The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1901-02-15
LEGISLATIVE GOSSIP
Our Special Correspondent Tells Of
the Solons' Doings.

The Senatorial Question Being Settled, the
Members Are Rapidly Getting the
Wheels of Government
in Motion.
st. Paul, Feb. 4.-The senate intend
ed to have adjourned Friday until
Tuesday. but forgot it, and hence there
was only a bare quorum present Sat-
urdav. One more absentee would have
prevented any session at all.
Two bills were introduced. One
provides for a sanitarium in the Cass
Lake region, appropriating $4,000
for the building and $50, 900 for its sup
port. The other legalizes osteopathy.
The house was more industrious than
the senate, ten bills being introduced.
One of them provides for the sale of
the state capitol lands in Kandiyohi
county. Forty years ago it was the
dream of good many that the capital
of the state would some time be re-
moved from st. Paul, and this tract of
land was secured, with provisos that
allowed the legislature to remove the
capital without submitting it to a
vote of the people. 1t could not go
anywhere else without vote of the
people, and st. Paul was never es-
pecially alarmed over that, but the
possible removal by legislative act
was a nightmare which hung like a
pail over st. Paul for 25 years. This
passed away some years ago, and with
the new capitol building the question
of
will simply dispose of what has be-
come, for the original plan, worthless.
st. Paul, Mimi, Feb. 6.-The pardon
of Mollie Morris seems to have been
endorsed by the senate, in spite of the
statement of the governor that he was
deceived. The pardon was obtained
through the efforts of ]. s. Vandiver.
After all the offices the senate had at
its disposal ran out, they made an ex-
ira clerkship for Vandiver and in view
of the pardon matter resolution was
introduced last week to GUST him. 1t
came up yesterday for final action and
was defeated by vote of 20 to 10. So
the governor can consider himself en-
.dorsed by the senate, if not by him
self.
In routine way the senate cleared
its calendar, passing three bills. One
of these fixes the salary of the probate
judge of Lake county. Eight new bills
created new calendar. The princi-
pal one revises the state code for form
ing life insurance companies, either
stock or mutual, making it possible
for the organization of what are
termed assessment life insurance COM
,panies on stipulated premium fund,
provided the capital stock of such COM
panies is fixed at $500. 900.
The house was in session half an
hour, passing a resolution to provide
inmates of the soldiers home with
sovercoatS.
st. Paul, MINI. Feb. IAN impor-
tant insurance bill was introduced in
both houses yesterday. 1t. provides
for the enlargement of the duties of
the insurance commissioner, increase
of his salary and the appointment of
four additional assistants. The COM
missioners salary is raised from So, 500
to So, 500 and his deputy's salary is
raised from So, 900 to 50, 500. He is also
given an actuary with a salary of ST.
900, a chief clerk with salary of ST.
200, an assistant clerk with salary of
1850. a stenographer with salary of
5000 and an assistant stenographer
with salary of 5000. The object of
the bill is to enable the Insurance
commissioner to scrutnize more care
fully the responsibilities of insurance
companies doing business in the state.
and as the expenses will be paid from
the fees collected from the insurance
companies, it will not be burdensome
upon the tax papers. AS an offset for
increasing the expenses, the bill pro-
vides that the usual lengthy state
ment which must now be published by
law in either St. Paul or Minneapo-
lis paper, can be briefly summarized and
and printed in any county where the
-company's chief local Office is located.
Senator Snyder offered civil ser
vice bill applicable to cities of more
than fifteen thousand population. It
provides for the appointment of civil
service commission of five members
who are to hold examinations and de-
termine upon the qualifications of ap-
plicants for Office. It is nodded con-
siderably after the United States
civil service law, exempting heads of
departments and principals of schools
from its operations.
A resolution was introduced to dis
miss J. S. Vandiver from his clerkship,
but as the majority of the senate have
gone on record in favor of the pardon
of Mollie Morris, which he engineered,
there seems no reason to suppose that
they will vote to GUST him because he
did it.
The event in the house was the re-
port of the committee on taxes and tax
laws. Thew decided to clear the skies
by reporting for indefinite postpone
ment every bill they had before them,
regardless of it's merits. The excuse
for this summary action was economy,
as the bills allowed special taxes to be
levied for certain purposes. Three of
the bills were resurrected from the
tomb to which the committee had con-
signed them.
One of the bills introduced is aimed
to make the manufacture of process
butter unpopular by requiring the
label to be in such large letters that
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