The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-29
WHAT THEY HAVE DONE.
The Work Accomplished by the
Third Legislative Assembly
in Four Weeks.
Four Bills Passed Both Houses,
but a Senator Has Not
Been Elected.
Some of the Very Important Measures
That Are Pending In tho House
Of Representatives..


The legislative assembly Of Montana has
now been In session four weeks, and up to
last night ninsty-thfes bills had bssn In
Produced in the house and thirty-thrse In
the senate. The bills that have passed
both houses are: Repeating the sstray law.
creating the county of Teton. creating the
county of Flathssd, and one appropriating
$4,000 to pay the employees OF the senate
and house. The important measures yet
to be acted upon, and that are in various
stages OF progress, arc those locating tho
educational institutions and the insane
asylum, widows home and penitentiary.
There are also a number of county division
bills, such as the Sweet Grass, introduced
in the senate yesterday, the Broadwatsr,
the Valley. the Granite the Bear Paw aud
the Bitter Root. Thon there are the ap-
preparation bills and the the report Of the
joint committees on the code, all OF which
will consume considerable time. Both the
senate and the house have gotten we'll into
the harness, the employees have become
familiar with their duties. and II new
laws is what the people Of Montana
Wunb euoy VA pioDhDly Kcb u lhII III
from the present Legislature.
The board of Worlds fair managers are
anxious that some definite action be taken
as early as possible by the Legislature on
the bills affecting their work. In the house
the bill appropriating $4,000 TO carry on
their work is pretty we'll advanced, but it
has yet to go through the senate, and iudR-
ing from the report of the committee Of
the senate If the house bill only carries
$4,000 when il passes that body. the senate
will amend by increasing it to $75,O0O or
$4,000. This would entail more delay.
and in the meantime no contracts can DO
made looking to tho installation of the ex-
hibit until the board knows how much
money it will haye at its disposal. As the
bill now Gtands in the house it ia being con-
sidered in committee of the whole. Yes
terday the first section. appropriatinQ $780,
600. was ordered stricken out and no sub
stitute put in its place, and after this was
done the committee went ahead con-
sidering the sections telling how the money
was to be expended. As it now stand the
committee of the whole has decided to np-
propriate nothing. though this was not the
evident intention.
Though two OF the county bills are out
of the way, there is no apparent falling off
in the number of gentlemen who are in
attendance on the session in the interest of
county divisions. The Valley bill will be
out of the way next week, and the Bear
Paw and Bitter Root bills will come to the
front. Close on the heels of these are the
Broadwater and Granite county bills. and
yesterday a new aspirsnt was entered.
Sweet Grass. The bill for this county was
introduced in the senate yesterday by
Hatch. II contemplates creating a new
county composed in part of alstrip from the
eastern side Of Pa k county, the pan-han-
die of Meagher county below a
point ten miles below Martinsdals
on the Mussslshell river It includes
also a large portion of the !. 100. 900 acres of
Crow Indian reservation opened by procla-
nation of President Harrison October last.
This county bill differs from tho other
county division measures before the legis
l@ature; 1t beng modelled after the bill OF
1885 creating Fergus county. roviding for
organization utter the next general cleo
ton. at which time the officers for the new
county will be elected. Big imbsr il the
designated county seat. In the opinion Of
Senator Hatch aud Represt ntative Van
Cleve. whose homes will be within the
boundaries of Sweet Grass county (should
the bill become n law room was made for
new county bv the opening of the Crow
reservation. There may. however. be u
difference OF opinion come up from Living
ston, the county seat of Park county.
Friends of the Sweet Grass bill say it will
be an odd proposition for Livingston to be
upon the other side of county division
argument, after the long and hard contest
the people there made with Gsllatin for
division.
The senatorial deadlock has now lasted
since Jan. II, and the contest has reached
that stage whore public interest is at the
ebb. Tn Dixon people seem to be as firm
as ever and the Clark people show no signs
OF giving up the tight. The movement look
ing to the substitution of another cpnui-
date in place of Col. Sanders Sc ms to have
died out, and the senatorial question is
less discussed in the hotel Hobbies than
county division and other important | Qis-
lation. There are apparently no negotia-
tions on the democratic side looking to a
settlement Of the contest, and the only
thing looked for to enlivsn the fight il the
arrival Of L. b. Carter.
There are several bills on the house files
relating to licenses. One of them is by
Representative Tallant. and provides that
retail liauo licenses shall not be granted
for less than a wear. while licenses OF other
kinds may. Those issued for II year are
transferable; those issued for less are not,
The county commissioners are authorized
from time to time to appoint All inspector
OF licenses, and fix the compensation. The
license inspectors duty is to 90 around and
Inspe ct the licenses of those in business, to
see that they have been kept up, or that no
ono il operating without one. The license
bill Of Representative S~charnikow makes a
sliding scale of irices, as follows: Where
the sales amount to $1,000 a month
or more. $50 per quarter: be-
tween S1o,o0o and $500 tO a month,
$40; between 5000 anu $1,000 a month.
$50; between $1,000 and VT. 600 n month,
$40: between 81, 900 and 5000 IL month. So;
between $500 and $40 Il month, H.. 80.
Persons having no permanent place of BUSH
ness. other than travelling merchants,
hawksts and peddlers are reGul ed to nav
500 per quarter and II tax at the rate of
the preceding levy, on his stock of goods.
lhis Is liable to catch the people who d,o.
into own for "A few days. get u. an auction,
and Then leave without cropping anvthin
Dut q small license lee into the city I eus-
MY. There liz nnoths bili, introduced by
Representative Lockhart, by request, rrgu-
iating the lie ns = of hotel keepers on / e
elidIpa scale principle. Tbs motto OF Its
introduction h ought & lot Of hotel men
around the house.
IL the legislature does u do something