St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-17
There Will Soon Be Some
Hair-Pulling in the Bis
marek Convention.
Taxation and the Legislative
Problem Afford q Basis
for a Scrap.
Certainty Of a Deadlock in
the Joint Commission on
Probate.
The Montana Constitution
Trainers Will Deny Women
the Right to Vote.

tlo nlSuG W tUl0s
BISMARCK, OAK, July 16.-The con-
stitutional convention of North Dakota,
which has thus far been quiet and con-
servative is rapidly reaching the point
where the clash of interests will bring
the members to an uncovering of their
positions. The question of railroad tax
alton is bound to cutan important figure,
and Chairman Cotton, of the committee
on taxation, to-day submitted PROPOSE
tion which has created much discussion.
He proposes that the governor, secretary
of state and state auditor shall cOnsti
tute a board of assessors whose duty 1t
shall be to assess each year the
railroads of the state including
road bed, rolling stock and all
building used for railroad purposes.
They shall divide the gross assessment
by the number of miles operated, and
the result shall be the assessment per
mile of road. The board shall also as
certain the number of miles of road
owned or operated in each county, and
by multiplying the assessment per mile
by the number of miles in the county
ascertain the assessment for each
county. The proposition provides that
in no case shall a railroad be assessed
for less than $4,000 nor more
than $1,000 per mile. There
is strong sentiment in favor
of this mode of taxation. and it is being
opposed by those who favor the gross
earnings system of taxation, which has
been the law under territorial govern
ment. and which is satisfactory to the
railroads. 1t is maintained by some
that the placing of this power Of assess
ment in the hands of the state officers
would be dangerous experiment. The
proposition to abolish the board of
county commissioners as now existing,
and providing that the chairman of each
township board shall be a member of
the county board has been submitted.
Under this plan the township system
will be established and the apportion-
ment be made by the population, and in
many many counties the board would
number from thirty to forty members.
The objection advanced to this plan is
that the board would be unwieldy and
expensive. A resolution was introduced
by Spaulding, of Cass, fixing the 22d of
July as the limit of time within which
proposed articles for the convention
Shall be received. Mr.. Linwell intro
duced proposition giving the wife full
power to control property belonging to
her at the time of her marriage, or ac-
quired by gift thereafter, and call
ing upon the legislature to more
clearly define her rights. The conven-
ton is unanimous On one question, and
that is the protection of the immense
grant of lands for school purposes, but
is little divided as to the plan. Gray,
of Cass, to-day introduced an article
providing that none of the school lands
granted by congress to the state shall
ever be sold, granted or in any way dis
posed of other than leased, and that
moneys accruing from the lands shall
be used for no purpose other than to
the support of the schools. Bic
mette, of Jamestown, added an
other feature to the prohi-
bition question by introducing
proposition that if at any time the
state shall prohibit the manufacture or
sale of liquor it shall indemnify brew
ers. distillers and dealers by paying to
them the value of the property used by
them in the transaction of their busi-
purchase the breweries and distilleries.
Robertson, of Pembina, wants to hold
treasurers and other officers down to
bed rock by making the loaning of state
or school funds for personal gain or in
any other name than that of the
state, embezzlement, punishment
any failure to pay over, produce
or account for the funds to the persons
required by law shall be prima facie
evidence of embezzlement. Camp, of
Statesman, proposes that the question
of prohibition shall be submitted in two
forms-absolute prohibition and high
license-so that at the election the
question of high license as well as that
of prohibition may be settled. If pro-
hibition is defeated the license for the
manufacture or sale of liquor shall not
suffrage plan was submitted by Miller.
of Cass. This gives the legislature
power to
EXTEND SUFFRAGE TO WOMEN.
at any time. Articles were also intro
duced establishing probate courts; pro-
hibiting the legislature from authoriZ-
ing lotteries or gift enterprises and
prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets in
the state; giving justices of the peace
jurisdiction in any case of money de-
mand OF personal property in which the
amount does not exceed $500; preScrib-
ing the boundaries of the state. The
committee on judiciary reported back
the article providing that no judge
could draw salary until he furnished
affidavit that no cause that had been
submitted to him remained un-
decided for a longer period than
ninety days, with the recommendation
that the remedy for delay IN decisions
The committee on apportiOnment is
nearly ready to report, and although
they have not decided whether to ap-
portion OH the plan of one legislative
house or two, they have agreed that,
provided the legislature has two
branches, the senate shall have thirty
three members and the house sixty
eight. The proposition to have the leg
islature consist of single body is gain
ing ground, and as the question has
been made special order for COM
mittee of the whole tomorrow, the
committee on apportionment will not
report until the convention gives ex-
preston to its sentiment. In case one
body is decided upon, the number of
members will be in the neighborhood
of 100. The committee on judiciary
has not yet reported on the question of
ing the Office of justices of the peace.
Judge Garland, the chairman of the
committee, has prepared a report
against the plan, but the members of
the committee will not sign it until it
has been printed. In all probability
the committees report will be adverse;
the argument advocated by some
of the leading lawyers being that
it would give absolute dictatorship
to ambitious politicians in the outlying
counties. Those favoring the county
courts complain against incompetent
justices of the peace. whom they claim
delay business, put the counties to un-