The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-10-24
Gov. Nelson's Record in
the State Senate.
READ! READ! READ!
Are His Sympathies With the Peo-
pie or the Plutocrats?
LOOK AT HIS VOTES-THEY
WILL ANSWER,
READ AND HAND ToYoUR NEIGHBoR.
THE RAILROAD QUESTION.

1t has been freely charged, for years
past, by the public press and public
speakers, that Gov. Nelson was and is
tool Of the railroads. and sympa-
thizer with the corpora tions against
the people. Does his record, during
his four years in the state senate, sus-
tain that claim, Or disprove it? We
assert that it sustains it.
FAvORS TIE RAILROAD COMPANIES
The first test vote that occurred in
the senate during Nelson's term as
senator, was on the first day of Febru-
ary, 1915. We find on page Sc of the
senate journal, that Senator E. E.
Drake, Of st. Paul, president of the
Sioux City railroad company had in
troduced bill to extend the time III
which the railroad companies should
pay their taxes, due the state, on their
gross earnings. This was the grass
hopper era. If the railroads did not
pay up their taxes the people would
have to pay for them. The railroads
might be poor, but the people were a
hundred times poorer. The bill was
introduced Jan. %; referred to the
committee on finance, of which John
S. Pillsbury (the Minneapolis miller),
was chairman, who, six days after
wards, reported it back with the re-
commendation that it pass; the same
day it was rushed through the COM
mittee of the whole, read the second
time and passed. with only one dis
senting vote, without discussion of
any kind; everybody but one voted for
it, without underst landing it. 1t went
to the house. The senators however.
began to get the thing through their
heads, and three days thereafter Mr..
Coggswell made a motion that the
house be requested to return that bill
to the senate, so that the senate could
reconsider the vote whereby the bill
passed.
On page % of the Senate Journal OF
1875 we have the record Of what took
place.
"Senate File No. II. A bill to ex-
tend the time of payment of taxes due
the state on gross earnings of railroad
corpora tions."
1.-THE question being taken on the
adoption Of the resolution. Mr.. Coggs-
wells resolution to recall the bill from
the housel, the roll being called there
were 16 yeas and % nays"
Knute Nelson voted NAY. So the
resolution was lost. But the bill was
subsequently lost in the house.
RAILROAD COMPANY.
On the oath of February, 1875, (p
| 272) Mr.. Nelson introduced S. f. 313
bill to extend the time for the COM
| pletion of the St. Paul and Pacific rail
road"
There was a great battle over this
| bill. A number of poor men, actual
settlers, had helped to grade the road
bed and furnished ties, ETC., and the
company refused to pay them, and a
| scheme was formed to get the road
| into the hands of new men, free from
these old claims. We read on page 1916
of the Journal, that it was moved tC
commit the bill to committee OF
one to amend it, SO as to provide that
before any lands were conveyed to the
company the state should reserve
6OO, 900 acres "For the purpose of Sc
curing the payment of debts contract
ed and due for the construction of said
lines of railroad or any part thereof
the same being the debts contracted
in the building of said railroad, ant
secured in the act approved Feb. q
1874, ETC., and further providing, tha
before any conveyance of land shoult
be made to said company, the compan,