Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-02-06
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE.

The house then went into committee
of the whole with Mr.. Packard in the
chair.
Consideration of house bill II, Niven,
the hobo law, was taken up.
Mr.. Michels opposed the law as
useless expense on the county. Leech
said the law was all right but was
abused and that he had heard, that the
fees were divided between the officers
and the trainmen, and that if properly
administered the counties could easily
| stand the expense.
l. Pollock thought it was not the law
| that needed changing but the practice
under it, SO that there would not be SO
much revenue for certain parties. The
law was good one as it stopped to
large extent the escape by rail Of large
element of criminals.
Chacey endorsed what the previous
speaker said. -
Michels said the law was bad as many
farmers thought it resulted in keeping
out of the country lot of farm hands
who used to come that way.
Bacon said he did not want the bill re-
ferred back to the railroad committee as
some had suggested, they had had all
they wanted Of it, and he hoped the bill
to repeal would pass. 49,.
The bill was finally recommended for
passage.
The scrap of the day came on the bill
to reduce the exemptions.
Tufte moved to amend the committee
| report and make the exemption 81, 900.
Hill seconded. Tufte thought $500 ex-
| emption in the western part of the state
would give settlers little or nothing, as
| the land had ,ow value, and the houses
were poor. In the Red River valley it
was older settled and different.
Bacon favored the bill. He thought
the matter had been fully discussed pre-
yiously. Low exemptions would not
stop immigration, as low exemptions
we're directly in the interests of settlers.
Five hundred dollars, a library, clothes
and food for year fixed a.man nicely.
He said we wanted debt paying people
in the state-had enough dead beats. 1t
was the most important bill of the ses-
sion, as it will save the state and farmers
100000 yearly in interest and lower
prices for goods. -"
Chaffee agreed with Bacon. The only
man in his district who opposed the bill
was banker. The farmers were not
dishonest and meant to pay their debts.
He reported constituent as saying he
could not understand why an honest
man should oppose this bill.
Chacey said the farmers. of which he
was one, were honest because they had
to be, because of the mortgages they
gave oftentimes.
Leech demanded the previous ques-
tion.
| Tufte's amendment was lost, 81 to 32.
Sergeant moved as substitute that
the exemption be placed at $3.50. Phifer
seconded.
! Hare said he was astonished that any
/ one should have to defend low exemp-
ton bill. The country was no longer
the frontier, where such high exemp-
/ tions were necessary. The people did
| not now need it. It protects no one.
Five hundred dollars is enough to pro-
tect anyone, when taken in connection
| with the homestead exemption and when
the party was honest. He never knew
anyone to claim exemptions through
failure of crops, but knew plenty who
sought to evade their debts behind high
exemption bulwarks. =
/ Sergeant thought the same argument
used for q $500 exemption applied to
$3.50. His constituents wanted it placed
| at s75o. 81 ~ ~-n@~~ s,.z,$:s
Keeler said his people wanted the old
law to stand. Had heard Of no petitions
from farmers for this reduction. Low
exemptions in case Of death Of head Of
family would hurt decedent and his
family. S.%5@gt ~ >@7s1a y. ;,E.s,s,,. -<'"5 f..
Hall asked il those fayoring high ex-
emptions were dishonest, was not the
man who wanted 81 900 dishonest? He
favored compromise on $3.50. .S>... ! * x
Bacon thou ght the people who had
no mortgages were the fellows who
owned property we'll above exemption,
therefore those who were mortgaged
were not secured by high exemptions.
There would be less mortgages if the ex-
emptions were low. He had seen the
eVolntion Of the exemption laws in Iowa,
where today the exemption is low and
there are few mortgages, while formerly,
under high exemption laws, the records
Were full of them. He predicted that
low mptions would raise the credit of
the state generally s... ~.
Wade said a large majority OF Morton
county farmers signed the petitions
#sent him for low exenap ptions.
Davis read q petition from twenty