Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-04-13
Fixing the Salaries.

HARRISBURG, April 6.-Four bills
were passed finally by the Senate to-
day and sent to the House. On the
first, Mr.. Norris, fixing the salaries of
the members of the Legislature, :here
was prolonged discussion, during
which the provision making the salary
forrcgular sessions 81 600 was stricken
out. The bill in its present shape
provides that the salary of the Sena-
tors and members of the House of Rep
resentatigas is hereby fixed at S 900
each for each special session, except
when such special session is called for
the sole purpose of electing a United
States Senator, in which ease the sala-
ry shall he 5000" The other bills
were the one providing that all mechan-
ics' hens for work done or materials
furnished for or about the erection or
construction of any building shall have
priority over advance-money mortgages;
the one declaring policies of lite insur-
ancc non-forieitable by reason of nom
payment of premiums, but requiring
dividends when declared to be appro-
priated to the payment of such pre-.
miums unpaid, and he one to punish
persons who shall mix with poisonous
or deleterious drugs or chemicals any
ale, beer or other malt liquor. The
bill introduced some ten days ago and
which is intended to place the city
passenger railways of Philadelphia un-
der the control Of City Councils was
reported favorably, as was also bill
proposing an amendment to the State
Constitution so as to change the present
manner of apportioning the representa-
tion in the Legislature. The last-nam-
ed bill reduces the membership of the
House to $50 members.
a Flood from the Northwest.
An unprecedented winter promises
to be followed in the Northwest by an
unprecedented spring. The long sea-
son of uninterrupted cold, with fire.
quent and heavy SHOWS, has aceumu-
lated over an immense area an enor-
nous amount of winter in the form OF
snow and ice ready 10 be converted by
the first breeze from the south into a
raging and destructive food. a par
tal thaw over comparatively limited
area in Dakota and Nebraska is but a
premonition of what is possible with
but few days of mild spring weather
been ice-bound and silent foF nearly
four months, suddenly burst their
bonds, sverhowed their banks, while
each became a roaring, grinding, crush
ing engine of destruction. Bridges
went down at touch, railroad-beds
were everywhere washed out, towns
were deiuged, and houses crushed like
egg-shels before the resistless ice flows.
Suddenly formed gorges would pile up
the water and ice twenty-five feet in
almost as many minutes, then suddenly
breaking loose, the mass would 20
rushing on, carrying desolation in its
path.
This food has spent its force and its
waters are subsiding, though travel
and traffic will probably continue in
loI SOltiC IltliC W COlIc L Et
loss of life and of stock must have
been considerable, while the destruc-
ton of property has undoubtedly been
very great. Nevertheless it is much
relief to the Northwestern country.
Some dozen or more such partial thaws
before the general thaw sets in may
save the Mississippi V;lley from lar
ger flood than has visited it since the
has had white population.
Dakota Is by no means cleared IF snow
while Montana and Wyoming are
covered deep with it. The meteorolo-
gical reports place the depth of packed
snow in the valleys and canyons at
rom fifteen to twenty feet Iowa, Min |
lesota, Wisconsin and Northern H. |
inuis have still three, four and five
Get of solid-packed snow over their en-
ire surface The cold weather has |
,een unusually protracted, but the lon
ger it fingers the greater the prospect |
,i a sudden aud destructive thaw W hen |
t does 60. Sould the milder weather |
,e accompanied by the usual spring
aims the mighty Mississippi will have
nore than it can do to carry off the |
housand torrents, little and big,
yhich will ut once be poured into it