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Show Utah Legislature The 20th regular session of the Utah legislature received a very strong call for economy in the annual an-nual message to the lawmaking body from Governor Henry H. Blood. The message said, in part, . . . "never since statehood have conditions condi-tions required such rigid applications applica-tions of economy in state expenditures. expendi-tures. The governor suggests the issuing is-suing of $2,000,000 of bonds to meet the deficit now facing the state treasury." Consideration of a limited sales tax on articles non-essential to public pub-lic welfare to raise funds for school purposes and as a means of reducing property taxes is another item of the message. Some other suggestions are: Careful Care-ful consideration of the income tax filing fee and provision to make up the loss of income, should the filing fee be abolished ; endorsement of the income and franchise taxes as a means of reducing the burden of taxation on property, and underscoring under-scoring that part of the tax commission com-mission report, which advocates the repeal of property tax offsets; elimination of non-essentials in educational ed-ucational system to meet changed conditions of income ; banking legislation; leg-islation; continuance of the state's present road policy ; change of law to permit non-partisan judiciary and non-partisan department of education; ed-ucation; changes advocated in motor mo-tor vehicle law relating to load limits, lim-its, non-resident period of grace ; increase in-crease in motor truck tax to make this type of traffic carry proportionate propor-tionate cost of road improvement and government; approval of activities activ-ities of state fish and game depart- i nieiit and the department of public health ; study of unemployment needed with reference to local units of government doing more toward self-help; ratification of 20th amendment to the federal constitution constitu-tion abolishing "lame duck" sessions; ses-sions; attention is directed toward the changing economic trend, as contrasted con-trasted with that of the period preceding pre-ceding 1929; a survey of the present pres-ent situation shows a serious farm mortgage condition, which would be disastrous if wide scale foreclosures fore-closures were put into effect. The first week of the regular session ses-sion was passed in consideration of the proposed code of laws. Planned changes in laws pertaining to everything ev-erything from the licensing of motor mot-or drivers, tobacco taxes, oleo restrictions, re-strictions, and the pulling of teeth, by other persons than dentists, have been considered. Observers predict that the legislature legis-lature will close its study of the code very soon, and attack the problem prob-lem of either passing or rejecting it so that discussion of other legislation legis-lation may be started. There has been some dissatisfaction dissatisfac-tion manifested by members because consideration of vital economic problems was being delayed by the study of the code. "It seems to me that the house is fiddling while Rome burns," said Representative W. Lamoreoux, in urging greater haste on the part of the lawmakers. Representatives Pope, Salt Lake and Allen of Piute also advocated more speed in arriving at the vital needs of the people. The mechanics of code adoption procedure has been carefully worked work-ed out in the report of the joint steering committee, which as adopted, adopt-ed, provides that reports on the code will be given title by title and the exact wording of any proposed change. Reports of committees will not be considered until all hearings ' on the code have been completed and a gentleman's agreement has been made that if new bills are introduced in-troduced before adoption or rejection rejec-tion of the code, they will be referred refer-red to the proper committees, and not reported out. The senate unanimously adopted two memorials to Congress. One Introduced by Senator Knox ratter-son, ratter-son, urges the national body to pass the Colton grazing bill, and the other, oth-er, the Oddie bill, asks authorization authoriza-tion of $12.5.000,000 federal aid road work during the fiscal year of 1934, starting July 1, i!)33. A memorial on silver Introduced in the legislature, slates in part, "Therefore, the legislature of the slate of Utah, the governor concurring concur-ring therein, earnestly recommends a greater use of silver as a monetary mone-tary supplement to gold, (hereby increasing in-creasing the supply of metallic money for use as a circulating medium med-ium and as a base for currency and credit, which by amplification of the supply of basic money will stabilize sta-bilize currency, credit and international interna-tional exchange and Increase and stabilize prices of commodities, with many and great advantages that Trill result therefrom. "We respectfully petition the president and congress of the United Unit-ed States to arrange for the participation partic-ipation of the United States in any International conference railed by another nation or nations to consider con-sider an international agreement for such increased use of silver as money, or if no such conference be held in the Immediate future, to cmII or obtain an International conference con-ference for that purpose under the auspic's of the government of the Unit"d Slates, and If no such International In-ternational conference can be obtained, ob-tained, to give serious consideration to individual action f'T increased use of silver as money by the Vnited States." |