The Worthington advance., 1901-03-08
LEG is TIVE GOSSIP
Our Special Correspondent Tells Il
the Solons' Doings. {,

& g..
Bills are Beiag Rapadly lntroduoed and
sent On TAeir3 Way by the Commit-
5a tee Of the Whole. HUT Few
III. Have Become Laws. r.. ~ d
st. Paul, Feb. 9a-There was moth
ing In the senate proceedings last
evening" TO indicate that the members
were seriously considering the sugges,
tions to expedite business and adjourn
At the end Of the allotted. time. SO
but Is minutes were devoted to busi-
ness Stockton. president pro tenn.
occupied the chair. Two bills were
introduced by Senator Mccarthy, le-
galizing the, indebtedness of certain
counties in his district. and the ap-
pointment Of Robert H. johnson a.
boiler inspector for the st. Paul dis
trict was received, when . motion to
adjourn was carried.
The house members. on their return
from the long adjournment, met and
remained in session 80 minutes.
Among the bills introduced was that
by Representative Hickey permitting
8school trustees to Get aside q sum each
year equivalent 70 l per cent Of the
salaries paid the teachers, to be used
~ . pension fund for the retirement
of teachers incapacitated from duty
owing to old age or mental disability.
A similar measure was introduced in
the senate last week.
St. Paul. Feb. 27.-There never has
been a. session of the legislature since
the state was organized when some
movement was not sprung to shorten
the session and there never has been q
session shortened. When we used to
have annual sessions, limited to sixty
days. there would always be q propo-
sition to shorten it to forty-ave or fifty
days, and since we have ninety-day
sessions, rounded out by Sundays and
holidays, until the per diem exceeds
$500. there is always talk of making
the session sixty or seventy-fve days,
but so far the per diem has not been
reduced. Senator Young offered q
resolution yesterday to adjourn on
April s., cutting of twenty days of the
session, with = view of having an ex-
ira session of twenty days next win
ter to consider the report of the tax
commission. If this should be done it
would violate all precedent. and the
chances are more likely in favor of
this session being continued to its Bit
ter end, and an extra session besides.
The experimental farm and agri-
cultural college were heard from in
the shape of a bill appropriating $780,
500 for new buildings at st. Anthony
Park. A college of pedagogy is Gre
ated at the state university by q bill
appropriating $4,000. A bill that
does not carry an appropriation in
this legislature does not cut much
figure.
Blair. (rep.), of LIE Sueur county,
who contested the seat of Mayhood,
dem is in with bill of 81, 172. Is for
expenses of the. contest. This is more
than twice his salary if he had been
elected originally. AS he failed in the
contest, it is so much gone to waste,
and as Mayhood's bill was over $500,
it makes substantially $4,000 for this
little advertisement. The house passed
bill reducing the rate of interest up
on contracts arising from the sale of
state lands from per cent TO 4 per
cent. The special committee appoint
ed by Governor Van SAINT have report
ed in favor of establishing q board of
control to take charge of all public in
stitutions in the state and the cover
nor sent the report to the legislature
with message urging the passage of
of the bill.
The constitutional convention ques-
tion. cropped up in q new form yester-
day in the shape of bill to have a
popular vote to decide whether the
next legislature shall call a constitu-
tional convention or not. This would
make double headed arrangement,
for if the people voted to have the con-
vention then when the Legislature
ordered it they would have to vote for
it again and perhaps in the end vote
down the new constitution after it was
constructed. At best the movement
has rocky road to travel.
st. Paul, Feb. 2s.-Both branches Of
the legislature did large amount of
talking yesterday, but neither one
succeeded in accomplishing much. One
of the leading topics in the senate was
concerning bill creating board of
osteopaths. The present medical board
permits the membership of osteopaths,
but the object of the special board is
explained to be that the old school
physicians are hostile to osteopathy
and will not give the new school a
chance. An effort to indefinitely post.
pone the bill failed, and it was finally
left at the point where it began. !,
The next bill calling forth talk was
the one allowing individuals and cor
porations to maintain telegraph and
telephone wires along the highways.
The author of the bill said it was to
help the farmers in obtaining tele-
phone accommodations, while the op-
ponents claimed that it would allow
telephone companies to come into
cities without paying anything for
franchises. This, too, got so mixed up
that it was not advanced in the least.
Only two bills were passed by the SEN
ate. and those were not of general IN
terest.
In the house the bill which allows
prisoners undergoing life sentence
in the penitentiary to be paroled was
the subject of much debate. This Is
supposed to be in favor of the Younger
brothers. An effort to indefinitely
) postpone was lost by 80 yeas to 81
B nays, and it will now 60 to committee
Of the whole. Another parole bill was
introduced which allows prisoners