The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1897-04-28
THE LEGISLATURE.
The Work Of the Thirtieth Session
is Finished.
But Few Important Bills Were Passed Du-
ring the Closing Hours. A Goodly
Number Failed to Secure Fa-
vorable Action.

hours of the legislature approach, the
business accumulates. and it is evident
that bills by the score viii be lost, to
which there is no particular objection,
merely for lack of time to reach them.
The senate yesterday elected Sena-
tor Barr. of Mankato, president pro
Gibbs with handsomely framed pic
ture of the members and officers of the
senate. Both episodes called forth
speeches and responses.
The yexed State printing question
was ended yesterday by the senate
agreeing to the house amendments to
the Sperry bill Senator Sperry intro
dueed a printing bill and Representa-
tive Dare did the same. It is understood
the Dare bill was inspired by the state
auditor and it materially clips the pow
ers of the secretary of state. When
the Sperry bill reached the house the
Dare bill was still pending and the i'm
portart features of the Dare bill were
put in the Sperry bill as amendments
In this shape the bill went back to the
senate and the agreeing to the amend
ments by the senate practically enacts
the Dare bill making the auditor tri-
umph over the secretary of state, who
stoutly opposed the Dare measure.
The house also triumphed over the
senate in the game law. The senate
passed the bill with clause forbidding
Spring duck shooting but the house
struck that out! The bill went to a
a conference committee and when the
committee reported in favor of Spring
shooting the senate still refused to con-
cur and sent its committee back. A
second report showed the house still
resolute and as it was question of
losing the bill Or allowing Spring
shooting the senate surrendered.
Senator Keller's bill paying bounty
of cent pound on sugar from beets
was passed with only one negative
vote. The bill authorizing city councils
to contract with private parties for
water works. gas works, etc, was
killed and the effort to revive the bill
forbidding com binations of insurance
agents also failed.
The house being badly behind with
Its business. held three sessions yes
terday. While but eight bills were
passed, over 90 were acted upon in
committee of the whole. A good many
bills were killed in committee.
Among the lights which went out
were Senator Ozmun's civil service bill;
the tri-city charter bill; the San Jose
scale bill; the bill creating state
board of immigration. and the measure
regulating and taxing commercial
agencies on their gross earnings. The
senate bill changing the penalty for
illegal liquor selling from fine and i'm
prisonment to fine or Imprisonment
was decisivelv killed.
The bill allowing the settlement of
the claim of the Twin City Jockey club
for the grand stand at the state fair
grounds was slaughtered with the gen.
eral list In fact, the day in the house
was chiefly one of killing bills, rather
than passing them.
st. Paul, April 21.-It's all over but
the enrolling. Last night was like all
the closing hours of the legislature.
There was a great crowd of spectators,
including many ladies, and noise and
confusion were predominant. Every
body was making rush to save some
pet bill and many lobbyists were
watching special bills and making sug-
gestions to their friends relative to
saving them.
OF course the usual farce of turning
the clocks back was gone through with,
SO that by the clock they could adj
journ at midnight. It was long since
held that the legislative day extends
until 10 = m, the hour for meeting the
next legislative day, but the turning
back of the clocks goes on. and it is
only midnight by legislative clocks
when the legis' ature adjourns the last
night
There was lively fight between the
senate and house over the bill creating
a commission to reclaim the Mountain
Iron mine and Duluth & Iron Range
land grant 1t finally passed, placing
the whole matter in the hands of the
governor and attorney general, with
authority to select such assistants as
they desired. The appropriation was
cut down from SIS. 900 to $40, 600. The
original bill provided for commission
of seven. composed of members of the
legislature.
The celebrated department store tax
alton bill was largely defeated on the
ground that it was unconstitutional
After the defeat the house passed an
amendment to the constitution making
such taxation constitutional As the
people almost never vote down a pro-
posed constitutional amendment, the
passage of this measure was sure OF
being ratified. The situation was &C
eordingly desperate and to meet the
emergency some one stole the bill IN
the senate from the secretary's desk.
A duplicate was found before adjourn
ment but it was too late to get it
through, SO the department stores have
nothing to fear for Two years at least.
The bill FORGETTING the Duluth and
Iron Range land grant was finally