The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-05-03

! availed nothing so far as changing
votes was concerned, every senator's
head being "sot" long before the Ques-
ton was brou@ht up for ttlement.
The house stands firmly by its first
action, even more firmly. indeed, than
! before. On the fnal passage of the
bill there were a dozen or so votes re-
corded i'm the II gative, but the senate
amandmeut were rejected by unani-
nous vote. every one Of the ninety-two
representa-. present voting TO stand
by thoir guns.
Satisfactory Neasure Is Probable.
The hill now in the hands Of
conference committee, which has held
two Sess.ons-One last Thursday and
| one today. Just what was accom-
plshed at those meetings cannot be
definitely ascertanrd. IS they We're
star-chamber affairs, the newspaper
men being invited to retire so that the
conferrees might feel quite free 10 eX-
press their convictions. There Is live
" speculation in both houses rs 10
what The outcome CT the struggle will
he. The two bodies are so far apart
that there would seem to ne ample op-
DOrtunitv for 4 compromise without q
Many profess to believe that the SEN
| ate will be conceded the separate as
SeSsug board. and. in return. viii con-
sent to the reinstatement Of practic-
ally all Of the other provisions that
were stricken from the house bill.
| What HnDearS to me TO he n more like
" solution. howcveY,is that the task Of
assessing the corporate property will
he left To the state tax commission,
the membership Of which. however,
| will he increased from three TO five.
and the balance Of the house bill re-
stored, with possibly a few minor ex-
| ceptiOns. Some profess to see in the
situation the final enactment of law
! increasing specific tax rates and n con-
tinuatiOn of the present system Of tax
| ing these properties. but | have no
| doubt that some sort Of an al valorem
tax bill. and generally satisfactory
ole at that. will be passed
Bump-Up Against Trusts.
Appearances would indicate that at
| least two of the trusts have bumped
! up against It during the past week.
| The white lead trust is rCputed to be
anxious to force Michigan manufac-
turers Of this commodity who are not
in the trust to label packages contain
ing their wares so as to convey to the
| public the assurance that they contain
nothing but absolutely pure white
| lead. when it is claimed that white
| lead without the addition of zinc to
some extent is absolutely worthless for
the purposes for which is il intended.
A similar bill was up two years ago
| and was accompanied by n very un-
savory odor, 1t was put to sleep then,
and again this year it has been sent to
| n hostile committee. and is not likely
to be heard from again. The old-time
| effort Of the big baking powder COM
| panies to stifle the operations Of the
smaller manufacturers by securing the
enactment of law prohibiting the
Manufacture and sale Of so-called alum
| baking powders has again come to
naught, the senate having given the
| bill an opate that will hold it quiet
Until the close of the session. The
| theory that alum in baking powder is
| Eepopulating the nation at an alarming
rate obtained some years ago, but very
| few persons take any stock in it now.
Anti-Cigarette Legislation.
There is n ray of hope for the enc
mics Of cigarettes, the house having
passed the Mckay bill. which prohibits
/ the manufacture, selling or giving
away within this state cigarettes or
cigarette paper. The sentiment in the
senate is in favor Of concurrence, even
/ the most inveterante cigarette smoker
I IT, that body having himself introduced
nm anti-cigarette bill. AS passed by
the house, the bill makes only one ex-
ception. and this is that it shall not
apply to sales by any person or persons
. customers outside of the state in an
interstate business. The penalties for
volators are very severe. For the first
ofrepse a fine Of from $50 to $500 is