The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-17
MUST HURRY To GET THE MORE
IMPORTANT MEASURES
THROUGH
OPPOSE TAX FERRET Law
Reapportionment Bill Has Passed
the LeSislature-No More ERake
Of9sv for Heads of State
Departments.

crease OF forty-six over the present men,
bership. The measure will in all prob
ability be approved by the Gov. White
and constitute basis for the election OF
the next legislature. The vote on the
final passage Of the bill in the house late
this afternoon was 40 to q. Gov. White
appointments, announced this afternoon,
were not important except in the case of
l.. w. Schruth Of Fargo, as oil inspector.
His place calls for a salary of $3.50 an
nually. Schruth is a young political
worker at Fargo and a protege of James
Kennedy, one of the coming Republican
leaders in Cass
There is a little less than three weeks
left for the North Dakota legislature to
finish up the business before them ana
adjourn. Counting out several days for
the recess that will be taken on Feb. %,
over until the first of the following week,
only two weeks of working time remain
1t will keep the several committeet hust-
ling to dispose of the important measures
by that time. New legislation will soon
be shut off and 1t will be necessary to
appoint a firm steering committee in the
house to choke off unimportant measures
and list the important bills for first ac-
ton. There will be a scramble then by
members to get their pet measures so
placed on the calendar that they will
the house or senate to act upon them.
At each session a large number of meas
ures are killed either by committees fail
ing to report them or by the failure of
one house or the other to take action
until the limit of sixty days has passed.
This session will be no exception to the
general rule.
Up to the present time it has been the
qutetest session in the history Of the
state and there is nothing in signt for the
little time remaining to Indicate any
disturbance of the even tenor Of things.
None of the sensational matters promised
before the opening of the session have
come up. There has been talk of various
things-of a proposed divorce law that
would produce plenty of excitement. re-
submission, impeachment proceedings, an
investigation Of the methods Of the state
enforcement league and other matters
that would have been productive of in
terest, but none of them have shown up
The business before the Legislature, aside
from the main question of appropriations
and the redistricting of the state, has
been confined mostly to minor amend
ments of existing laws. Little new Leg
islation has been proposed.
There was some opposition in the up
per house to the favorable report on the
proposed tax ferret law introduced by
Wolbert. The majority of the committee
reported against the BILL but the majority
report was turned down and the minor
thy report to pass adopted by the SEN
ate. Complaint has come from many Of
the larger counties of the state that
while it was known that personal prop
erty in many cases was not listed for
taxation, the law was not clear as to
how to get it on the rolls. The bill in
question allows the commissioners to
contract with individuals to discover
property not taxed and have it placed
on the rolls. No payment for these serv-
ices is to be made until the taxes on
the discovered property are paid, and
then the payment is 10 per cent of the
amount collected. It was argued for the
bill that it could not possibly hit any
body but tax dodgers, ard these ought
to be reached in some manner.
Another bill before the assembly pro-
vides for the cleaning UP of old delin-
quent personal property taxes. In some
of the counties sheriffs in the past have
neglected the collection Of these taxes
closely, and there are good many old
claims that might be collected if the
county commissioners were empowered
to make a special contract with the pres
ent sheriffs to collect them. The collec-
lions cannot be made, it is said, unless
special inducements are offered, and this
is the object of the bill.
The committee on public health has had
it's share Of interest in matters of leg
fslation. The State Medical association
bill has brought healers of all descrip-
lions before the committee, urging their
rights to be allowed to practice their
arts. Christian Scientists, osteopaths
magnetic healers and others have in
sisted that they were entitled to con-
sideration and that no such measure
should be passed as would bring them
within the supervision of the state medi-
cal board.
A peculiar provision of the smelling
committees bill, fixing the clerk hire to
be allowed in state departments is that
any state officer who takes a rake off,
of the salary allowed his clerks is guilty
of misdemeanor. 1t IS said this provision
was suggested by some of the matters
that developed before the committee In
it's researches into the management Of
some of the state departments in the
past.
Gov. White has approved senate bill
II, transferring the duties of recording
marks and brands from the Office of the
secretary Of state to that of the COM
sioner Of agriculture. There is a system
who desires to obtain a brand or mark
for his use in branding stock must OBJ
tain permission from the secretary Of
state upon the payment of fee. This
gives a record of all stock owners of
the state and prevents brands being dup
Heated. When this law was passed. the
duties were imposed upon the secretary
Of state. AS it is a matter that concerns
agriculture and the stock interests of
the state, Secretary of State Porter made
1t his first business to see that the
duties were transferred to the DEPART
ment where he neld they belonged, and
the approval of the bill by the governor
masks the transfer. About a thousand
brands are recorded annually under the
law.
The wolf bounty men had narrow
escape from defeat in the senate when a
favorable report on the three-tenths
mill tax scheme was carried by only one
vote.
The house yesterday passed bills cor
recting errors in the Wood tax sale law:
providing for security bonds for school
treasurers and Palmer'S irrigation bill
The Little bill for temporary deficiency
warrants and the Ames bill for sales
! of real estate by executors have passed
both houses The maximum coal rate
| bill has been introduced in the senate
| Members of the State Press association
left for home tonight after attending a
reception and ball given in their hsnor
at Northwest hotel by Mayor Patterson.