The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1901-03-01
Fixing Freight Rates by Law.

pered with.
Fixing Freight Rates by Law.
Among the bills are many bad
ones; not uncommonly Their unconstitu
tionality appears in the mere reading
of the title by the clerk A schoolboy
could detect the flaw Other bills are
full of selishness or concealed crook
edness. And there never was such a
year for freak bills, curious, crazy
measures. Fortunately the standard
of legislative intelligence and integrity
is above the average and suspect men,
hers apparently lack the ability neces-
sary to make them efficient.
Mr. Halls bill to establish railroad
commission is meeting with opposition.
The fact is business men are afraid
it will be made up of politicians.
While business men would like cheap
err freight rates, which it is claimed the
state commission of Iowa and other
states force from the railroads. bust
ness men prefer to take their chances
with the railroads rather than with a
railroad commission political in cbarac-
ter. If a commission was promised
made up on supreme court lines. the
chances of Mr.. Halls bill would be
better
The plan probably has merit for
the fixing of freight rates is complete
ly in the hands of the railroad COM
panies which are conducted for profits
and not for philanthropy.
Odds and Ends Of Legislation.
If all the bills were enacted, what a
funny state this would be to live in,
and yet many of these measures have
a flavor of good sense. Who has not
been shocked by the marriage of d
divorced person the same day that the
court gave release. Here is a bill to
forbid such alliances within one year
What worker in temperance reform
would not approve law compelling
drinkers to take out license and have
their names printed in the newspapers?
There is bill to do this.
Who that knows Superior's dream of
power wonders that that city of des
tiny hungers to be in class by itself:
There is a bill thus to distinguish Su
perior from the common herd of $50
cities
Wouldn't it be nice if children were
prohibited the firing of spitballs from
tube or from a spring or air-gun?
The legislature has bill before it
that will thus hamper youth.
Not everybody would like the uni
versity campus. the domain of the
state, dotted with the private buildings
of college boy and college girl societies,
but some one approves the plan, for
there is bill to that effect. Senator
O'Neill has bill increasing the salar-
les Of the members of the legislature
from $500 to 81 1000. 1t would be hard
to convince those of my readers who
live close to the soil that this measure
is not unreasonable, if members are to
pay their railroad fares home for Sun
day; but good men like O'Neill and
twenty others that one could readily
name ought to have that compensation.
To pass the bill, however, would make
fuss all over the state.
Docking Horse Tails for Style.
Senator Mills would prohibit cam
paign contributions of more than $1OO
It seems that ON the country roads the
farmer who maintains public water
ing trough gets S. off his road taxes
The effort to increase this to $40 failed.
The law to forbid city swells from
docking" the tails of their horses that
they may look pretty at the Milwaukee
proved by everybody who does not en-,
JOY cutting a swath of that sort. The
bill comes from the Wisconsin HUI
name society. in imitation of like
prohibition in other states and bears
Senator Whitehead's nanie.
NO. l44a is a bill to protect the eagle.
1t is said that this bird is not courage
GUS but coward. Nevertheless, for
over a century he has stood for Amerl
can patriotism and certainly any one
who has seen this splendid foul dash
across the heavens or sit regnant OH
the lightning-wrecked remains of
a gloomy pine tree must cOncede that
the eagle is splendid. The bill adds the
eagle to the list of birds which must
not be shot, including the whip-poor-
will the robin and the bluebird.
Captain O'Neill also has bill which
revokes the license of a saloon that
runs Sundays. but such bills never get
anywhere That measure to Obliterate
the free lunch is dead. Not for many
years have there been so many meas
ures aimed at the saloon and the tenn
per of the legislature is right for some
progress. It is just to the LaFollette
movement to say that it accentuates
the home. But there are no signs Of
any radical encroachment on the sa-
loon beyond the significant avalanche
Of measures directed against it.
When n White Marries Negro.
A strange bill is one from Mr.. Cady,
the Marshfield lawyer, who sprung to
the front as sound lawyer. It an
nuls marriages between black or mu-
lattOes and white persons. Such a law
would make unhappiness in the family
OF the late Frederick Douglass, whose
second wife was white. His fellow
blacks never liked his choice, but the
two lived happily.
Behind q bill of this sort is always
party in interest-SOme ones daughter
has married a black and the parents
seek a release. Or perhaps some man
! has taken & cGlcred wife and now
! wishes lie had not.
Laymen on the Bench.
Every year there are measures de-
t signed to rob judges and lawyers OF ex-
| elusive privileges as, for instance, al
! lowing a layman to be elected county
! iu1rp. In Massachusetts, in the early