Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1903-02-26

| in the house and barely received the
necessary majority. When it reached
the senate and was referred to the ways
and means committee, its enemies got
the ears of the committee and showed
the bad points of the law. Principal
among these bad points was that any
increase in taxation would practically
throw all the burden of the increase
upon farm lands and live stock, and
that the railroads, telegraph, telephone
and express companies would escape
their share proportionatlly of the said
increase. 1t is safe to predict that the
total assessment of the state will be
increased, but it is equally true that no
property will escape its just burden.
The prohibition representatives are
having rather hard shedding in the pres
emit session. They have drastic meas
ure, so much so that all the attorneys in
the senate are opposed to it, 1t came
back from the committee on temperance
one day during the past week and, upon
the adoption of the minority report, was
killed, but the president Of the senate
misannounced the vote, and the father
of the bill, Senator Close, at once moved
il into the Judiciary committee and
saved its life. Saturday he made an
attempt to call it from the committee.
This brought out statements from Sena-
| tor Lawson, chairman Of the committee,
and Senators Bottum and Frieberg,
members of the committee, that the bill
was the most wonderfully and awfully
constructed bill that had come before
that committee. That while there was
some little good in the bill, it was so
deeply tangled with parts which were
unconstitutional that in its present form
it could not pass, but would Of necessity
have to be withdrawn by the committee,
and that would require more time, and
| if the father of the bill did not have con-
fidence in the committee to let them
have sufficient time to so draw the bill,
and was going to continually cast refiec-
tons ON the committee, with insinua-
lions that said committee was trying to
| let it die in committee room, chen the
judiciary committee would refuse to
further consider the bill, but would
report it unfavorably. When Close saw
the feeling his motion had created, and
also that if the bill reached the senate
Saturday it was dead, he withdrew all
his motions and sat down thoroughly
whipped. When senate bill No. 80 will
come up again cannot be foretold, but 1t
is sure thing that when 1T does come
it will be very much modified.
When the present legislature was
organized G. j. Mcleod sat "a his room
in the Locke hotel and all aspirants for
honors of any sort were compelled to
see him. Mac was the whole thing.
His organization of the house and SEN
ate went through like grease. 1t was
no case of machine, but one man was
the whole thing and that man was Nc
Leod. But as is u sually the case the
legislasure soon began to question its
director and dissatisfaction began to
brew Everything had to go Macs way
or it did not 60 The discontinued ones
began looking for an opportunity to get
"even." 1t was generally known that
the Aberdeen Normal and the insurance
interests were all that the director had
to look for this session. The first
attack made by the disappointed ones
was upon the Normal special appropri-
alton. This they won by having the
appropriation postponed until the very
last part of the session. Then they
went after the insurance matter. Mac
saw that it was useless to try to, head
the opposition off in the house. But
the senate that body which had been
manipulated by the organization against
Pierre for the capital, was looked upon
as easy money for the insurance com
panies. But the Gar of the session in
its infancy had seen fit to rub it into the
Black Hills delegation and from that
delegation there came forth an opponent
of the insurance companies who put up
a fight that was unexpected. Senator
Moody, of Lawrence, took up the
cause of the people. He posted himself
thoroughly and came to the senate
loaded for big game. The valued policy
bill came up last Thursday. Senator
Moody took the floor for the bill, and
made a very clever and guarded open
ing address. Senator Northup, of
Minnehaha, came first to the defence OF
the insurance companies with one of
their stereotyped speeches which he
read. Senator Dillon, of Yankton, who
likes to be heard on all questions got
the floor and made an eloquent plea aud
a splendid argument for the rights OF
the people and the valued policy. SEN