Crawford avalanche., 1895-05-02
DOINGs AT LANSING.
WORK or THE STATE LEoIsLA-
TuRE.
An Impartial Record Of tho Work
Accomplished By Those Who Make
Our Laws-How the Time Has Been
Occnpied During the Past Week.



There was a fight In the Senate Tues
day over Senator Jamieson's bill prof.
viding that the franchise of all gas, cleo.
trio lighting, street car, plank road, trans
portation and other similar companies be
considered personal property for the pur-;
poses of taxation and be assessed at their
true cash value. Representatives of the
corporations desired further hearing,
bssfd Senator Jameson demanded imme-
diate action. He was outvoted, however,
and fithobbill was again referred to the
Committee on Taxation. Representative
Redfern's pure-food bill was shorn of its
most important provisions in the House
by the striking out of sections prohibiting
the coloring In limitations of food products.
The House committee has reported in
fSvBtfof locating an additional State nor
NAL school at Mount Pleasant, but the
Senate Committee on Appropriations anC
Finance has reported without recon.
mendation bill to establish such schools
both in central Michigan and the upper
peninsula. The Senate passed the bill
providing for State Board of Medical
Examiners who shall pass upon the Gre
dentials and qualifications of all persons
who desire to practice medicine in Mich
igan. A dozen congressional reapportion-
ment bills are in the hands of the commit
tees of the two houses. The Eaton bill,
the first to be considered, was killed in the
Setate, and there is every reason to be-
lieve that a similar fate awaits oil the
rest. Both houses have now passed the
bill providing a charter under which all
cities of the State having a population of
10000 or under must incorporate Jan. 1
The Senate Wednesday night by
unanimous vote disposed of the liquor tax
question by passing the bill which passed
the House two weeks ago, fixing the uni
form tax at $500. A determined effort
was made to make the tax payable July I
instead of May 1, and also to secure con-
cessions which would permit saloons to
be kept open on secular holidays, but
they were unsuccessful. On the final
vote the advocates of these amendments
joined with the friends of the bill and
made the vote unanimous, afterwards
voting to give the measure immediate
effect. The present law provides a tax
of $500 for selling malt liquors and $500
for spirituous liquors.
The Senate Thursday in committee of
the whole agreed to the Bially health bill,
the appointment of a new board of six
members, of which the Governor shall be
a member ex-ofiicio. The bill also pro-
vides for the election of secretary, who
shall not be member of the board as at
present, and shall be elected every two
years, abolishing the present life tenure.
The committee also agreed to the Foote
deer bill, making the open season from
Nov. l to %, inclusive, and limiting to
five the number of deer each hunter may
kill in one season. The Stoll bill repeating
the law for the taxation of real estate
mortgages failed of passage for the Sec
ond time in the House, and although it
can again be called up there is practically
no hope of its passage. The farmers of
the State are opposed to it ALMOST to
man. The bill providing for the estab-
lishment of an additional normal school at
Mount Pleasant lacked five votes of pass
ing the House. The city offers the State
grounds and building free, but the repre-
sentatives from other central Michigan
cities that want the school combined to
secure the defeat of the bill
Senator Townsend Friday introduced a
resolution deplorng "the lack of prin-
ciple in the national governments con-
duct of foreign affairs, u fresh example of
which is given in the cowardly attitude of
the United States in view of Englands
treatment of our sister republic Mica
ragua." A majority of the Senators
were of the opinion that the resolution
was in bad taste and 1t was withdrawnT
The Senate has passed the bill appro-
priating $4,000 for a statue of Austin
Blair, Michigan's war governor, to be
erected on the State capitol square. The
mine owners and lumber manufacturers
Iare.greatly concerned about the Waldo
bill. which provides for collecting taxes
on property changed from real to per-
sonal property during each year. 1t is
measure aimed chiefly at mine owners
and-1umber manufacturers. Representa-
tive Waldo estimates that something like
500, 100000 worth of ore and logs es-
Cape taxation in Michigan annually, in
asmuch as only so much of such property
is assessed as happens to be in sight on
the one day in the year that the assessor
inspects particular stock. When ore is
taken from the mines it becomes personal
property, as does standing timber when
it is felled The assessor, he contends.
never finds the greater proportion of the
logs and ore.