Daily globe., 1879-02-10

cO1astltMtiOnGL-I7anae ediate Action Upon
insane Hospital and State Prison. Af-
fairs Demanded.
To the Editor OF the Globe.
W1NoNA, Feb. 5, lS79.-When are our Solons go
ing to settle down to business2 Notwithstand-
ing we are not to have another session of the
Legislature for two years, the present one has
been more than half consumed in little more
than organizing and buncombe. It would
seem as if a majority of them considered the
people fools, to be duped by the nonsense
which they have INDUCED in. Instead of
promptly voting themselves the usual number
of papers and amount of postage, Gas we ex-
pected, and knew they ultimately would,) and
going to work, much valuable time was spent
in discussion Of these matters, all to no pur-
pose, except to disgust the. public. The
"little brass kettle" having attracted consid-
cradle attention in the last political campaign
the Senator from Bunkersville and the mem
bers from Swamptown and all others below
grade-expecting to be lifted into higher posi-
tlons by it,-'went for that tester, and, as
might be expected meritoriOus measure is
almost made ridiculous by tacking to it such
internally nonsensical propositions as the one
making it a crime to offer less than the market
price for bushel of wheat The farmers are
not fools by any means, and look with disgust
upon such burlesquing of measures demanded.
Times~being harder than usual, that fact is
seized upon by another batch of these s.re.
formers as another opportunity for more bun
combo, and instead of attempting to interfere
with or interrupt the great steals that drain the
public purse they expect to satisfy the public
by introducing or giving notice of bills to re-
ducs the salaries of all State and county
officers. IL per cent. in one case, and in another
~ per cent, when it is fact that the pay of
county officers have been often reduced in
that way (the last of q series OF reductions was
two Years ago) that counties with valuation
of less than five millions find it very difficult
to secure desirable, trustworthy and competent
and county auditor. The salaries of these Of
icers in such counties Wright Mcleod,
Carver, Scott, Nicollet, sibley, LIE Sueur, Wa
SEGA and many others will not exceed twelve
hundred dollars, and the treasurers are required
to give bonds in from forty to sixty Thousand
expect they. are doing the public
favor by cutting the salaries
down lower. Where is the competent business
man who would accept the office then? Few
of them will now. The effect of such reduc-
tion would simply be to fill our offices with po-
litical dead beats and bummers.
The bill reported by the committee on re-
trenchment and reform fixing the salaries of
certain State officers is piece of absurdity,
that is only equaled by their bill to divide the
State into a reduced number of judicial dis
tricts. For instance, it proposes to reduce the
salary of the chief clerk of the State auditor to
$1,000. and the clerk of the State land office to
$3.50, and gives the State librarian 81 200, when
1T Is notorious that either of these clerks have
more to do in two months than the librarian has
to do IN twelve. After the Seeger-Munch defal-
cation was discovered the public demand was
that the office of State treasurer should be
hedged IN by iron clad legislation, and the sal
pry coI
bility attached, and this bill proposes to reduce
the salary to about the old figure. The man
who would accept that office for that salary and
give the half million bonds required, should
not have it. He would be either fool or a
knave. The Office of railroad commissioner is
to be consolidated with that of insurance COM
missioner, as measure Of economy, and yet by
this bill the united concern is to cost us in sal
aries "a, 900. These will serve to illustrate the
absurdities of this bill.
The bill from the same committee redistricting
the State into a reduced number of judicial
DISTRICTS is the very climax of absurdity. 1t
IS 50 because it is impracticable and unconsti-
tntlonal. 1t is only two three years since
the Legislature decided that three Judges were
necessary to dispose of the business of the
Second district-which is Ramsey county alone
but this committee Of wiseacres have con-
cluded that the counties of Anoka, Itsani,
Chisago, Pine Kanabec, Sherburne, Mile Lacs.
Bentop, Morrison and Todd can be added to
Ramsey county. Judge McKelvey is known to
nave business enough in the Seventh district to
keep him continually employed, still his dis
trlct is to be divided up among the Second,
Fourth and Seventh districts. Judge Macdon-
aid is known to have in his (the Eighty dis
trict, enough to keep him continually and in
dustriously employed, yet by this bill it is
proposed to increase his present district Cess
Sibley county, by adding the counties of
Meeker, kandiyohi, Chippewa, Swift, Stevens,
Big Stone and Traverse. He now holds ten
general terms per year, while under the new
district he would have to hold about eighteen
or twenty and be travelling all the time, and
would have no time to do the chamber bu,i-
ness, which takes one-half of Judges time.
In the formation of these proposed districts
no regard has been had to an equalization of
labor In fact the whole thing is too ridiculous
to require discussion.
But conclusive upon this whole absurd
scheme is the fact that the bill proposes an un-
constitutional law. Section IL of article of the
constitution provides that ''the legislature may
at any time change the number of judicial dis
tricts their boundaries, when it shall be
deemed expedient, but no such change shall a.
cate the office Of any .judge." 1 understand per-
fectly well that the individual who drew up that
bill will claim that it does not vacate the Of
fees of the judges of the Seventh, Tenth and
Twelfth districts, because Gas he will say) the
bill makes them judges of the district courts
term; but it does vacate their offices, all the
same. A complete answer to this position
would be this interrogatory: If you don't, by
abolishing their districts, vacate their Offices.
what is the necessity of this clause creating
and declaring them to be judges of the dis.
trlct courts OF the State? The manifest pur-
pose OF that reserving clause in the foregoing
section of the constitution, was to prevent
just such legislation as is here attempted.
This is an attempt to get rid of these Judges
by vacating their Offices: and that is all there
is of it. Without quibbling over the Seventh
being wiped out, it is certain that the Tenth,
Eleventh and Twelfth districts are wiped out
and the judges Of the Seventh, Tenth and
Twelfth districts (if the bill became law find
themselves out of the Office to which they were
| elected; and fail to see how they would be
more effectually vacated.
Again: Section of article 6 of the constitu.
| tioR provides among other things that 'severy
district Judge shall at the time of his election
be resident of the district for which he shall
be elected, and shall reside therein during his
| continuance in Office" What districts will
Judges McKelvy, Brown and Page reside in, il
this bill passes? No lawyer who values his
| reputation as such, will claim this bill to be
| constitutional.
Now, there are many subjects of legislation
other than these, which the public interests de-
mand should be attended to, and it is to bt
hoped that this kind of "tomfoolery'' will
stop. and important subjects be taken up and
acted upon. The condition in which the State
finds itself with reference to the State prison
and the cutting off the entire revenue o1
$4,000 per annum therefrom, is simply hui
initiating and disgraceful and demand,
immediate and most careful consideration
The State has manifestly, and by the
legislation of last winter, been out-witted; ano
we should be saved from further loss there
1t any respect or reliance is to be given to the
report of the committee appointed by the last
Senate to investigate the conduct and manage
ment of the hospital for the insane, the State
has been, in the construction of the building
and support of that institution, swindled anoc
robbed; and some of it's officers and employe,
who arc still retained in their places-havt
| been guilty of the most revolving hrutalitx 8