The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-21
After Repeated Attempts to
Reach a Compromise the
House Closes Its Last
Working Session While
the Conference Committee
Is at Work and BIames
Senate for Death of the
Measure.

No tax amendments will be submit
ted to the voters at the next general
election. With a committee on con-
ference out at work trying to settle
the house and senate differences on
the wide open policy, the house ad-
journed just at midnight.
The responsibility for failure to sub
nit constitutional amendments provid-
ing for revision of the states tax
policy must be charged to the senate.
Five times yesterday the house re-
fused in no uncertain terms to accept
any part of the responsibility for sub
hitting to the people an emasculated
set of proposed amendments providing
a tax policy.
Early in the morning session the
original conference committee of the
house recommended to the house that
1T accede in the senate amendments to
the house bill which contemplated the
so-called wide-open policy, which, in
fact, meant placing the subject of tax
alton in the hands of the legislature.
Report Raised Storm.
The committee recommendations
raised a storm of protest, and so ugly
was the house that it refused for a
long time to permit Mr.. Armstrong,
spokesman of the committee, to explain
why his committee had receded from
the house position. Before it per-
mitted him to explain it laid the re-
port on the table by an overwhelming
vote and then took it from the table
only to discharge the committee.
Mr.. Armstrong said that while he IA
vored the wide-open policy, he and his
colleagues, managers of the conference
on the part of the house, had discover
ed that the house bill could not get
through the senate, and that the senate
bill must be passed or no amendments
proposed to the people.
Senate Criticised.
Representative George r. Smith
opened the flood of reproach which
was poured on the senate. He said the
attempt at agreement might as we'll be
given up at once There was no hope
for the submission of rational tax
amendments during the life of the pres
ent senate. 1t had, he said, thwarted
the will of the house, and the people
and would defeat every tax PROPOSE
ton.
Representative Tighe reused the
house to repeated storms of applause
by roundly scoring the upper house.
He said:
81 believe we should put the blame
on the shoulders of the senators where
it belongs just as conspicuously as we
can Not a constructive measure has
passed the house that has not been
destroyed or emasculated by the sem
Tn or
down with our colors flying"
Representative Shearer said he was
slow to attribute sinister motives, but
the senate course with reference to the
tax amendments looked bad. He said:
"This bill was held in the senate COM
mittee six weeks. 1t was evidently their
intent to defeat it, and they have de-
feated about the only thing we were
sent here to do"
Second Committee Named.
A motion to concur in the senate
amendments was overwhelmingly de-
feated. The speaker appointed Messrs.
Hinton Wilson and Clague a second
committee on conference. This COM
mittee returned late in the afternoon
and announced it could not agree with
the senate committee and asked that
l
Representative Stevenson asked that
another attempt be made. He said that
he had conferred with the governor.
His eXcellency wanted something done.
According to Stevenson, Van SAINT did
not approve of the senate plan, but
thought that some sort of amendments
must be submitted or a popular storm
would result. The senate policy, though
bad, would be better than none at all.
The result was the appointment of a
third committee of six members on the
part of each house.
A Third Fails.
This committee agreed with three
members of the senate committee in
favor of the house bill, but the senate
refused to receive the report on a valid
point of order raised by Senator Som
erville. Only half the senators agreed
to the majority report, which, Senator
Somerville contended, must have the
of majority of the con-
ferees for each house.
The fourth committee returned, three
of the house managers signing a rec
for accession to the SEN
ate amendments. Mr.. Helliwell raised
the same point of order, which resulted
in the discharge of the preceding COM
mittee. The speaker held that there
was no report before the house The
fight for the appointment of a new
committee nearly threw the house into
a riot and came perilously near caus-
ing Representative Armstrong to punch
the head of member from Long
Rra aOch