The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-02-07
THE WEEK In HELENA
The County Bills Out of the Way, All
Legislation Will Move Brisker.
LAWS AND THEIR MAKERS
Railroad Commission Schemes
The Powell County Fight Was
Hot-No Junketlng trips
Allowed This Year.
Avs AND THEIR MAKERS

accomplished-the number of bills that
have been sent 10 kingdom come-the
industry of the legislature shows up
fairly well. The county division
schemes have been a powerful drag
upon a good many measures in more
ways than one, and now that they are
out of the road all Legislation will he
expedited The coming week promises
TO be a busy one.
Among the more important bills to
be considered are those creating a rail-
road commission. There are two sets
of these bills i'm the two houses, one
fixing the rate of passenger fares at
three cents n mile, materially reducing
freight rates, and creating commits
sion in accordance with the suggestion
in the governors message, namely. a
board tn consist Of the governor. attor-
ney general and state auditor. The
commission in its supervision and
treatment of railroads is vested with
almost absolute powers. The scheme
proposed in the other set of bills is less
drastic. No freight rates or passenger
fares are specified. The railroad COM
mission is to consist of three persons,
to be appointed by the governor and
confirmed by the senate. They shall
serve four years, and shall receive a
salary of s., 400 each, with n 81 200 clerk.
They shall exercise general supervision
over the railroads, shall collect statis-
tics, investigate abuses and injustices,
and within limits shall decree what the
railroads may or may not do such de-
crees to- be enforced by the courts.
This I'm general is the Iowa system.
The railroads themselves, it is under
stood don't want any commissions
n nd in don't n hp intnrfgrp1
with at present at all. 1t is argued
that they are making no money, and
that anything like three-cent pas
senger fare would be simply ruinous.
Another important measure whose fate
will be settled the coming week, is the
eight-hour bill, which, having passed
the house two weeks ago, has been
made a special order in the senate FOR
Tuesday afternoon.
Nobody who was not in the thick of
the fight can realize the fer0city of the
| contest over the hill creating Powell
| county. In a sense IL was the old capi-
tai fight resumed. The advocates of
the bill assiduously appealed To the
passions and prejudlces of the press
, and people of Helena. For a time it
looked as If all Helena. or at least two
thirds of il, had constituted itself a
lobby to take a crack at Anaconda. Sol
Hepner, of Helena, who early in the
session. perceiving the bills utter lack
of merit and becoming disgusted with
the tactics of its advocates and their
Helena allies, volunteered TO lead the
fight against the measure on the floor
of the house. declared at the very last
moment that his clients had jumped on
his back so persistently and savagely
hot h. al. tn A
which he did. He said If he voted
against IL he could not live in Helena,
as his practice as an attorney would
he hopelessly ruined This incident Is
mentioned merely as a sample OF Hell
ena animosity to Anaconda. To the
credit of Helena, however, 1t should he
added that not all her citizens are
monumental fools. Helena contains
some of the best people on earth. men
who deprecate and deplore the sense
less Anacondaphobia of their fellow
citizens, and who We're as glad as any
body when the preposterOus Powell
county bill was killed. All but two OF
the Lewis and Clarke delegation in the
house rose above local prejudices and
voted against the thing. Their action
has done more to clarity the atmos-
phcre and promote a spirit OF neigh
borly frendlness and mutual good VIII
I'm Montana than anything else that
has happened in a good while.
Although the house appears by
good majority not TO like 1t, the senate
has decided that there shall be no
iunketing trips this year-not with its
concurrence and consent. Two sena-
tors being sick. the original plan of two
visiting committees of five senator's
and seven representatives each would
leave the senate without quorum for
several days. probably more than
week, The value OF these junketing
trips was never apparent To any body.
Senators and representatives can get
Just a. drunk, if they so desire. with
out setting foot outside of Helena. An
official drunk at the expense of the
state, possessing as ii does the charm
of novelty. may he more pleasurable
than plain, ordinary. every day
drunk. but this is an era of retrench-
ment and reform.
Senator Leonard is not expected to
return this session. He Is suffering Sc
riously from nervous exhaustion. and
from Libby he will go TO the coast and
probably take n sea voyage Ia san
Diego. Senator Babcock, the other sick
member. has been a week now at st.
=
monia. Anxious inquiries are made
hourly as to his condition ana frequent
kilograms are received from Billings,
the city of his home. and elsewhere.
Senator Babcuck is one OF the bcst-
known and most popular men in the
state of Montana. This morning Mrs.
Bahcock and her son arrived from
Fairibault, Mimi. whittier they had
just gone from Billings. the boy beng
an attendant at the military school
there.
The people of Helena have agreed
that $500. 900 or $3.50. 900 capitol build
ing is good enough for them for a COOL
many years to come. The plan is e.
erect the central portion of the $1,000
900 building designed by Architect
Mann. leaving the wings for later son
struction Probably the bill just intro
duced authorizing the sale Of $3.50 900
bonds on the capitol building lands. the
state guaranteeing the interest there
on. will go through with little OF no op-
position. along with the bills raising
money in the same way for the schu i
of mines at Butte and the deaf and
dumb asylum at Boulder. The vartOI
institutions Of the state appear to have