The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1897-04-22
THE LEGISLATURE.
This Session IL Rapidly Drawing
to q Close.

All Bills Have Boeu Presented. Tho NOM
bers Can Now Devote Their Time
.a. to Committee Work and tho
Calender.
st. Paul, April 1s.-The senate was
industrious yesterday, but the entire
day, except an hour and half in the
morning. was spent in considering the
game and fish law. The bill was pro-
fusely amended, the leading amend
ment being one that entirely prohibits
spring shooting of ducks, geese, or any
kind of wild aquatic fowl. The argu-
ment for the amendment was that
spring shooting drove them away per-
manently at the nesting period. The
bill is now ready for passage.
Among the bills passed was Senator
Keller's beet sugar bill, which offers
bounty by the state for raising sugar
beets, and also regulates freight rates.
Other bills passed were ones abolish
ing the standing appropriation of $780,
900 for the soldiers home; forbidding
the use of tobacco by minors under 10
years old and by all minors in public
schools; abolishing the inebriate ward
at the Rochester asylum; to prevent
the adulteration of dairy products. The
bill forbidding the use of tobacco by
minors had previously passed the house
and the boys will have to look out as
soon as the governor signs the bill.
The house held three sessions yester-
day, morning, afternoon and evening,
I~,k I. -
was spent in committee of the whole,
and 80 bills were considered. Twelve
were indefinitely postponed and the
remainder recommended to pass. Mr..
Staples was in the chair a large por-
ton of the time and the bills went
about as he directed. They were de-
clared to pass or to be postponed re-
CARELESS of the yea and nay vote, and
calls for division were UNDECIDED.
The result was an immense number of
bills acted upon, but the house might
as we'll have taken a holiday and told
Staples to 60 ahead and fix the thing
up. The cloak rooms were crowded
with members all day, talking and
smoking, while Staples and empty
chairs ran the business. He rode over
the house SO rough shod that the men,
bers lost all interest in the proceedings.
When the bills which Staples acted on
yesterday come up for passage, and
the members have chance to at least
be heard on roll call, the result may
be different. Among the bills recon-
mended were the ones increasing the
tax on railroads from 3 to 4 per cent of
the gross earnings, and making the oil
inspectors salary So, 500 instead of fees,
as at present. The bill to abolish mar
rage licenses was killed.
St. Paul, April 14.-The omnibus ap-
committee yesterday and returned to
both houses. As soon as it is printed
1t will be taken up for final action.
The bill appropriates 1889, 359. IS for
the expenses of the state government
for the next two years. This is $685.
900 more than two years ago and IS, 900
more than four years ago, though in
1898 and 1895 the omnibus bill and
other appropriations aggregated five
and seven hundred Thousand dollars
more than this bill carries. 1t is claimed
that the aggregate appropriations this
wear will be half million below those
othD3 and '95.
The state printing question has been
quite mooted matter this season. Sem
ator Sperry introduced an entire new
bill in the senate and Representative
Dare another in the house. The Sec
rotary of States Office which has charge
of the printing, was not in love with
the Sperry bill and especially hos
tile to the Dare bill. Under the old
law large deficiencies have arisen, but
both of the new bills provide that when
the appropriation is exhausted the
printing must stop. The Sperry bill
passed the senate yesterday and unless
the house accepts it the whole measure
is likely to fail as the senate will not
accept the Dare bill.
After all the talk, this legislature is
not liable to do much railroad regdla-
ton. The Cole bill, copy of the Iowa
law, regulating freight rates, was in
definitely postponed in the senate by
81 to 20. Another bill giving the rail
road commissioners greater powers,
went back to the judiciary committee,
which probably means death. It was
the thirty-third bill introduced in the
senate. The constitutional amend.
ment limiting the size of the legisla-
ture to so senators and 100 representa-
tives failed.
Both houses have passed the bill ap-
propriating $500 for the relief of the
Red river flooG sufferers.
The house passed 43 bills yesterday,
among them being bills allowing the
experiment of machine voting; permit
ting detention hospitals for the insane
in cities of over 10000; prohibiting city
and county officers from holding any
other lucrative Office; providing for the
immediate enforcement of the liability
of stockholders in insolvent corpora
tiOns.
St. Paul, April 1.-the fourth insane
asylum question was opened again yes
terday by message sent to the leg1s-
lature by Gov. Clough asking an APP
preparation of 100000 to commence
the asylum building at Anoka. The
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