Willmar tribune., 1899-02-15
LEGISLATIVE GOSSIP.
Our Special Correspondent Tells OF
the Solons' Doincs.
The Work of Introducing Bills, 10th Pub
lie and Private Goes Merrily On. As
Yet but Few Measures Have
Received Final Action.

st. Paul. Feb. 4.-The senate yesterday
passed the bill refunding the citizens the
$24,5O0 they advanced for the Omaha ex-
position. Nine senators were excused
from voting on the ground that they had
signed the notes upon which the money
was raised. AS the bill had previously
passed the house it now goes to the gov
ernor for his signature Senator Miller
is still looking after the express COM
pan1es and introduced a bill to tax them
live per cent on their gross earnings.
The State Agricultural society had bill
introduced appropriating $45,0Oo to build
an agricultural hall and an amphitheater
for the display of live stock
Senator Grindeland has decided to amend
his commission men bill by eliminating
the requirement of bond and the re-
cording of the day, hour and minute
when sales are made. The bill still places
the commission under the charge of the
railroad and warehouse commission to be
investigated by them at their pleasure.
Senator Rowerud is the author of re-
form measures. He added to his bill for
bidding Sunday theatrical entertainments
by introducing another, making it a
m1sdemeanor to sell or give away liquor
on Sunday.
Notwithstanding the judiciary COM
mtttee reported against the bill making
the insurance, labor and dairy commits
sioners elective offices, and also the Office
OF superintendent of public instruction,
Senator Ryder got it sent to the COM
mittee of the whole and it may be saved
by the action of the entire senate This
is one of the bills which has cropped out
because the governor, who makes the ap-
pointments, differs politically from the
legislature. The judiciary committee,
however. recommended the bill to pass
which provides for the election of rail-
road commissioners. 1t seems probable
that this bill will become law.
There was hot contest in the house
over the bill making it misdemeanor
to throw bottles. barbed wire or any
other Objectionable articles upon cycle
paths. 1t was finally recommended to
pass, but not until the country members
had declared their hostility to the wheel.
bill introduced in the house COM
pelling railroads to run daily trains over
stub and branch lines is being strongly
opposed by the railroads. They say they
will tear up their tracks going to many
places if such a bill becomes q law, as
they cannot afford to operate them daily.
st. Paul, Feb 6.-This time it was the
House that took Saturday recess and
only the Senate was in session. The in
terestlng feature of the session was the
debate in committee of the whole over
the Somervllle corporation bill This bill
is aimed at foreign corporations, and re-
thnvro 10
asked of domestic companies. This will
amount to $525 on a million dollars cap
ital AS this applies to insurance COM
panies 1t will create quite revenue. 1t
also requires them maintain business
office and a resident agent. The bill is
not only to apply to all foreign corpora
tions who come into the State hereafter,
but to all who have come in since 1889,
when the original fee bill was enacted.
The only exception made was exempting
the shipping and steamboat companies
who do business at Duluth. The bill was
recommended so strongly to pass that it
Is sure of going through the Senate In a
day or two.
The osteopathy bills were made debata-
BILE on Wednesday afternoon.
Ortonville, the county seat of Big Stone
county, is so near the line that it has
grown over into Lac qui Parle county,
and a bill to take a slice off from Lac
qui Parle and give it to Big Stone was
offered.
Only one bill was passed and that re-
quires that the whole head of a wolf
must be presented to get the bounty,
instead of the pelt alone.
st. Paul, Feb. TN order to make 1t
the most days the senate adjourned over
| from Saturday to Tuesday, so that the
house was the only branch in session
yesterday as an offset to the senate be-
| ing the only body in session on Saturday.
Three bills were passed and eight in
| troduced. One of them passed. appro-
| priating $19,878 to pay the sugar beet
bounty of one cent per pound. Only three
of the bills introduced were of general
character. One appropriates $4,000 for
| the Soldiers Home and another provides
for forest preserves by setting apart
tracts of land from state school lands.
Another bill was introduced for a board
of osteopathic examiners The osteo-
paths are much in evidence this winter.
The usual resolution to cut off two or
three weeks from the length of the
| session was offered and will meet with
the usual fate of being defeated. The
day was in reality dull and uninteresting.
st. Paul, Feb. 8.-Yesterday was a solid
| working legislative day, with morning
and afternoon sessions for both branch
es. Senator Grindeland returned his
amended commission bill. He first de-
vised his bill to apply to commission men
who deal in wheat, and then he tried to
include the produce commission men un-
der the same head.
The produce commission men rose up in
force and smote the bill hip and thigh.
In order to save something out of the
wreck the Senator changed the bill so
that 1t applied, as originally intended, to
the grain commission men and is much
more mild towards the produce men,
Between the two stools, however. the
passage of the bill is doubtful
So many Senate bills are still in the
hands of committees that there was
little opportunity to complete any legis-
lation today. Only two bills were intro
duced. The afternoon session was spent
in committee of the whole and every bill.
which had reached that stage, was acted
upon.
The House was the storm center and