Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-02-05

lying on the collection plate. Several
members of the legislature who we're
present are suspected of the wild ex-
travagance, but all are too modest to &C.
knowledge the dollar. 1t has been sug-
gested by some mean cuss that the
/ deacon put the dollar on the plate in the
hope that the raise" would be "seen" by
some Of the wealthy law makers, but if
this was the case the bluff was no good
as they all passed" out.
1t is reported that the report of the
spec. al senate committee to devise ways
and means to help the exchequer of the
state will make report about Wednes-
day, and that it will be full Of interest
to everybody connected with the legisla-
ture or the capitol. Among other things
it is said the committee will suggest
bills for taxing the telephones, tele-
graph, sleeping car and dining car com
panies, will recommend some serious re-
trenchments in the departments and
suggets numerous plans for raising the
necessary revenue to get the state out
of debt.
Senator Cashel says he is not here
as a f~usionist, but as a plain business
man, sent to do what he can of value to
his district and the state at large. What
suggestions he has to make along the
line of economy and for getting the
state out Of debt are simply made as a
heavy taxpayer and for what he believes
the best interests OF the public at this
time. He laughs at the story that he is
trying to make political capital of the
situation and points to the 5000 major
ity of four years ago, the 10000 majority
of two years ago, and tho big republican
clean up this year and says the man
who thinks he can make enough politi-
cal medicine in one or two sessions to re-
verse the figures, possesses an magma
ton on a grand and imposing plane.
The time is not far distant when the
state must provide for the proper carr
of its school lands. At the present time
there is no law permitting the land de-
partment to spend a cent in keeping
clean the sections that are under cult
walton and in many instances these tracts
of land have become a public nuisance,
being grown up with cactus, mustard,
French weed and other ~noxious growths.
Renters will not pay what these lands
are worth to lease and the result is the
land department has been compelled to
resort to the doubtful expedient of leas-
ing some of the tracts for two years on
the agreement by lessee that he will
summer fallow the land the first year in
consideration of paying no rent for that
period. In many cases this agreement
has been faithfully carried out as the
lessee had lands adjoining thathe desired
protected from the weeds, but there have
been instances where the land has been
cropped both years, and the state has
received little benefit. In any event the
schools are out n years rent, which in
a great many cases would pay for plow-
ing the land twice over and taking other
steps to abate the nuisance. But under
the present intelligent system of pocket
ing all the receipts and paying none of
the expenses of the land department,
this evil will continue to grow until half
the cultivated school lands of the state
are left to grow up to weeds, and after
the revenues have dropped off there will
probably be something done to remedy
the matter.