The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-03-15
CORRUPT PRACTICES.
The Bill to Repeal is Indefinite,
ly Postponed by the House.
Representative WiIder's Bill for Grain
Board Of Appeals.-.-Measure to
Abolish Free Lunches

day | always believed in the honor and
integrity of the membership of this
house. 1 must confess I am horribly
shocked to hear members stand upon
the floor of this house and confess
themselves to be guilty of perjury. If
the corrupt practices act is not all that
it should be, the fact remains that it
has done much good. 1t has in a
measure removed the stigma from
politics, it's influence is wholesome.
For God sake and for the sake of our
citizenship let us keep this law, " said
Representative Mallory Saturday in
an impassioned appeal to the house for
the indefinite postponement of the
Wells bill, providing for the repeal of
the corrupt practices act. His refer
ence to the integrity of his colleagues
was called forth by the assertions of
several members in favor of the bill,
that the corrupt practice act fostered
deception and perjury on the part of
candidates compelled by law to make
verified statements of expenses incur
red in their campaigns. The motion
for indefinite postponement was made
by Mr. Roberts, Hennepin, and pre-
vailed by vote of 40 to AZ, but only
after a struggle of an hour. Mr..
Wells, author of the bill and Mr.. Jack
son, Ramsey, led the fight for the bill
Mr.. Jackson said the law was us eless
SO far as correction of corruption was
concerned, and that since it's enact
ment there is no record of prosecu-
ton under the provisions, and that it
fostered the crime of perjury. He was
interrupted by Mr.. Sweet, Hennepin,
who said if the law was fagrantly
violated, the matter was properly the
subject of investigation by grand
jury rather than the Legislature.
Mr.. jackson retorted with the sta te-
ment that grand juries would not in
vestigate and called to the attention of
Mr.. Sweet that no later than the close
of the last campaign, Hennepin poll
tician and state official were openly
accused of violations of the law in the
public press and to the further fact
that no effort to prove or disprove the
charges was made.
A bill for the enlargement of the
state forestry reserves and the applica,
ton of the profits accruing therefrom
to the state, county and town purposes
was yesterday introduced in the
house by Representative Bush, Ohm
sted.
The Bush bill provides that all
lands not sold under the forfeited tax
laws passed in 1881 for the sale OF
lands on which taxes were delinquent
to 1879 and in 1899 for the sale of lands
on which the taxes were delinquent
prior to 1897 shall be transferred tC
the forestry reserve. The lands thus
transferred are at once to come under
the laws applying to the reserves and
under the immediate supervision of
the forestry board.
The bill is so framed as not to apply
to forfeited lands within the corpor-
ate limits Of any town, village or city.
The profits accruing are to be divided
between the state and the counties
and towns in which the reserve lands
are situated. The state is to receive
one-half and the counties and towns
one-fourth each.
Representative Haugland Saturday
introduced in the house bill which
it's friends claim if enacted will result
in large savings to the state and
greatly reduce the friction between
mission and the railroads.
The bill provides that upon the trial
Of any case before the railroad and
ware house commission judge of the
district court may be summoned to de-
termine all points of law as they may
arise in the trial or hearing. The
judge shall attend with his steno-
grapher, who shall prepare a record of
the proceedings In cases of appea
this record shall be taken.
The men behind the bill claim that
its enactment will do away with many
appeals. They claim that it has been
the practice of the roads to refuse to
present evidence before the commission
and that the railroad attorneys ha We
confined their efforts to entering con-
sistent lists of objections and ascer-
tanning the amount of evid ence in the
possession of the commission. The
proposed record is expected to force
them into the open before reaching the
court of appeal.
A state board of appeals to pass up
on grain and warehouse appeals is pro-
posed in bill introduced in the house
Saturday by Representative Wilder.
The board is to be appointed by the
grain and warehouse commission and
its members, six in number, to hold
office for two years.
The bill provides that the state
grain and warehouse commission shall,
on or before July 10, 1901, appoint
six persons three of them to serve as
board of appeals at Minneapolis and
three to serve in a like capacity at
Duluth The matter of salary is left
to the discretion of the commission.
Each of the boards shall include one
practical or representative grain pro-
Queer, one practical or representa- We
grain commission merchant and prac-
tical miller or grain exporter. Neither
shall be member of board of trade
or grain exchange or actively engaged
in the sale or purchase of grain.
The boards are to hear all appeals in
the matter of grades and weighing,
and thirds decision shall be
deemed final. They are requested to
meet annually in joint session, not
latter than Sept. 10, to fix grades,
which they must not change during
the crop year.
Representative Deming, Hennepin,
yesterday introduced a bill, said to be
the creation of the saloonists of Min
neapolis and aimed at the free lunch