Warren sheaf., 1897-01-14
FUTURE HANGINGS.

FUTURE HANGINGS
zIF THE FERRIS BILL PASSES THEY
WILL BE AT SALTWATER,
And Inside Penitentlary Walls-Repeals
the john Day Smith Law-Ringdahrs
Rail d Is lls-selection Of seats-The
Electoral College. y sa1e.
ST. PAUL, Jan. 19.-Special.-Hav.
ing perfected their their organization
Goth houses are now at work on more
definite preliminaries, the era Of new
bills having introduced this stage of
legislative proceedings, but under it all
is keen anxiety in regard to commit
tee places, for it will be late in the
week before the speaker can finally
T. ace the other 113 members in the 600
places On the 81 house committees.
Lieutenant Governor Gibbs, having
fewer people to deal with, disposed of
that problem much earlier and the sen.
ate is fully at work.
The senaIe's first bill was fathered
by Senator Wyman Of Hennepin county
and provided for the usual appropria-
tion for the expenses Of the session. It
was passed at once, the house also pass.
ing it the same day. This bill calls for
$A4v,vuo. and after the passage of the
bill the various detailed items Of ex-
pense are voted by resolution. as they
arise in the two houses, and paid on the
presentation Of a warrant Of the chief
clerk or secretary of the senate, coun-
tersigned by the speaker or lieutenant
governor. Mr.. Ferris came to the front
with the first bill in the house, it being
one to provide that all executions shall
be at tho state peuitentiary under
charge Of the warden or his deputy.
lhere was recently an execution in the
home town Of Mr.. Ferris, and this fact
had much to do with tho introduction
OF the bill. He il very much in earn
est in its advocacy, and, as he usually
gets what he goes after, he will prob
atly secure the passage Of his bill. An
interesting feature Of the bill is the way
it does away with one Of the peculiar
provisions Of the present law, which
was PASSED in 1889, Mr.. John Day
Smith introducing and championing it.
The SO called John Day Smith law,
among other things, particularly pro-
vlued that no reporter should be pres
ent at the execution and no newspaper
should publish more than three lines
about it. How carefully that provision
has been enforced is known to the av.
erage newspaper reader. MIR. Ferris
bill in specifying who shall be present
Includes flour newspaper reporters"
and us the last section repeals all previ-
ous inconsistent legislation the so called
feature of the old law
will be wiped from the statute books if
this bill passes. s,,: I.
seisct.on Of Seats.
On the first afternoon Of the session
the selection Of seats took place aud re-
suited in very general shifting of
places by former members, only eight
Of whom secured their old seats. Those
who were over so years of age, or hard
OF hearing, or had served before in the
house were given the first choice. and
tie new members stood back by the
wall and saw the best taken before the
lottery part Of the selection began. -Sec-
retary Bowling picked district numbers
at random from a hat, and, as the num-
Uers We're ca-ied, the members from
that district announced their selection
of seats And yet the new members do
no, ;iway, get the worst Of it by any
means. One of the choicest seats in
the house was secured by Mr.. Marin, a
new member, because every one had
supposed that of course so desirable
seat must have been taken long before.
But Mr. Marin was governed by what
he a. tually saw rather than by what
he supposed, SO that when his district
was called he walked slowly up the
center aisle, saw a vacant chair right
in front of the speaker and sat down III
DR.. Patent Medicine Zier's seat of
two years AGO When Ignatius Don
nelly was cal ed, the famous apostle OF
Populisln, arose slowly and stated that
as an old member-over so years-as a
former member and as one slightly de-
fcient in hearing, he thought perhaps
he might be entitled to three seats !;
that anyway it would be good thing
as Populists were so few in number
in the house-to let him have three
seats in order to encourage the party.
Whereupon jacobson in his most seri-
ous manner moved that ''the gentle.
mans request be granted. and led in
the laugh that followed.
Inauguration of Governor C!ough.
Considerable interest always attaches
to the first Legislative joint session, at
which the governor-elect is formally
installed in his Office and reads his