Omaha daily bee., 1899-02-18
SOUTH DAKOTA LEGISLATURE
Doings Of a Day BY the Assembled solons
at Pierre.
LONG wRANGLE OVER APPROPRIATION BILL
Measure Providing for Permanent
Appropriations for state Educn-
tionHI Institutions il In
definitely Postponed.

PIERRE, s. D.. Feb. 17.-(special Tele-
gramD-In the house the railroad
reported adversely on senate bill !, the
LOOMS bill, requiring the commission TO put
into effect maximum express rates In the
state. 4 bill providing for the salary OF
adjutant general was fayorably reported and
a bill for militia appropriation reported
without recommendation. A petition was
presented from the scandinavian Temper
ance society Of Sioux Falls. asking for pas
sage OF the Gundarson dispensary bill Bits
introduced were;
BY Wooley-Providing the method OF lay
ing out Of highways.
BY Glass-Appropriating $3.50 deficiency In
salary of +. T.. Conklin as railroad commits
s.cner.
BY Cornwol-Proyiding the method OF
auditing state accounts.
Glass demanded that house bill / be re-
ported by the committee, as 1t was being
held up in opposition to instructions. The
bill provides for stamping Of commercial
paper for taxation and making 1t uncol-
lectible unless so stamped.
Bills were passed limiting the time to one
year after expiration OF term for begin
ming civil services against sheriffs; appro-
priating money for witnesses in the Taylor
Investigation; allowing counties to dispose
of real property secured through tax titles,
foreclosure, or any other manner.
The house in the afternoon took up the
third reading Of Senate bills and passed two
of the bills relating to attaching territory
to Clay county.
The bill for permanent appropriations for
state educational institutions was wrangled
over for two hours and finally indefinitely
postponed, but notice of reconsideration was
given by Packard. The bill as it will come
up for reconsideration is amended in sew
eral places, particularly from the original
state bill. II was declared by Wilmarth
that the amount granted in the senate bill
of eight-tenths of a mill of the total levy
would give the Institutions an annual APP
preparation Of 1914, 600, while for last year
they got along on So, 900, and he moved an
amendment to cut the appropriation to six
tcnths of a mill. This was defeated and an
amendment to reduce to seven-tenths car
rieI. Another amendment limits the total
amount which can be secured by the in
stitutions in any one year to 500, 900. This
placed it in shape where 1t did not satisfy
original supporters and the motion to in
definitely postpone carried, 40 to 81.
A fight was made on the bill to authorize
Granthan's code by a few populists, which
was conceded to be in the interests OF a
crowd which desired to secure an appro-
p~riation for a revision of the laws and the
gag was used. Though the previous ques-
~ was NdlAti VI every LhOllOh IL VII
passed. 81 to IS.
A bill for additional buildings at the
State university was indefinitely postponed.
The senate passed the republican caucus
measures for the levy and collection Of per-
sonal taxes and limitation of tax levies.
Action on the veto messages of normal
school bills was postponed to Saturday. On
second reading of the bill to put telegraph
and telephone companies under the control
OF the railroad commissioners, there was a
lively fight. Tyler presented an amendment
placing press and special matter at the same
rate as any other matter, and LOOMS, as
chairman, declared the amendment carried
and was sustained on an appeal from his
decision. Motion to indefinitely postpone
was lost. Another amendment By Tyler pre-
scribes severe penalties fer the acceptance
of franks. There will probably be another
fight when it comes 10 for final action.
Measure for Mutual Companies.
An insurance bill covering mutual COM
panics alone will, If passed, cure a great
deal of trouble which has been met by this
class of companies in the past. Under
present laws mutual companies are re-
quired to file their articles of Incorporation
with the state auditor, but when it came
to securing authority for the agents to
do business in the state, they were COM
INllEl ~ Ndll ipbAl lie insurance tOlnIlllS-
sioner for such authority. The trouble has
been in the unwillingness CT the commits
sioner to issue such certificates where there
was no record Of the existence Of any such
company in his department. The bill now
before the Legislature provides that mutual
companies shall file their articles with the
commissioner, as do ether companies, and
the trouble Of the past will thus be done
away with.
One bill, which has been reported favor
ably in the house, is to require mortgagors
Of stock under chattle mortgage to notify
the holder of the mortgage OF the death OF
any such stock so mortgaged, with the cause
OF death and what disposal has been made
OF the carcass. The object of the bill
evidently being to give mortgage holders
an opportunity to secure themselves by de-
manding further security, in case the loss
is such as to impair the security.
y bill by Meisenholder seeks to limit the
workings OF exemption laws, the provisions
of the bill being: The exemptions allowed