The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-10-04

growing state was two years older, and
naturally needed little more money to
only II mills, difference over that legis-
lature Of five-tenths Of mill, or one.hulf
Of a mill. putting it in another form Now,
R Of has e ey tge 70
1891 and 1922 under the legislature Of 1891,
and for the years. 1893 and 1894 under the
lew Of sea Mli nnq tax lew of
1898 by $36S,OOO. In other words. the ALI
ance legislature of 1891 levied $36S, 900 more
If the Keophe Of the state than
1898. So you have it in those three in
stances, in the matter of running expenses
in the matter Of appropriations and in the
anything but economical. The economy, the
careful scrutiny that legislators always
to the people by the Republican legislature
Of 1898. But that was not all, my friends
II that expensive legislature of 1881, that
people of this state some tangibleand i'm
portant reforms, we could have stood it
better; but, aside from the Australian bal
lot, they gave you nothing Of Importance.
There were two measures that occupied a
great deal Of the time of that session; one
was the bill relative to baking powders
They had an intense struggle in the legis-
to determine which powder had the most
alum in it; and that question, that alum
question, usurped good deal of the skill.
that legislature, and there was big lobby
swarming around that legislature to give
these statesmen light on the question of
journed without settling that question, and
you have to eat, from that day to this,
baking powders with some alum in them
One other important thing can think of.
You know our federal government gives us
5 per cent on the sale Of certain public
lands for internal improvements, and it has
been the custom to expend that money by
the legislature for building roads and
bridges throughout the country, Years ago,
that fund was considerable and each lesis-
lature had quite bit of money to appro-
,nriate, but in recent years the amount has
th een dolars a Year Now that A
ance legislature of 1891 was SO anxious to
distinguish !! h. itself IN some direction that it
and that appropriation. They not only, ap-
propriated that year all the money there
was in the treasury that year for that pur-
all e tnrf ss In the
to cover it for the next six or eight years.
so as to cut off all succeeding statesmen
from getting a bill through for building a
bridge over some creek OF run, OIL coulie
somewhere.
The Contrast in 1903.
Now, if you turn to the Republican legisla-
ture of 1898, and look at the work of that
legislature, you will find that it enacted
pecially in the interest of the farmers and
the producing classes of the state; and so
did the Republican legislature prior to that
Alliance legislature. For years. prior. to
1887, it was the practice in the cities of st.
Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth when your
grain, the grain of the farmers, was shipped
inspected by men appointed by the boards
of trade of those cities, and the boards Of
trade were nominated, to a large extent
by the millers and big buyers of grain; so
that system +
spected, graded and weighed by men rep
resenting the buyers; by men representing
one side Of the bargain Much Complaint
was made about that system, and many in
stances OF error and wrong occurred, and
much fault was found: Finally the Republi-
ter. and also to secure proper control over
our railroad transportation. enacted our
raiIoad and warehouse law, appointing three
railroad commissioners, and giving them
jurisdiction over the railroads of this state
for the purpose of regulating rates, for the
purpose of regulating and controlling their
business, so that you farmers and you bust
ness men could get proper service, at rea-
| sonable rates, without discrimination as to
individuals or, places. Then all the eleva-
| tors and warehouses at the terminals were
| put under that railroad and warehouse com
| mission. and inspectors and Weighmasters
were appointed by the state; so that. after
| that time, IT your grain reached those cities,
| 1T was weighed, graded and inspected, not
by the agents Of the buyers, but by men
representing the state government by your
This law, on the whole, worked fairly well.
&c gave fairly good satisfaction; it was a
great improvement on the old system; but,
| unfortunately, this did not cover the field
it did not touch the inspection and handling
| OF grain at county points. at the interior
Points, ana here was vas eryng evil to be
| will remember that two or three weeks or
a month before election, some fellow up in
Dakota who had run a farmers elevator.
| no 70 nn6 nVra1
Wheat IN Great
wheat yH ring at St. Paul and nd, Minneapolis and
Campbell, the secretary IF the Democratic
committee, and they Hooded the whole state
wheat ring in this state; that there was !,
great wheat conspiracy. and they said that
its headquarters ;1 rta was in those large cities
with being. one of the ring, they said I was
a weak sister that the ring could use.
Gaughterl. Well after that I told the pee;
to them, "If there is a wheat ring in this
state robEing you farmers. the correct thing
to do IS to enact proper Hesitation to sup
and If you will elect Republican legisla:
| tLre. and elect me your governor, we will
| in the State of Minnesota" (Applause)
| Well, the majority of the people took me
| at my WORD: they sent RepuDllcan leS1Sla
ture to st. Paul, and they elected me gov
| ernor, and that legislature enacted one Of
| the most important measures ever enacted
| in this state what is known as the
County Elevator Law,
law placing every warehouse and elevator
| in the country handling grain under the
| administration and control of the board OF
| railroad and warehouse commissioners; re
| Guiring them to report all business, the
amount Of grain handled, the grades given
| the amount Of dockage and the amount oil
grain shipped out of their elevator to the
board Of railroad and warehouse commits
sioners; providing further that, in case ar!
dispute arose as to grades between the
farmers and the local elevator men, theI
that sample should 'be sent to the chic
inspector at St. Paul and be by him grad
ed, in order that the farmers could hay'
what you might call state grading, a stat
inspection. We could not have an in
spector stationed at every elevator in tn
| state, because that would make an arm.
Of them; so we provided for this the substi
tute of sending: a sample Of your grain u
there, and having. it inspected. This wa
important legislation, and this legislation
this country elevator law, and the oil
terminal elevator law that was enacted il
Aoo7, and again amended in 1889, have bot
been reviewed and sustained by the su
preme court of the United States indirect
ly. The terminal elevator law has been az
proved by that court in an Illinois case
which went in reSnect TO one of th