The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-21
STOLEN IN THE RUSH
FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND
MENT SPIRITED AWAY,
SUSPICIOUS SENATE EVENT.

No small sensation was precipitated
in the senate last night when the dis
covery was made that a bill had been
stolen, particularly a bill involving
a subject of such contention as that
of the department store. The missing
bill was a house measure of recent in
PRODUCTION, which proposed to submit
to the people an amendment to the
constitution which would give the leg
islature the power to pass a law like
the defeated Theden occupation tax
The bill had passed the house without
material opposition, and had been en-
crossed, when the original bill was
filed with the secretary Of state, while
the engrOssed copy was sent to the
senate. SECRETARY Langum had the
bill in his possession, theoretically, but
in a moment Of confidence that was
born to be abused he or one of his as
sistants had loaned the bill to some one
to examine. No receipt was taken, and
when the bill could not be found there
was no clue to it's whereabouts, no
one remembering who the recreant
borrower was.
A raid was made on the Office of the
secretary of state, however, and the
original bill found, but the delay had
been fatal, as Senator Culkin had TAX
en- up another bill under his privilege.
1t is the first time Secretary Langum
has lost bill in the two sessions that
he has held the office, and that it
should occur on the last night of the
session, when the evil done could not
be corrected, was especially aggravat-
6iCnnGitinn RI
sure the secretary, however, as it
seemed that the culprit was some men,
Der of the senate
Shall H. w. Childs or Robert Dunn be the
next governor of the state?
That was the question which was more or
less involved in the ultimate settlement Of
the Duluth & Iron Range land grant fight
yesterday. The whole inquiry stirred up
by State Auditor Dunn, and while it Was
calculated that it would be of more or less
prestige to the present auditor, there were
some other politicians with the gubernatorial
bees in their bonnet, who expected to get
some glory out of the inquiry and at least
to so drag 1t out that the public would
have no chance to lose sight of them before
the next election. Representative Jacobson,
the author OF the bill. for example. sure
to be on the commission of inquiry into 49,
grant, and he pretty he would at
least get the Republican nomination for pres
ldent OF the senate out of it. Theodore ".
Knatvold, the Albert Lea senator, also count
ed on a place on the senate end Of it, and
saw in it a chance to extend the circle of his
influence. already a moving factor through
cut the southern counties.
The Howard amendment was not proba-
bly, aimed to aid any Republican but the
Dunn folk saw in it a chance for Horatius
Wellington Childs to tilt a lance at an elu-
sive nomination. They saw the senate in
sert it, because the auditors offensive par
tisanship in the hospital fight had antagon-
lied no small element in that body. When
It got back into the house that body gave
Dunn another chance, giving him and the
governor equal glory with Childs But with
this compromise there was no ray of hope
for the ambitious legislators who coveted
places on the investigating committee. The
senate, however, had the good grace to
concur.