Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1897-03-10
POPuIlSTS URGE FREAK BILLS.
Nebraska Making Fun of Its Legislature
Some AbsurditlcS.

A good deal of sport is made of the
resentmaiority in the Nebraska Legs
lature as Il result of the number of SO.
called foolish measures introduced and
urged by the Populist members. The
papers of the opposite political faith
IN the State have considerable diff
Guilty in recognizing anything of merit
in measures originating among the
members Of the party which has been
associated with so many radical pro
positions in the way of State govern.
ment in Nebraska. On the contrary,
they have been ever ready to point out
the errors made by the new lawmakers
and to present them in a very ridicu,
lous light to the people, saysa Lincoln,
Nebraska special to the Chicago
Record.
There is no disputing the fact by
even the most partisan admirers of the
PopuIi9ts of the Legislature that they
have placed themselves on record in
ridiculous light in very great number
OF cases, ana while large number of
silly bills credited to the farmer mem
bers in reality have never been intro.
duced at all except in the Imagination
of those who seek to make political
capital of the mistakes of the majority.
their members have really been re-
sponsible for vast number of things
In the way of proposed laws which, if
enacted into statutes of the State,
might have made Nebraska the laugh.
ing stock of the entire continent.
For instance, one farmer from the
extreme western section of the State,
who had just conceived the idea of Sc.
curing patent for COMPRISING the
ordinary prairie hay into mass so
solid as to be used for fuel, introduced
measure to place bounty on the in
dustry. His fellow members finally
laughed at him so much that he very
cleVerly turned off the joke by say
ing 1t was introduced merely to show
how foolish all legislation of pro.
tective nature is, especially that de
signed to protect the raisers of sugar
beets. As most of those who were
laughing at the enterpising inventor
were favoring the sugar beet bounty,
the wit of the farmer effectualy rein.
stated him in the good graces of the
members.
Scarcely less foolish was the bill of
another Populist to bond all town ships
in the State for money to plant trees
along the highways at distances of fifty
feet apart, A little investigation
showed that the scheme would have
bankrupted the richest State in the
Union. The members excuse was that
1t would stimulate rainfall.
Another desired that man convict.
ed of stealing horse should ever after
be considered habitual criminal and
when charged with crime should be
presumed to be guilty until he proved
his innocence. This members excuse
was that he lost too many horses to
longer keep his temper.
Still another reported u measure to
make it felony for man to flirt with
a girl under 1S, but he failed to define
what the term "flirt" should be ac-
cepted as meaning. Another would
have all passenger trains stopped at
any point on the prairie where a pas
senger desired to get off. Another
wanted kilograms to cost 8 cents hun
dred words in the limits of the State
and later confessed that he had never
sent or received telegram in his life.
Another Populist produced much mirth
by having read a bill to pension the
first ten men who had settled in each
county.
True, most of these bills were intro
duced by request, but no bill calcu.
lated to bring the blush of shame to
the cheek or Nebraskan has yet been
passed or likely to be passed.
The Populists who are now being
laughed at, however, might get some
consolation out of the fact that the pre-.
vious legislatures of the State were not
composed wholly of wise men. Only
four years ago Mr.. Bailey, of Chey-
enne County, to encourage matrimony
in the State, introduced bill to pay
each man 5000 on the day of his mar
riagc, the money to come out of the
State treasury on certificate of the
minister. The wise law
maker, however, was not certain as to
the exact amount that should be paid,
and after it was read he had the
amount left blank. 1t read, after the
usual verbiage: "And each man upon
shall receive" Some wag
inserted in the blank space ten years.
and the bill was thus passed. The man
who introduced it was ignorant of the
joke for long time.
DR.. Bells Pine Tar Honey acts as a
balm to the lungs, cutting the mucus,
the inflammation, healing and
strengthening. 1t is sure to do you
good-can not do you harm. Thous-
ands have been benefited by its use.
For sale by Mathes. & Patton.