The Yale expositor., 1897-05-28
MlcHloAN's LEGISLATORS.

specific tax bill Reps. chamberlain,
Sawyer, Fleischbauer, Kelly and
Washer. 1t was generally conceded
that the committee was strongly in
favor of the railroads, although on the
final vote on the Merriman BILL when
it was seen that it would surely pass,
all of the committeeman had voted for
it. Immediately after the session Col.
John Atkinson walked up to the speak
er's desk and denounced the appoint
ment as an outrage, especially the Sc
lection of Chamberlain and Sawyer,
the strongest fighters the railroads
had in the House. At the afternoon
session Col. Atkinson had red-hot
battle with the conference committee
in an endeavor to have the House i'm
struct them to insist on the House
amendments TO the Merriman bill and
to report within "a hours.
All railroad legislation was held
back until the conference committee
should report. The Senate took up
the bill to remove the homeopathic
college from Ann Arbor to Detroit, and
finally refused to pass the bill by
vote of 10 to 15 The Senate passed
the following appropriations: Electric
lighting plant for the u. of NJ, $50, 900;
industrial home for girls, $50, 900; dairy
and food commission, $50, 600; home for
the feeble minded, $4,000; farmers
institutes, S11,O0 Also the following
bills: Amending the tax law so that
4
county money in their hands to the
county treasurer, Jan. TO- instead of
waiting until March; for the payment
of expenses in lawsuits the state is in
terested in or a party to. The House
defeated the bill giving railroad com
panies the right to lease from street
railway companies and vice versa. Col
Atkinson opposed it on the ground that
it would come too near to allowing the
consolidation of railroads The vote
was reconsidered and the bill tabled
for another attempt TO pass it. The bill
TO prevent the holding of horse races
longer than IL days was killed.
The conference committee on the
specific railroad taxation bill patched
UP NulIii a
victory for the Senate. 1t increases
the taxes TO be raised by the original
Merriam bill only $50, 900 per year
making the total tax to be raised from
railroads under the terms of the bill
about S946, 000 or an increase over the
tax of the present law of about $685.
600. BY the terms of the compromise
the House conference committee gave
in to the Senate committee just $500, 900
of annual taxes as compared with
concession of $40, 900 on the part of the
Senate committee. In the Senate the
compromise was explained by Senator
Merriam and then Senator Thompson
made bitter attack upon Gov. Pin
gree in lengthy speech in which he
criticised the governors recent railroad
taxation message as tissue of false
hood and declared that If the governor
does what he has threatened to do
refuses to sign appropriation bills and
keeps the legislature in session all
summer-then the duty of the legisla-
ture, he said, was to impeach the gov
ernor. At the conclusion of Senator
Thompson's speech the Senate concur
red in the report of the conference
committee without "A negative vote,
but Senators Bostwicll. Nudge, Hughes
and Moore refrained from voting. The
Senate then ordered the speech printed
in full in the legislative journal and
also ordered 5000 extra copies of the
speech printed. Action on the com
promise bill went over for the day in
the House. Gov. Pingree returned to
the legislature three bills which he
had vetoed, viz: The bill to increase
the salaries of Detroit justices, which
he considered out of line with the hard
times; the appropriation of $4,000 for
the Michigan Historical and Pioneer
society; the appropriation of ST. for
improvements on Maclxinac island.
There was beautiful row in the SEN
ate over the the uniform text book bill,
which lacked one vote to pass, but was
reconsidered and tabled. The second
attempt to pass the bill to allow steam
and electric railroads to exchange SER
vice was foiled by Col Atkinson who
said it was scheme of the Grand
Trunk railroad to secure possession of
the Detroit and Mt. Clemens electric
road and cut off competition. The bill
was referred for future action. Bills
passed by the House: To prevent the
spread of noxious weeds; amending the
tax law so the owners of land sold for
taxes shall pay the cost of advertising
the same; limiting the liability of
hotelkeepers in case of loss or theft of
guests effects to the value of $500, un-
less the guest gives previous notice of
the value of such property; authoriz-
ing the building and loan associations
to borrow money and issue paid-up
stock and create reserve funds, also to
increase or decrease their capital stock;
authorizing the commissioner of high
ways in townships to purchase machines
for road making. Bills passed by the
Senate: Appropriations of $4,000 for
the industrial home for girls, SO, 700 for
improvements to the upper peninsula
prison, S134, 500 for state normal school,
$50, 900 for the Michigan college of
mines; for the appointment of fire mar
shals in every county; doing away with