Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1897-02-11
press gambling. but it will check it.

|
to say that IL Senator Leonard. O
Silver Bow county, had been present
! he would have opened the debate in
support of the bill, he took up the
cudgel himself.
1--WE are told that the state needs
every dollar it can get, F" he continued
THAT is true. We do need all the
money that can be procured to main
tain our state institutions. Is that
any reason why we should compro-
mise with this evil?''
Senator Chandler read the report
of the bureau of statistics showing
that the revenue collected by all
the county treasurers was but
$31, 900, and the state received but
$4,000. Can we afford to smirch the
name of our good state for a paltry
1 1000 or $4,000 or so? III we need
revenue we can better afford to
license other things. We might fol-
low the example of our sister state,
Nevada, and ask prize-fighters to
come here and engage in fights for
81 900 a fight. There is no doubt
that we might make some money
out of that
| There was another phase of the
revenue question, Senator Chandler
said. The additional costs of Grim.
nal prosecutions would more than
absorb the additional revenue. He
had taken pains to write to- the
proper authorities. and he had
learned that i'm Silver Bow county
during the months which gambling
was unlawful the number of arrests
had fallen off one-third. And i'm that
connection. merchants testified that
while the law had been in force col
lections had much improved, show
ing that the workingmen paid their
debts with money that they had
otherwise gambled with. Referring
again to the financial side of it, he
said that the revenue derived by the
counties themselves was greatest in
those that could best afford to lose
| the revenue. The license law could
and would be evaded as well as an
anti-gambling law, as was shown by
the fact that the treasurer of Valley
county had not collected one cent of
revenue, and gambling, he had been
reliably informed, had been in full
swing there just the same"
One of the principal champions of
the measure, Senator Leonard Of
Silver Bow, was unable to be present
on account of sickness, but was
paired with Senator Ramsdell, who
would otherwise have voted with
the opposition. Senator Babcock
of Yellowstone, was also absent but
not paired. The bill will be brought
up in the house next week and it is
thought will pass but the gamblers
are working hard. How many votes
they can Change is doubtful at this
writing.
On Wednesday Senator Chandler's
bill to make the chairmen of the
boards of county commissioners
members of the state board of equal
ization was finally defeated. 1t
brought out considerable debate on
the subject OF railroad assessments
but a majority of the senate seemed
to have confidence in the present
body reconsidered its action of a
few days previous in providing for a
visit to the state institutions by a
committee from both houses and
decided to omit this iunketing tour
the present session.
| Senator Sligh's bill providing that
election officers shall preserve un-
used ballots was passed.
Thursdays session in the senate
was almost entirely taken up with
the gambling bill and consideration
of other bills in committee of the
whole. Three bills were passed:
Senator Campbell's bill to define the
duties of city and county boards of
health; Senator Ramsdell's bill to
disqualify judges from acting in pro-
bate proceedings wherein they are
related to the decedent or are named
in the will as beneficiary or admins
| traitor: Senator Sligh's 'anti-trust''
bill.
Friday the senate passed four
house bills and six senate bills. The
former, which now only require the
signature of the governor are:
II. Z. No. 81. by Caldwell: Provid-
ing that one party to a contract can
not testify to its provisions when
the other party to the same is dead.
III. b. No. IS, by Mr.. Leehey; Pro-
viding that attachments out OF JUS
tice of the peace courts cannot be
levied on real property.
III. b. No. 6S, by MIR. Leehey: Max
ing transcript of a justice of the
peace court record "A lein for six
years.
HI. B. No. 65, by Mr.. Armitage
Repeating the law requiring EN-
ployes of the previous legislature to
be present at the succeeding session
to open them.
The substitute for Senator Powers
bill IS. b. No. 16) to define the dutie,
of railroads with reference to tn,
killing of stock, which abolishes tn,
attorneys fees and makes the com
pany pay double damages when il
refuses to settle and a verdict il
rendered against it, was passed by &
unanimous vote.
The substitute bill fixing the salar,
of the state examiner at $500 a yea
passed unanimously. So did Sena
tor Auld's bill requiring notarie,
public to file copies of their commits
sions with the clerk of the distric-
court. Notaries public now fill