St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-23
ANOTHER SESSION ENnEp

VIII the gray dawn of this morn
ing streaming into eastern windows
OF the capitol the working hours of
the twenty-ninth session of the Iee-
isiature ended, and it made I'D and
closed its record anc passed into
history. 1t is too early to know how
JUS reputation is to be affected by
the measures rushed through In "the
last not quarter" of a nights ses-
sion, but it is not probable that it
VIII differ very much from that of
any of its predecessors. 1t undoubt-
euly mas done those things it should
not nave done, and it has left I'M
done those things it should have
done; but, Notwithstanding. there is
some health in it.
The acts of legislature, like those
OF individuals, are judged by the
Ideals the observers have of what
that body should be and do. 1t mat
ters nothing what the ideal is. wheth-
er at be high or low one. The
man corporation seeking but fail
ing to use it to secure some personal
and selfish advantage; the LOBBYIST
disappointed in securing the passage
OF the measure on which depended
his fat retainer; the boodling mem
Der whose itching palm has not been
SAWED as he expected, each and all
of these will regard the session
failure equally with him whose ideal
led him to expect only measures of
great public benefaction. ira r>
PI1f Ga
his touch with men to lower the
ideals of his youth; who has learned
that, beautiful as is the theory of
republican governments, they are adj
ministered not by the wisest and best
and most upright, but by the aver
age men of the communities select
ing them, is content if there is in
the product of the legislatures eff
forts but the average of good and
bad. He finds solace for his disap-
pointmentS in the reflection that it
might have been much worse, even
II cander compels the admission that
it might have been much better.
So when one runs over the finished
product of, this session he finds some
denim. He re-reads the ante-election
promises contained in the platforms,
and he finds in the grist only a
modicum of performance. He looks
for the evidence Of promised economy
and finds a slight increase of ex-
penditure. He looks for some act
to redeem the professions of loyalty
to the reform of the civil service, and
he finds even the attenuated form
of what began as lusty measure,
moribund in the waste basket. He
recalls the lamentations over the
neglect of that key to the party
fortresses, the primary, SO loudly
walled before election, and he finds
an act that ties the expert boss as
firmly as a spiders web ties the swal-
low. If he hoped that our transfers
of realty might be simplified, their
expense reduced to the minimum,
and the specter of contested title
driven from the dreams of the own
er, he will look in vain.
On the other hand, he will find
that the great and powerful cor
porations have not been more than
ordinarily successful in. getting the
legislation they wished, or prevent
ing that they did not wish. One COM
bination succeeded in preventing the
passage of Meilicke's freedom of
traffic measure, leaving the grain pro-
ducers still in their web; but an
other one was incapableof either pre-
venting the passage of the bill to tax
the idle lands of. railways or to rem
der it innocuous by am adroit1y con-
ceived antidote. He will find that
the boodling member, an ever present
quantity, as earrfon crows are where
offal is. goes home with not quite,
as much Doodle as he hoped to ,gain,.
and the honest member goes home
feeling that he has not accomplished
all he would, but conseling himself
with the reflection: that he did his
best. And so without regrets we bid
the twenty-ninth session adieu.