The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-02-03
sfACES DISAPPEAR.
.'ingree Men Installed at the State
Capital.
GOVERNOR CARING FOR FRIENDS.


Dairy aud Food Commissioner-Biii to
License Nurseries.
Lansing. Feb. 2.-Governor Pingree |
has not spent a great deal of time in |
Lansing since the first of January, but |
every one was aware of his presence
when he has been here. This does not
mean that he proclaims the fact from
the housetops. nor that he unduly pa
rades himself. He does not have to re-
sort to either expediency. He is the
most sought-after man in the city.
There are always scores of men with
axes to grind awaiting his coming and
they hang on his footsteps until he de-
parts. There is no time of the day
when his office is not occupied by at
least score of persons anxiously wait
ing for an opportunity to talk with him.
One of the new sights encountered since
his Inauguration is that of the chief
executive of the state going to and
from his hotel with a bevy of newspa-
per men at his heels. The correspon-
dents of the Detroit dailies look to his
excellency for much of their copy, and
whenever they get hold of him they are
sure to get what they are after.
| If any one had an idea that Govern
| or Pingree was not going to dictate
| matters as far as possible he has prop
| badly changed his mind by this time.
! This dictation has not extended to any
| thing further than who should fill the
subordinate positions under the bureau
| officers whom he appoints. but he has
not dropped a thread in this regard. 80
far there has been complete exodus
of the subordinate officials in all the
departments over which he has APP
pointed the heads, with the single ex-
ception of commissioner of railroads.
! There two Of the old employees still re-
main, but there is time to supersede
them yet. In the military offices the
! cid faces have already disappeared, the
same being true of the dairy and tood
department. In every case Pingree
man has been installed the governor
frankly confessing his purpose to take
care of his friends, his only regret beng
the dearth of positions. 1t is under
stood that this policy will be pursued
to the end.
Convict Labor Legislation.
The legislative committee OF the Mich
igan Federation of Labor has hnally
declared itself as to what 1t wants In
the line of convict labor legislation.
Their bill prohibits the contracting OF
the labor of prisoners and the employ
ment of any machinery save that wnicn
can be operated either by hand or foot
mower. Not more than one-twentieth
| of the inmates of any prison are 10 DE
employed in the same industry, unless
II be the making of supplies for other
state institutions. The most interesting
: provision of the bill, however, Is tha'
7 which relates to the employing or con-
victs on highways. If provides that
with the exception of ,ifers, the convicts
may. upon the request or the superVis'
, ors. be transferred on the governor
: order to the sheriff of a county, VINO II
IN turn to deliver them over to the
overseers Of highways for work on th'
/, , road. Not more than twenty conVict'
are to be sent to a county at ,iihe
] The road or highway COMMISSIONS
r having the convicts in charge are TO Oh
> responsible for their safekeeping' an'
I may use balls and chains to insure TINS
If is not believed that the people or TN
I state will take very kindly TO TINS luea
they having always reVoited at III
Thought of encountering chain gang
along the highway The plan or WORK
inc county prisoners on the streets ma
I latelv been resorted to at Kalamazoo
$ obd the citizens of that place have EN-
! tered q vigorous protest against thei
2 being paraded through the pubic place
n 20 and from their work. They clalf
o thot this has q demoralizing erect o
:. the community, a contention Whic
, most enlightened people VIII inoorse.
pills designed to increase the revenu
: Of the state are piling up. Ihey III
q c,ude measures to increase the rate Q
! snecific taxes paid by railroad ihsui
Q ance. and other corporations 10 es'an
fish a stamp tax of bO cents par,
ON beer. to tax incomes ana inheri'
ances. etc. All of them Will meet WI,
a much opposition, but 1t Is not improoa
4 HE that some of them may become Jaw
:. All the money derived from tnes
- sources would, under the constitutes
! GO into the primary school fund. In u
J. inheritance tax bill an enort mas pee
u made to overcome the op1ectiohs Vi ~
l. supreme court to the last law ehac.e
d on this subject, that enactment naVi''
l. been declared unconstitutional
a To Repeal spcial Charters.
r. Although bills providing THEREFOR nay
. not vet been introduced, II Is uhoe'
4 stood that the question: "a iSPSo
u snec,al charters Of the Lake Snore an
3 Michigan Southern, Michigan Centra
is and other special charter roads, an
1t bringing them all under the provision
Is ~ the general railroad law Will DC o,
l. NJ the principal matters which u
y present legislature will be calieo upe
. 20 consider. In 1891 and 1893 Congress
:. man Mines, who was then In the SCI
- ate. was the champion OF bills 10 r
70 nea, these charters. and two years az
q gallant. but unsuccessful fight wa
made by Senator Jewell OF Dowagia
Tn discussing this question state sta
Of ,stician DeLand, who has MADE an e
X haustive study of the entire probe
st 90 taxation. speaks as follows: 'Ine
g. 10 no doubt that the feeling that the
"a snecial charters should be done awe
~ With and the railroad system OF u
state placed under the general laws
" ran,dly increasing. Whether II is a
v,sable to press this by direct act
repeal or through constitutional amen
ment is debatable ground. Inc III
40 will. of course, bring the question