted that the school law is not fully adapted to the present condition of the territory it was always incomplete ana ambiguous in its provisions and difficult to administer since it became a law the territory has greatly increased in population and wealth and a school code better adapted than is the present law to existing conditions Is needed mr allen alien has also introduced a bill embodying the essential features of the australian ballot system which has sprung into great popularity in a number of states however meritorious the new system may be and no matter how much may be said add in favor of mr allen allenis Is bill and from a cursory examination of it we are led to think well of it it to is useless for the utah legislature to spend time in considering it for such time would be wasted congress has enacted that elections in this territory shall be conducted under its laws as they stood march 22 1882 thus congress has virtually re enacted the territorial election laws toting existing when the edmunds law jaw was passed and no authority snort of that of congress can repeal materially amend oi 01 replace those laws with unfailing regularity for many years bills have been introduced to regulate the practice of medicine have been debated and killed two have already been introduced trod at this session and in each there are objectionable features which should either be removed or j cause the bills to be rejected one object of both bills is to punish per sons who practice medicine without A license and the terms upon which the latter to is issued presuppose pre suppose that the applicant has received a medical education while legislation designed to punish fraud imposition and false pretenses is good that which aims to confer a monopoly upon a certain class clam is generally bad it is a significant fact that chat the people in whose interest such bills have always assumed to be introduced into the utah legislature have never instigated the framing of such a measure so far as is known if a person can be permitted to seek from whom he will advice concerning the welfare of his soul why should he not have the same privilege concerning the welfare of his body if great care is not exercised legislation of the kind under consideration may infringe upon the most sacred rights righta of the individual mr reid held introduced a bill making it a misdemeanor to herd ten or more sheep within two miles of any city town or village this is ih another perennial subject of attempted legislation by members of our assembly but all such attempts have to be abandoned for A the reason that the utah legislature has no power to say bay who shall or shall not use the public lands of the united states those lands are open alike to sheep and cattle men and though settlements often suffer from the proximity of sheep herds it is useless to appeal to the territorial legislature for relief the matter is under the exclusive control of congress the bill introduced by mr barton to prohibit any public officer from accepting or using a railroad pass and to prevent a higher passenger tariff than three cents per mile to is an important one there is much to be said for and against it A three cent passenger rate in so sparsely settled a region as this is very low and would be a severe restriction upon some of the smaller roads in the territory existing and prospective but the main maia lines linds could stand it very well the pass pam prohibition would not amount to much because it could be evaded in different ways mr booths booth Is bill to make the legal rate of interest eight per cent ought to pass eight per cent is a fair return for capital in the territory nowadays now a days and the law ought not to give a creditor more than he can get in the open market for his money at a time when the banks charged froni from eighteen to twenty four per cent ten per cent was not high for legal interest but it to is high now in com parison with the rated a aft which money can be obtained in abundance As papu population lation and wealth increases the rate of logil leal interest ought to be lowered this has been done we believe in all the ra states state |
