The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-03-15
WELL UP WITH WORK.
House in Good Shape With the
Business Before 1t.
The Senate Somewhat Behind blouse
Will Not Agree TO the Senate
Amendment to ReappOr-
tiOnment Bill.

St. Paul, March 12.-The senate
NAV boast of its business methods, but
if any comparison is to be instituted
at this time between the two branches
of the legislature the result certainly
favors the lower branch. The house
has not only introduced prac tically the
same number of bills as the last house
Int apparently has its work about as
we'll in hand. The senate has pro-
posed less legislation than in 1899, has
apparently made less progress with
the work before it, and is now in a
situation where it is no longer free to
taunt the Ause with Incidence. Any
assertions on this ground, if made by
the senate, will be resented by the
commons.
This session the house has been the
birthplace Of 400 bills. Two years
ago on the forty-sixth day there were
49S. The senate this present session
is credited with 34S bills. Its record
in '99 was 1872, or 1876 bills more than
have been filed with Secretary Langum
this year The house has passed and
sent to the senate practically one bill
in five: the proportion in the senate is
better than this, but it is to be re-
membered that the members of that
body are ordinarily accounted more
skillful parliamentarians, and that
with their smaller number it is pos
sible to dispatch business more expedi-
tiously. There is an advantage Of no
small moment in the single item of
roll calls, there being twice as many
names to check off in the hCuse as in
the senate.
The house general orders and calen-
Of ln1 cd
twenty-six bills the number on the
corresponding senate orders was
seventy-One.
Before the noon recess the house had
practically cleared it's calendar of all
save a handful of senate bills. The
bill passed on the third reading did
not include a trio of local bills passed
under suspension of the rules. The
committee reports of the morning were
few, the only bills of Importance taken
up being the Rich bill. for an inc ease
in the salaries of the railroad and
warehouse commissioners, and II. F.
400 repeating that section of the CON
stituTion which provides for state
highway commission. The first was
recommended to pass the second to be
indefinitely postponed
In commenting on the industry of
the house it is worth while to note the
probable effect on the Young resolution
of a press of business in the senate. If
the upper body finds itself unable to
clear away the work now before it,
the senators will not be in position
to exert pressure on the house in favor
of the Young resolution for an early
adjournment.
The conference committee on reap
pOrtiOnment will meet this evening.
From present indications the commit
tee will fail to agree, as the house mem
bers will hold out for the original bill,
and the senate members for the senate
amendment.
The senate committee was appointed
by Senator Stockton, president pro
tenn, who was presiding in the absence
of Lieutenant Governor Smith. Sena-
tor Stockton is in favor of the amend
IL ent, and appointed committee of
like belief Should the conference
committee fail to agree another will
have to be appointed. and the lieuten-
ant governor will name the senate con-
ferees. Governor Smith is from the
seventh district and would like to
see Redwood county in the district.
He would appoint different commit
tee, which would probably recommend
that the senate recede.
In this connection members are smil-
ing over the CELEBRITY displayed by
Chief Clerk Schmahl, of the house.
Schmahl is from Redwood county,
and wants it to stay in the second.
When the house voted not to caucus
Saturday, he rushed the message TO
the senate just in time to get the COM
mittee appointed before adjournment.
If he had been few minutes later it
would have gone over till today, and
the committee would have been ap-
pointed by the lieutenant governor.
In any event the temper of the SEN
ate has changed and it will eventually
agree to withdraw the Somerville
amend mant