Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-02-25
MICHIGAN SOLONS.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE STATE
LEGISLATURE.
Summary of the Principal Bills Intro
duced and of the Doings of the Both
Branches-Pingree Reform Measures
Beginning to Cut Quite Figure.

duction of bills approaches both houses
are flooded with measures more or less
important In the Senate the follow
ing are presented: To license firearms
for the killing Of game; for soldiers
relief commissions in cities and town.
ships; to repeal the law requiring two
years active work in an attorneys Office
before admission of applicants to prac-
tice at the bar; TO prohibit normal
schools taking up university work;
cutting amount of immediate relief for
the poor from $50 to $40 in each case
and having such accounts audited by
township boards instead of poor com
missioners; TO establish reformatory
for women; for state forestry COM
mission; appropriating So, 500 for the
Central Michigan normal school. The
flood of bills was still greater in the
House, the most important being these:
For state board of steam boiler in
spectors; requiring patent medicines,
etc, to be tested by the state board of
health; to prevent the use Of animals,
dead or living, for scientific purposes
in the public schools; providing that
assaults made on women under guise
of professional confidence shall be
prosecuted the same as rape cases with
the same penalties attached; providing
that only Sl7.75 shall be the limit of
exemption from garnishee, instead of
s25; for the incorporation of cyclone
insurance companies; providing that
only taxpayers may vote on questions
involving the disposition of money; to
abolish the state live stock sanitary
commission; to provide women physi-
clans and attendants upon female in
mates of insane asylums; to reduce the
penalty for receiving stolen goods
under SIS in value from five years inn
prisonment to one year; appropriating
CSC, 900 for the Ypsilanti normal school;
providing for imprisonment at hard
labor for from three months to one
year of parents who torture, starve,
abandon or willfully deprive of shelter
children under l6 years of age; to
change the name of West Bay City to
Wenona; to provide for the collection
of village taxes by the county treas
urer; to authorize the formation of a
corporation for the prevention of cru
city TO animals and children;
for the stamping of boots and shoes,
composed partly or wholly of
imitation leather; for homeopathic
college of medicine at Detroit;
for the supplying of state institutions
with Michigan products; to prohibjt
10y -,-.st-rosor OF oeA+e- from paying
any money to laborer in a saloon;
for the licensing of sleeping and parlor
car companies doing business in Mich
igan; to prevent monopolies in articles
of general necessity; requiring bills of
fare in public eating places to be
printed in English.
Gov. Pingree's appointments are be-
ginning to receive more respectful con-
sideration from the Senate. Col. Fred
II. Case, of Three Rivers, was CON
firmed as inspector-general of the NJ.
N. G.. by vote of is to 8, but the OPP
position made hard fight. The APP
pointment of A. c. Bird, of Highland,
to be a member of the board of control
of the Agricultural college, was also
confirmed. Senator Wagar noticed n
bill making a wholesale reduction in
salaries of state officials and which
will make an annual cut of $50, 900 in
the salary list. Senator Campbell
wants to make saving in the same
line by cutting down the capitol en-
ployes. Other important Senate bills:
Creating the Office of legislative proof
reader and doing away with engrossing
and enrolling clerks; to suspend the
printing of all state publications for
two years except the state manual and
laws; amending the village incorpora-
ton act so as to provide for boards of
public works; for the examination of
persons elected or recommended for
offices i'm the National Guard from
lieutenant up; providing for boards of
county auditors for every county
amending the law relating to mutual
fire insurance companies so that every
company must have 500, 900 worth of
insurance before beginning business;
amending the liquor law, making the
! closing hours o'clock at night to
o'clock in the morning, provided that
in cities of over 10000 population, com
mon councils may permit saloons to
keep open on all holidays except
| Thanksgiving and Christmas, and open
up at A a. m. and remain open until
1890 o'clock. Among bills passed by
| the Senate were these: For the incor-
poration of labor organizations; fixing
penalty of 90 for unlawfully wearing
badges of the G.. A. II. or the Loyal
Legion. Pingree legislation got in on
the ground floor of the House. The
much-talked-of move. to get at the rail
roads appeared in resolution offered
by Rep. Widoe which was adopted by
a vote of SO to 6. 1t provides for the
appointment by the speaker of com
mittee of three members to investigate
any violation of the law relative TO
freight charges on the part of the rail
ways operating under the general law
or under special charters, and TO re-
port remedial legislation with refer
ence thereto. The committee is au-
thorized to subpoena witnesses, to ex-
anime books and papers, and to employ
such assistants as may be necessary,
and is to report within 30 days. The
civil service bill, affecting all counties
having a population of over 100000,
-. q, -. IL