The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1897-03-17

risk it. and SO action was postponed.
One of the bills that did pass makes
Lincoln's birthday and Memorial day
legal holidays so far as the payments
of notes are concerned. The bill COM
polling druggists to furnish copies or
physicians prescriptions, when asked
by their customers, was badly defeated.
The finance committee of the senate
has decided to report in favor Of the
bill appropriating $4,000 to buy the
insane asylum site at Hastings.
The law which allows newspapers to
retract, when a demand is made upon
them, in order to avoid libel suit.
does not seem to be popular in this leg
islature. A bill repeating it is all
ready for passage in the senate and
Mr.. Felg has introduced similar re-
peal measure in the house. Notwith-
standing bill Is pending to abolish
the inebriate ward at the Rochester
asylum, Senator Stebbins offered bill
yesterday allowing the superintendent
of the asylum. at the request of the
friends of an inebriate, to be appointed
temporary guardian of the unfortu-
nate.
In spite of Mr.. Donnelly's protest,
yesterday, the bill providing for track
scales at points where grain is shipped,
was indefinitely postponed. Mr.. DON
nelly had little satisfaction by secur-
ing similar treatment for bill COM
polling railroads to carry bicycles as
baggage, which was championed by
Mr.. Feig. The general banking bill
called forth long debate in the house
without any action being taken. Fiji
teen bills were introduced into the
house yesterday, and ten in the senate,
making the total in both branches up
to date 1890. A little over month of
the session remains and less than one
hundred bills have become laws. From
present indications seven or eight hun
| dred measures which are now pending
will meet Leir fate in the waste basket.
st. Paul, March 12-The legislature
went in body yesterday to visit the
state prison in Saltwater. The senate
held no session whatever, but the house
held an evening session. The attend
ance was light and the evening was
devoted to considering bills in commit
tee of the whole. A large portion of
the time was devoted to- considering
the bill increasing the tax levy for the
university from 1900 to 23-100 of a
mill. The opposition made a good
deal of noise in debate, but the bill
was recommended to pass by avery
decided majority. Another bill recon-
mended to pass was the one providing
for the issue of $500, 600 in certificates
of indie btedness to hasten the construc-
ton of the new capitol. The bill al
lowing attorneys to issue subpoenas
was killed. The other bills acted upon
were not of general interest.
st. Paul, March 13.-There was a
tempest in a tea pot, yesterday, in the
senate, over the supposed loss of the
bill which had passed the house, appro-
priating $4,000 to buy the Hastings
site for the fourth insane asylum. Sen
ator Wyman, chairman of the finance
committee, had possession of the bill
and he announced with much denuncia-
ton of the thief, that his desk had
been robbed and the bill stolen. He
knew just where he had put it in his
desk and thought he had properly con-
cealed it. Senator Durham, of Anoka,
became excited over the insinuation
that any one representing his town had
stolen the bill, and Senator Schaller,
of Hastings, became excited over the
impending danger to his town by the
possible failure of the appropriation.
Senator Wyman rushed over to the
house to secure the passage of the bill
over again, under suspension of the
rules, going SO far as to appear before
that body and make his statement,
which was that he had sealed the bill
in an envelope and placed it in the back
part of drawer in his desk, but on
coming to the senate he had found the
bill gone. He had favored Anoka up
to this time, but now he was for Hast
ings. Judge Hicks, OF Minneapolis,
who had also been an ardent supporter
of Anoka, moved that the engrossing
clerk be instructed to prepare an exact
duplicate of the stolen bill. This was
adopted with rush and Senator Wy
man bolted back to his seat, to an
nounce that he would soon have an
other bill and the thief would thus be
circumvented. By this time the clerk
OF the finance committee, OF which MIR.
Wyman is chairman, had walked up
and notified Mr.. Wyman that he, the
clerk, had the bill and had had it all
the time. All of which proves that
men can possibly make mistakes by
thinking they have done something
which they have not done. The bill
was then recommended to pass and a
motion to delay on parliamentary
bubble was lost by II ayes to 32 nays.
This shows that the passage of the bill
is assured.
Getting down to the regular business
of the senate, an effort was made to
pass the general civil service bill, but
instead of passing,i it was referred back
to its author, Senator Ozmun. Inter-
preted, this action means that the bill
is dead. The bill repeating the libel