Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1896-09-08
DID NOT VOTE FOR THE
CAPITOL BILL.

CnoOKsToN, MIMI, Sept. 1.
TO the Willmar Tribune:
A clipping from the Atwater
Press has been sent me in which
l am falsely charged with voting
for the capitol bill. The editor
says:
I'm Looking up the records of
the capitol legislation we find
that the wouldbe congressman,
Lommen, WAS one Of the men who
made it possible for the St. Paul
gang to foist a debt estimated
at the gigantic sum Of $10,000,-
O0O.O upon the people Of Mime
sofa, with which to build a new
capitol In this matter Lommen
was a traitor to the people he
represented, as we'll as to the
people Of the entire state. F1e
not only voted for the measure
himself, but he traded the votes
he controlled, to the St. Paul
gang, and in return they passed
a bill for Lommen appropriating
$500, 900 with which to drain the
Red River Valley"
On pages 119 and 720 of the
OF the Senate Journal of 1893 will
be found the record of the vote
whereby A. +. No. 694, "A bill
for an Act to Provide a New Cap
itol for the State of Minnesota. :"
Those who voted in the affirma-
tive were, Messrs. Allen, Ayers,
Barr, Bill, Burkhart, Dougherty,
Davis, Day, Dean, Dedon, Eaton,
Erickson, Geissel, Hammer, Kel-
Ter, Kelly, keister, LaDue, Lin
eau, Little, McHale, Mcmillan,
Mayo, Mott, Nelson, O'Brien,
Peterson S. D., Sapborn. Smith
g. f., Smith John Day, Stevens,
Stockton, Tawny and Wood.
Those voting in the negative
were, Messrs. Borchert, Brown,
Canestorp, Craig, Crandall, Cra-
ven, Donnelly, Glader. Giraffe,
Guderian, Hompe, Leavitt, LON.
MEN, March, Morse, Peterson j.
w.. Philips, Probstfeld, Sevat
son and Sheisguth.
Now while I did not vote for
the bill, | had many requests to
do SO from my constituents, who
were afraid we could not pass the
Red River Valley Drainage Bill.
When the Editor of the Press,
says [ traded votes to secure the
passage of the drainage bill, he is
not telling the truth. The drain
age bill passed the Senate under
a suspension of the rules, by a
vote Of ~ to 3. Later it passed
the House by a vote OF IS to 5.
The United States had granted
to the State certain swamp lands,
for the purpose of reclaiming the
wet lands of the State. In the
Red River Valley where $4,000
acres Of these lands, most of
them had been missappropriated
by the state, by giving them to
railroad corporations. We asked
as a matter of justice for an ap-
preparation on these = grounds.
The demand for this act was
general among the citizens of this
valley, and the members of the
Legislature from this section, re-
CARELESS of party, worked faith
fully for it's passage. The bene-
fetal results have been so appar-
ent, that Gov. Nelson went
through the valley claiming the
principal credit Of the bill. If
those who voted for the capitol
bill were dishonest traitors, the
'Atwater Press" should devote
it's attention to- those members
of it's own party who voted for it.
The majority of those who voted
for the capitol hill were republi-
cans, and as Governor Nelson
Signed it, they would all come
under the ban of the "Atwaier
Press
1t comes with poor grace for
those to cry ''traitor," who are
trying to fasten upon the people
the British gold standard, a sys-
tenn which has cost this nation
more money than all it's wars,
and plunged the people hopeless
ly into debt; Offering no relief or
hope for the future, but the pau
perism and serfdom of the zen.
lightened" gold standard coun-
tries of Europe. 49,
E. B. LoMMEN. 4