Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1900-08-24
Reform Press Bureau,
St. Paul, Aug. 20, 1900.

Political Nature.
Reform Press Bureau,
St. Paul. Aug 20, 1900.
s'By their fruits ye shall know them. !"
The fruits of public man are his
public acts. The public acts Of leg
islator are recorded in the journal Of
the house Of which he has been a mem
Der.
Not many years ago (not SO many
that the ink has faded) the present Re-
publican candidate for governor of Min
hesota was member of the house of
representatives To avoid all POSSIBLE
ity Of mistake, let it be said that his
name is Samuel R. Van SAINT, other
wise known as the "Captain. Like
all other members of that worthy as
sembly, he left behind him a record, to
bless or to damn, as the case may be.
Let us take look at it. The Cap
tain, being such a ''jolly" good fellow,
will not mind it, and, being candidate
for governor, he is, Of course, anxious
that his zeal and devotion to duty in
the minor position should count in his
favor, now that he aspires to serve the
people in a more important office.
What more natural than to expect pro-
motion for duty we'll done?
So here goes: It was in the year 1893
that the Captain carved out for himself
the record which now will be examined.
The first measure of Importance to be
met with in the journal Of the house is
H. F. No. 26. This was very meritor-
nous bill. It aimed to protect the rights
of citizenship by making it a INSIDE
meanor on the part Of employers to re-
quire, as a condition Of employment,
the surrender by any person Of his
rights as a citizen. This measure was
conceived with the idea of protecting
those who were not in a position to pro-
tect themselves. The worthy Captain
would be the very man to bear down
hard on a bill Of this kind and to sit up
nights thinking how to secure it's pas
sage. Let us see how he voted.
Thunder and ightningi What can
have been the matter with the Captain?
HE FORGOT TO VOTE. There must
have been some misunderstanding some
where. Perhaps the Captain had not
got onto tho ropes yet.
The next bill of somewhat similar
character was H. F. No. IS, bill for
the protection Of employees. What does
the record say?
Forgot to vote again? Well, well,
sure enough Captain, you will have to
do better than this if you want the
votes Of the 1aboring men.
Next comes H. F. 324, bill prohibit
ing pawnbrokers from charging more
than 10 per cent interest. Surely the
Captains heart bleeds for these poor
people who find it necessary to patron
ize the paWnbroker? Let us see the
record. Did he forget to vote this time
also? Well Yes, he did, Of course. He
is the prosperity candidate, and will
haveenpthj to do with such low-down
trash as the people who patronize the
pawnbrokers. III the language Of the
classics, to Ill with 'em.
Now let US try a senate file for a
change. Here is one, S. F. 266, bill
for an act q compel street railway COM
panies to protect certain of their EN-.
ployes (motormen) from the inclemen-
cies Of the weather. Now, if there
ever was a measure that had merit in
it, this is. thecQnd:9The motormen used
to have to stand out on the open plat
form; no matter. how cold and stormy
it might be. 1t was such an inhumane
and unne necessary hardship that public
opinion demanded q stop put to it; but,
hanged if the Captain did not again
forget to vote.
For fear that this thing may become
tiresome, Perhaps it would be best to
postpone moralizing and go at the facts
as revealed by the record without fur
ther comment.
H. H. 5o23 provides for the erection of
grain elevators on the right of way of
railroads and is designed to prevent
monopoly in the local grain markets.
The Captain forgot to vote.
H. +. 674 declares express companies
TO be- common carriers and as such sub.
ject to regulation. T. G. f. t. " {To
save space these letters will be under
stood as meaning that the Captain, as
usual forgot to vote.)
H F. 1884 prohibits pools and trusts in
minnesota. T. G. f. t. v.
S. F. ,l14 authorizes the levy and col
lection Of taxes on inherrtances, etc, T.
O. f. t. "
s. F. 1877 requires railroad companies
TO give notice of the time when belatea
passenger trains are expected to arrive.
q. @. f. t.v.
S. F. SIT provides for tie appoint
ment of a committee to investigate
certain frauds upon the state in con-
hection with the sale Of public lands.
IT. G. f.U.v.
H. F. Sc provides for the building of
srdetracks to elevators and mills stu
ated on lands adjacent to the right of
way Of railroads. T. @. f. t.v.
H. F. $40 provides for the inter-
khange of cars at junction points. T.
%. I. t..
H F. ia provides for the stopping of