The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-14
NOT GO THROUGH WITHOUT A
CONTEST.
is STOCKWELL ILL-FATED?
TWO OF HIS BILLS WE'RE VOTED
DOWN I'm A SINGLE
DAY.
DEAL THAT RETAINED HALL
Five Members the Previous
Night.

The Reeves bill, to provide for the
taxation of mining lands. will come
up this week on general orders, when
it is expected there will be some lively
discussion for and against it's passage
by the house. 1t will be remembered
that Tuesday night Of last week ]. B.
Cotton, representing the Rockefeller
interests on the Missabe range, appear
ed before the taxes and tax laws COM
mittee of the house and gave the mem
bers two hours talk against the bill.
1t was late when the talk was finished
and the committee waited until next
day before deciding to recommend the
bill for passage. Although the feeling
is said not to have been unanimous, the
members opposed preferred to wait I'M
til the measure comes up on orders.
Then, as stated above, there is likely
to be a side opposed to, as we'll as one
for, the passage Of the bill as it now
stands.
During the week just passed Mr..
Stockwell's measure to abolish capital
punishment was taken up by the house
and after full and somewhat dramatic
debate on either side was killed at O.
special order by a vote Of 73 to %. Mr..
Stockwell was listened to intently, and
was not without supporters, some of the
weaker of which, it may be supposed,
voted against his bill when 1t was
found to have no chance of passage.
The very first name called on the roll
allowed Mr.. Abbott. of Faribault coun-
ty, to rise and in explaining his vote, to
say that he was then making good his
promise, given when voting against
the bill to have all executions held at
Saltwater, to list his voice and cast
his vote against capital punishment.
That same day Mr. StockweIPs bill.
which was in effect to re-enact the An
derson law, was put down by rather an
overwhelming vote.
Those who know Speaker Jones we'll
know also that it is not true-as many
persons imagine from his dignified ex-
terior-that he is entirely devoid of a
sense of humOr.
Those who heard his brief but witty
speech at the Lincoln banquet at the
Ryan on Friday appeared TO be as sur
prised as they were amused that Mr..
Jones should be able to leave off his
calm presiding officers manner and
make a funny speech. During his re-
marks-Which were largely about the
legislature and his own branch Of it in
particular-that being his toast, he al
luded to the fact that the public lived
IN some awe of the avera ge Scion. A
case in point was that of a small girl
who Immediately after an adjourn
ment, found her way into the house
and began selling candy or fruit or
! something of that sort to the members
who remained to catch up with CORE
spondence. Being kindly warned by
the sergeant-atar7ns that the housf.
was not exactly the place for her to
ply her trade she looked up and said
to him. why, it's all right now, isn't
it? There's nothing here now but men,
Above all else Mr.. Jones is possessed
OF that rare characteristic, tact. He
never allows q matter to come to
contest. yet if the emergency arises
it is safe to say that he will assert the
full dignity of his position. His prompt
manly manner in setting right a small
inadvertence he thought himself guilty
of made a, hit with most of the mem
bers who daily seek recognition at his
hands.
If the four or five lcading members
Of the house had not gathered together
Wednesday evening in the rooms Of one
Of them, and, in a way, crystalliZed
the sentiment of the house of repre-
sentatives the Coates-Hall election
contest might not have terminated
just as it did, or, at all events, Mr.. Hall
would not have been retained in his
seat by such an overwhelming major
ity Again, if, just before or during or
just after the little meeting, any one
or two Of the quintet had made known
their intention to mold the views of the
house, the surprise Thursday would not
have been so great, for the press might
have foreshadowed Halls probable re-
tentiOn in the morning and taken the
edge off the shock, which was to be
handed to the chairman of the elections
committee. The action Of the house
may be called unexpected. For some
reason or other state legislatures ara
made the subject Of poor jokes and
paragraphs, just as motners-in-law,
suburban residents and servant girls.
etc. Why this should be is one of
those things no fellow can find out.
AS was shown in this case, legislatures
are not always such horrible bad af-
fairs.
The facts show that Hall, the Popu-
list, was recommended for unseating
in the interest of Coates, a Republi-
can, by a committee almost entirely
Republican, and with a Republican
chairman.
The quintette referred to resolved to
do what the members thought would be
fair, retain Hall, turn down Coates and
also the Republican chairman and his
committee and preserve the honor and
good name Of the entire house. This
was DONE
What of the struck jury law? What
will be done with it?
The matter, as stated in the G 10 b e
during the week, would seem to be
in the hands Of the lower house, mas
much as the senate bill providing for
the repeal Of the chapter in question
has been passed on to the house and
referred to the judiciary committee,
while the house measure is on the cal
endar this week with favorable recon-
mendations.
There have been no end Of petitions
from lawyers and labor organizations
asking for the repeal Of the law, and, by
the way, the history of the bill re-
enacting the law passed two years ago,
was brought up one afternoon late las.
week in an odd manner.
One member, explaining the workings
of the law, gave it out gravely enough
that he was always opposed to the law
and had looked long and hard for the
bill introduced at the last session, but
could not find it to fight against. This
developed that it was left in the judi
ciary committee until the eleventh
hour, when, with a large number of
other measures, it was made a law.
after the time for the last adjourn
ment was passed. The clock had either
been set back or stopped altogether.
and those who were on the ground
recall a number of sights and scenes
hardly to be expected of a dignified
legislature in a dlgnifled state like Min