The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-01-25
VARIOUS MEASUR Is.
Several More or Less Import
anCe Presented at St. Paul.
Legislative Session of Little Importance
Owing to Interest in Sena-
t0rial Election.

st. Paul, Jan. Ex-senator Jepson
Of Minneapolis, blossomed out into a
radical temperance reformer at yester-
days session by introducing a meas
ure designated to prohibit stalls,
booths or other similar Enclosures in
places where Intoxicating liquors are
dispensed. The law is quite similar
to the Minneapolis ordinance on the
same subject, which has recently
been sustained by the supreme court
Mr.. Jepson's bill goes further, how
ever, and also prohibits screens, cur
tains or similar devices calculated to
interfere with the view of the interior
of saloon during such hours as it is
unlawful to sell Intoxicating liquors
The penalty for violating this law
will be fine of from $50 to 800 or
imprisonment of from sixty to ninety
days for the first offense, and double
the preceding penalty for subsequent
vioiati ons.
Senator Halvorson of Dawson at
tracted some attention by introducing
bill to prohibit the sale of cigarettes
within the state of Minnesota Cigar
cite papers or substitutes for the
"coffin nails are also under the ban,
and they may not be imported into the
state or even given away. A fine of
not less than $50 is to be in case of
conviction
Senator Jepson has a bill holding
the owner of land on which there is a
drainage ditch, responsible for dam
ages casued to adjoining lands, and
also authorizing the owners to stop
such damage by applying to the courts
for an injunction.
A bill to settle the disputed ques-
tion of the liability of a husband or
wife for the others debts was present
ed by Senator Young, creating some
amusement. The senator does not
want them held jointly or individually
liable for anything beyond the simple
necessities of life.
The amendment made by the senate
to the house resolution looking to the
appointment of a committee of reap
portionment of fourteen house and
seven senate members does not impress
the lower body with favor. When a
message was received from the senate
transmitting the intelli gence that the
proportion of senators had been in
creased, Mr. Larson of the second con-
gressional district moved that the
house refuse concurrence and that
committee on conference be appointed.
The house approved of Mr. Larson's
proposal and unanimously voted for
the conference committee. AS mem
bers of such committee Speaker DowI-
ing Immediately selected Messrs Lar
son, jacobson and Mallory, a trio OF
veterans who may be relied upon to
guard carefully and vigilantly the in
terests of the lower chamber.
The bills of yesterday included
memorial to congress asking for con-
stitutional amendment providing for
election of the United States senator's
by the people, second memorial also
by Mr. Roberts urging the adoption of
constitutional amendment which
would give the national legislature ex-
tended powers respecting trusts and
combines, and bill by Mr.. Hickey of
st. Paul for the reduction of interest
upon all outstanding school land con-
tracts. At present the rate upon such
contracts is 5 per cent; Mr.. Hickey
lowers this to 3 per cent. He said
today that upon some of its loans the
state was unable to realize more than
2 per cent and consequently that it
did not seem justice to charge the
struggling landholders more than
twice as much.
Those agencies which make bust
ness of soliciting clients anxious to Sc
cure divorces are likely to find their
business sadly interfered with by a
bill introduced by Representative
Sweet of Hennepin. The measure dis
tinctly prohibits all such advertising
as is designated to bring to the atten-
ton of the public the character of the
business in which these agencies en-
gage. In other words those who
make a business of inviting the disat-
isfied to obtain releases from their
nuptial VOWS, are barred from holding
out temptations through the columns
of the press and other mediums. The
bill makes an exception of all such adj
yertisinp as NAV he ren11irad for oh