The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1899-02-17
doubtful If any such pronounced IN
crease viii be made.
state Suueryisors M eft.

| legislation to be enacted this winter.
The boards of supervisors of about thir-
| ty-fve counties were represented, and
the various propositions were given
! careful consideration. The legislative
! programme finally agreed upon includes
the repeal of the sparrow bounty law;
/ amendment to the law relative to the
payment OF expenses Of caring for in
/ digent persons with contagious diseases
so that this shall be a charge upon the
! respective townships OF cities instead of
the county at large as at present; the
substitution of salaries for fees as COM
! pensation for county officials; an
amendment to the drain law provid-
| ing for appeals to the probate judge
who shall appoint commissioners to
hear the objections and determine the
case; the Cheever-Atkinson railroad tax
bill, although this measure did not re-
ceive a unanimous Endorsement:
amendment to the law relative to the
summoning of circuit court jurors SO
that summons may be sent by regis
tered mail instead of being served by
the sheriff. The association was adj
dressed by a number of officers and d.
rectors OF beet sugar factories, who
urged the supervisors to take a stand
against the repeal Of the sugar bounty
law or any reduction Of the bounty. No
action was taken, however.
Inspection OF Coal Mines.
! The rapid development Of the coal
mining industry during the past two
or three years has led to demand for
the proper inspection Of these mines, to
the end that proper precautions to pro-
tect the lives and health of the miners
may be insured. Representative Lusk
of Bay City, in whose district a num-
Der of coal mines are located. has intro
duced a bill creating the Office Of in
spector of coal mines.
The latest railroad mileage bill to
materialize has been noticed by Sem
ator Flood. 1t provides that companies
shall sell a 500-mile book for $40, and that
the mileage shall be good for use by the
bearer. Such a law would be nuts for
the ticket scalper, as we'll as the or
binary traveller. Senator Davis, who Is
a heavy shipper of lumber, and who
says he never knows what his switching
bill for precisely the same service Is
going to be from time to time, has
drafted a bill establishing a uniform
charge for switching cars in Michigan.
He has not decided just what rate to
name, but does not propose to have 1t
81 one day and SO the next, as Is fire.
quently the case under the present law.
The Kimmis county salary BILL which
has been Endorsed by the State Grange
ard State Association Of Farmers
clubs, provides salaries instead of fees
for all county officers, except sheriff,
the salaries varying in several counties
in proportion to their population. Sena-
tor Collingwood goes Kimmis one bet
ter and proposes to make the sheriff a
salaried official. The compensation
fixed in the Collingwood bill is a slight
increase al along the line over that In
the Kimmis bill.
Fooled by Prisoners.
Circuit judges are frequently fooled
by prisoners who appear before them
for sentence, and are persuaded to i'm
pose light sentences in the belief that
the convict is a first offender, when
1t subsequently developes that the fell
low has served several terms in prison.
In order that these judges may know
just who they are dealing with Senator
Ccllingwood has introduced a bill pro-
viding for a central bureau which shall
procure from the prisons and elsewhere
Bertillion descriptions of convicts anc
see that the judges are supplied with
them so that they will be able to spot
an old-timer when he appears in their
court.
A bill proposing the system of taxing
on land values, or the single tax, has
been introduced in the house by Rep
resentative Elkhoff of Detroit. The bill
makes the adoption of the system OPP
tional and it applies only to cities. Mr..
Elkhoff would like to have some city
try the scheme and see how it works.
He has also introduced bill which pro-
vides for the examination and licensing
of motormen and other persons en-
ployed on electric street railways.
Notaries public throughout the state
who find it difficult to keep track Of the
time of the expiration of their commits
sions, and who are constantly embar-
raised at the discovery that they have
been acting officially without authority,
will be interested in Representative
Wheeler's bill which makes 1t the duty
Of county clerks to notify notaries in
due time Of the date when their COM
missions will expire so that they can
have them renewed.
Relief for Soldiers.
The legislature is kindly disposed
toward the Michigan soldiers of the
Spanish war. Ii has passed
bills extending the relief laws so as tc
provide for them, and will soon enact
a law making veterans of this war ell
gible to admission to the soldiers home
The latest bill affecting them to be
passed by both houses is the Weier bill
providing that the state shall continue
to pay the rent of armories of companies
that have not yet returned from the
service
The state court of mediation, which
was appointed two years ago, has ac-
complished so very little that there is
a general demand for it's adjustment,
and Senator Davis has introduced bill
to repeal the law creating 1t.
TAMLc W DADDv