Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-04-21
THE CLOSING DAYS.
Legislature will Adjourn on
Saturday.
Great Fight Stirred Up by the Salary
Reduction Bill.

the closing days are being filled with i'm
portant matters The Hall anti-pass
resolution has met death at the hands
Of the Senate and the medical bill is to
meet it at the hands of the governor. If
report be true The Assembly has killed
the bicycle baggage bill and the Hall
railroad commission bills and has passed
a bill 20 establish an intermediary re-
formatery prison. A bill has become
law which puts the fire and police de-
partments of cities of the second and
third class under civil service and gives
the mayors authority to appoint the
commissions. The special legislative in
yestiGating committee stirred up great
fight by reporting a bill to reduce sala-
lies. measure which is said to be
loaded.
If Assemblyman McGrath succeeds in
getting his intermediary prison bill
through the House he will have a cham
pion for it in the Senate in the person of
Senator Woodwork, who is very anX-
ious to see it become a law. Senator
Woodwork was 4 member of the ieglSIa-
tive visiting committee and he knows how
badly such an institution is needed. Inc
committee very strongly recommended
the building of a reformatory and IN Its
report gave many reasons why one should
be built. If the bill does not pass 1t VIII
be solely on account of the hard times
and the crippled condition Of the treasury
No resolution for adjournment has
been passed, but it is practically settled
that the recess will be taken on Wednes-
day of next week. The work OF botn
houses is pretty we'll cleaned up. but
there are the insurance measures and
the appropriation bills yet to pass, and
there may be considerable squabbing
prGtracted debate everything can be
cleaned up by the Dist with ease, and
with a little hustling an adjournment
could be taken on Saturday. Usually
the Legislature is obliged to give the
governor three days after work has
ceased in which to sign the bills sent to
him, but it is held that because this Leg
iSlature is to take a recess instead OF
final adjournment it can work up to the
last minute.
The resolution introduced by Assembly
man Stone, calling upon the committees
to report all the bills in their possession,
is rather unusual. In fact, it is said that
such a resolution was never before intro
duced in the Wisconsin Legislature.
SmOthering bills in the committees has
been a favorite way of killing trouble
some measures, and that fate was IN
store for several bills in this Legislature,
but in the Assembly end, at least, every
thing will have to be acted upon, if this
resolution passes, unless some of the
chairmen see fit to disregard the COM
mand embodied in the resolution. Some
Of the politicians among the members re-
greet that the resolution was introduced,
because there are some measures IN COM
mittee which they would like to have
seen killed with as little commotion as
possible. Mr.. Stone, however, does not
believe il that kind of business.
';Judge" Webster of Dodge county, who
was greatly chagrined over the defeat of
his pure beer bill. is rejoicing over the
passage of his bill to encourage the rails
inc Of the sugar beet. He worked
through a bill to give each senator and
assembIyman 100 packages of sugar beet
seed for distribution. Each package will
contain a quarter of pound OF the
cost the state only $500, which is the
amount of the appropriation carried by
the bill. The beets raised from the
seed are to be sent to the experiment sta
ton to be tested, and an arrangement has
been made with the railroads to carry
the beets to the station free of charge.
Assemblyman Borchsenius of St. Croix
county will make Madison his home in
the future. He is building himself a
fine residence near the lower university
campus, and as soon as it is completed
will remove his family from Baldwin,
where he now resides. He will follow
them as soon as he can, but he Will have
to remain in Baldwin for awhile. He lived
in Madison many years ago and filled a
number of public offices. He is a gen
tleman of means and he intends to re-
tire, after a long and very active public
life. as soon as he can settle his business
affairs.
The counties which desire to make their
register of deeds office a salaried one
must thank Senator Phillips of Stevens
Point for the passage of Mr.. Legried's
bill giving them authority to make the
change Mr.. Legried worked the bill
through the Assembly. but when it got
into the Senate it had to travel 4 rocky
road It was adversely reported upon,
and once Indefinitely postponed, but DR.:
Phillips came to its rescue and managed
to get a reconsideration which resulted
in the passage of the measure. 1t pro-
yides that counties which do not have
cities of 10000 inhabitants may make
the change and affects the whole of the
state with the exception of three or four
counties.
1t is suggested that if the state is TO
build an intermediary prison, such as is
contemplated by the McGrath bill, it
should be located on a part of the land
comprised i'll the grounds of the Vet
Grams homo at Waupaca. 1t is argued
that in very few years the need of
such q home will be over, and it is said
that under the provisions of the grant
of the land to the state it is to revert to
WauDaca if the state ever fails to use it
for some sort of a charitable or penal
institution In that event the state
would lose rhe costly buildings it has
erected there. 1t is said that there is
ample room for the reformatory without
cramping the veterans, ana inasmuch as
the state cannot now be given site for
it-a law forbidding such gifts having
been passed-its location there would
save a considerable sum of money.
The persistency with which certain
members of *he Assembly insist upon .
o'clock sessions, regardless of the length
or Importance Of the calendar, brings to
mind the misguided enthusiasm of ven
cradle Milwaukee member of two years
ago, who no longer sits in the legisla-
tive halls. On the very first day of the
n his fEptnrnin finn