The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1897-01-20
MINNESOTA SOLONS.
The Legislative Proceedings from
Day to Day.
Everything Running in Smooth Manner
and There Is an Evident Desire on .
the Part of Members to Make
Purely Business Session.

resolution concerning the chairman
ship OF the judiciary committee bore
fruit. At the meeting Of the senate
this morning, after considerable de
bate, the resolution was passed by
vote of 27 to 20. This took from the
lieutenant governor the authority of
naming the chairman of the judiciary
committee, and gave it to the commit
tee itself. This is the first time the
senate has ever assumed to exercise
such power. Some years ago, under
the leadership of Mr.. Donnelly, the ap-
pointment of all the committees was
taken out of the hands of the lieuten-
ant governor, but never before has
the craftsmanship of a single commit
tee been segregated from the remain
der of the committees There has been
very sharp, but not public, contest
for the craftsmanship of the judiciary
committee between Senators Sheehan
and Stevens of st. Paul, and the po-
litical pull felt absolutely certain
that the lieutenant governor would APP
point Sheehan. The adoption of Greer's
resolution defeated this. and when the
judiciary committee met, after the SEN
ate adjourned. Mr.. Stevens was unani-
mously elected to the Craftsmanship
which he held two years ago. This
contest, at the beginning of the ses-
sion, sows some seed which will bear
fruit later.
In the house the event of the day
was resolution offered by Ignatius
Donnelly to investigate eX-State Aud
itor Braden. owing to his sale of the
state lands which contained the valu
able Mountain Iron mine on the Mesa
ba range. The resolution claims that
the lands are now worth twelve mill
ion dollars and proposes to reclaim
them on behalf of the state. 1t orders
joint committee of seven senators
and fifteen representatives to investi-
gate and report. The resolution went
over one day on a notice of debate.
Mr.. Donnelly also offered resolution
asking for bill reducing naturaliza-
ton fees from So to so cents. Mr.. ia
cobson had the next measure Of i'm
portance in the shape of a bill regu-
lating the railway and warehouse COM
mission and imposing additional re-
strictions on the railroads. The other
business was routine.
St. Paul, Jan. 13-When the senate
met today Lieut.. Gov. Gibbs did not
announce the committee on municipal
corporations or the senate portion of
the joint committee on reapportion-
ment. Mr.. Gibbs named all the other
committees yesterday, but stated that
he would delay naming these until the
judiciary committee selected their
chairman. His idea was to placate
Senator Sheehan, by making him chair
man of the committee on municipal
corporations, if he lost the chairman
ship of the judiciary. Of course it was
certain that Sheehan would lose when
the senate took the matter out of the
hands of the lieutenant governor.
Sheehan and his friends claim that
Gibbs connived at or even suggested
that the judiciary appointment be
taken out of his hands. They claim to
have had his promise to give Sheehan
the place and hold him responsible for
the defeat. The Ramsey county push"
tell Sheehan that they will cut him
dead if he accepts any craftsmanship at
the hands of Gibbs and Sheehan is suf-
ficiently mad to be of the same mind.
Hence Gibbs is holding over the mu-
nicipal corporation committee, hoping
that the storm will subside. There is
a report too, that the vote of 81 to 20,
whereby the judiciary craftsmanship
was taken away from Gibbs, is an in
dex to the standing of the senate on
the contest for Frank Days seat, Dunn
being in the minority. 1t is understood
that Gibbs is opposed to Day and that
the committee on elections that he
named stands three to two in favor of
lieve that there will be two reports of
the election committee and the COM
mittee being organized to convict, the
majority will favor Dunn. This does
not make much difference as the con-
test will be fought out in the senate in
any event The ghost of the bill vetoed
two years ago by Gov. Clough, putting
the grain commission under civil serv-
ice rules walked again today, in the
shape of bill introduced similar to the
one which was vetoed.
Speaker Jones announced his commit
tees today, without creating any pub
Tic 1rlcIlOn, CnouBH 1hcTc "crc many
blasted hopes in the matter of chair
manships The house gave evidence
Of intending industry by the introduc-
ton of Is bills. Perhaps the most i'm.
portant was one allowing all state
banks to demand 60 days written mo-
tice for the withdrawal of time depos-
its. This is with the view of holding
in check panicky bank runs which
have recently carried down SO many
state banks. The bill introduced to-
day which will lead to one of the great
est contests of the session was one re-
pealing the struck jury law. Such
law stood upon our statute books for
many years, but was repealed and
again enacted two years sgo. Organ
lied labor il now demanding q second