The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-05-01

THE RECENT LEGISLATURE.
Hold Your Nose and Let Us Dis
cuss it.
Here is the Globes report of the,
proceedings Of the House upon S. f.
4, Senator Stevens bill to tax sleeping.
car companies. The bill looks like a
fraud on its face, and both sides
charged Doodle and villainy. It was
the last night of the session. The
Globe says:
KIcKAPOO WAR DANCE.
Inc proceedings Of Monday night briefly
cnronicied In yesterdays Globe because Of.
the late hour Of the adjournment, would
nave excited the envious admiration of the
parucipators IN kickapoo war dance
mere was not as much noisy hilarity and
good-natured boistrousness as usually
marks the last night of session. but there
was enough genuine trouble and unas-
sumed viciousness to satisfy the most fas-
tiolous taste 1t was after o'clock when
the word come in that the senate had con-
Cured in the house amendments to 9 r
4. Senator Stevens founding which puts
the finishing touches on the constitution OF
the state dozen motions had been made
10 ADJOURN J. N. Jones was in the aisle
yelling Justify for recognition and shaking
ms INST at Mr.. Staples, who was in the
chair, when Mr.. Jacobson got the floor.
MIR. Speaker, 1 understand the senate
has concurred in the house amendment to
B. F. L. and I hope the motion to adjourn
Will not be entertained" he said With
that he scooted into the senate to see what
had become of that end of the circus and
Mr.. Staples coolly held that Mr. Jacobson
still had the floor. Mr.. Johns, Mr. Dahl,
Mr.. Cant and Mr.. Jones protested, rose to
a point of order, moved to adjourn and de-
maEded call of the house, but the speaker
patiently waited. like Mary's little mutton,
for Mr. Jacobson to reappear. When the
latter returned and made a motion to put
the bill on its final passage the house.
which had been boiling, now dubbed over
Absolutely disregarding and totally ignor-
ing ~ or 30 members who were demanding
to be heard, Mr.. Staples accepted the cue
from Mr. Jacobson and recognized no one
but the friends of the BILL Things were
approaching a climax, Mr.. Johns was in
the midst of the aisle yelling like a small
boy at game of baseball, Mr.. Dahl was
dancing can-can on his desk and Nell
McInnis gave unmstakable evidences OF
an intention to take the speaker by the
neck, when Speaker Van SAINT assembled
the steps and Mr.. Staples joined Mr.. ia
cobson on the floor.
las stated in the Globe of yesterday the
bill was declared passed by 66 votes. While
the roll call was being made Mr.. Jones paid
his compliments to Mr.. Staples for the high
handed manner in which he had suppressed
every member of the house except the
friends of the bill, and declared that such
tactics were sufficient to drive even the
friends Of the bill to oppose it. The house
adjourned at 3:15, with as much bitterness
on the opposing sides as would have fur
nished dozen funerals in Arkansas"
Then there was the famous III. F.
$50, to provide for nspection of meats;
the object being to head off the Cat
tie Trust-the Big Four of Chicago
by requiring our cattle to be killed
within our own borders. AS it is now
Armour & Co. have control of every
butcher shop in this state, and they
fix the prices Of cattle as low as they
please. On this measure the Mime
apolis Tribune says:
BIG FOUR VICTORY.
The general excellent record of the late
Minnesota legislature is married by it's =
ure to pass the meat inspection bil1 winch
was designed to promote the upbuilding of
packing industry in the great Minnesota
cities and protect consumers against the
inferior meats shipped in by the big
Four" Some of the senator's who voted
against the measure and defeated it at the
last moment, pretend that their action was
in the interest of the country butchers; but
it Is patent fact that the men who will
profit most largely are the monopolsts
who compose the beef combine Whether
they employed any corrupt methods to Sc
cure the defeat of this measure so import
ant to Minnesota interests, is not yet def
nitely known; but that some secret in
f1uence was employed, seems certain. The
bill was killed by the trick Of referring it
to the judiciary committee. and this trick
seems to have been the successful outcome
of a deep-laid conspiracy. The legislature
has struck blow at Minnesota capital and
industry which will be deeply felt, and
which will, in the next two years, take
millions of dollars out of the pockets of
Minnesota consumers and place 1t in the
bursting pockets Of the big Four" There
is no remedy until the next legislature
meets. Our people will be compelled to
bear the hardship imposed upon them by
the men elected to guard and promote
their interests as best they may.
There was another important meas
ure, introduced by Mr.. Staples, a reso-
luton to provide means to employ
special counsel to carry on the prose-
cution of the pine-land thieves. De-
feated.
Neither pas any provision made to con-
tinue the Investigation of the robberies ofthe
state pine lands, ,ohich the committee of the .
last Legislature had i,,augurated. The
whole thing falls to the ground. The
millions Of dollars stolen from the
school fund will never be collected;
nor will single culprit be punished.
This is one Of the fruits of that co.
600 plurality. No wonder we are told
that T. B. Walker, millionaire lum-
herman, Of Minneapolis, last fall,
handed his check, for 5000, to the
Republican State Central Committee;
and when some one asked him why he
was 50 liberal, replied: 1T is to my
interest to be So" It was.
We are glad to learn from State
Auditor Dunn that he intends to fol-
low the prosecution of the timber
thieves. II he does the people will
grateful to him; but he has no power
to carry on anv further Investigations.