The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-04-09

schedule dnd required that the terminal
and commodity tariffs should conform to
the distance tariff, and repealed in the
present law the proviso which is also
contained in the interstate commerce
law, that the commission may suspend
the long and short haul clause in GER
tain cases. The inevitable effect of
such law would be to give the short
line between two points all of the bust
ness and to build up cities across the
boundary line in other states at the ex-
pense of Minnesota towns and cities.
One example is pertinent. The Great
Northern road from the Red River val
ley to Duluth is 81 miles longer than
the Northern Pacific, and under the
| Currier bill the latter would inevitably
have all the business. In such a con-
tingency the. only thing for the Great
Northern to do would be to abandon en-
tirely the transportation of grain to the
Duluth market, or else simply cross the
line to West Superior, when the traffic
would become interstate commerce and
the State law would cease to operate.
The Interstate commerce commission is
empowered to make competitive rates
in such cases, so that the Great North
ern would be enabled to give the same
rate as the Northern Pacific but to do
SO would have to build up
West Superior at the expense
of the Duluth grain market.
There are dozens of instances of the
same kind which could be cited show
ing the utter folly of enacting such a
law as Mr.. Currier proposed. It is now
probable that the house will turn it's at
tention to the Hompe senate bill, which
in brief provides for appeals from the
orders of the railway commission and
supplies the deficiencies contained in
the present law under the recent United
States supreme court decision, holding
that provision to be Unconstitutional
| which made the orders of the commits
sioners final and denied the right of ap-
peal. \ The usual charges of bribery
and corruption were circulated around
the hotel lobbies Saturday evening and
Sunday, but if there was; any crooked
work it was we'll covered up and as
difficult to prove as is usual with crimes
4 OF that CHAR aeter. zsz.s
The most sensational feature of the
week was. the veto of the new Mime
apolis city charter by the governor.
AS is probably well known throughout
the State, the city of Minneapolis,
which is usually overwhelmingly Re
publican, last fall, out of delegation of
Is representative and six senators, re-
turned IA Democratic representatives
and five Democratic senators, making a
total of 10 Democrats out of delega-
ton of 81. The first thing these dis
ciples OF Jetfersonian simplicity pro-
ceeded to do after their election was to
draft a new charter, with view to
centralizing in the hands of the mayor
all OF the patronage and machinery of
the city government, for the purpose,
as the author of the bill, Mr.. Tripp,
confessed of the building up a
Democratic machine, which would
be invincible and which would place
the city in the control of the Democrats
for years to come. There were no con-
stitutional objections to the charter,
although the document was loosely and
; carelessly drawn and inconsistent in
many respects. In vetoing the bill the
governor took a step which is without
precedent in the history of the State
and which is Numerically opposed to
the policy which he has heretofore laid
down regarding local legislation. He
! admits that his motives for writing the
veto were purely political and that he
; had intended to sign the charter up to
an hour before he vetoed it. In a word
he could not resist the pressure
| brought to bear by Minneapolis Repub-
licans, who literally swarmed his Of
fee all day Wednesday. The veto is
undoubtedly a good thing for the city
of Minneapolis, but it is very likely to
react seriously upon the Republican
party.
The legislature is now engaged in dis
cussing one of the most trivial ana alb
surd questions ever, brought before a
legislative body, involving a contro-
! versy between two rival baking powder
companies, the Royal and DR.. Prices.
The bill was introduced at the in
stance of the DR.. Price company and
provides in brief that any company
using in it's baking powder any ammonia
or compound of ammonia shall label the
same on the outside Of the package or
can. The effect Of the bill would sim
ply be to drive the Royal baking pow
der out of business in this State and
give DR.. Price an additional business
worth about @15 OOO no, onn,,,o Tbo