The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-10

So far as the legislative session is con
cerned, the governor is coming out with
flying colors.: When. the house was turned
over to a hostile organization, and a ma
jority of senators seemed in sympathy
with it, it did look as though the adminis-
tratiOn would suffer It has come off
scathless so far. The assaults on the
board of control have one by one been
repelled. The university and normal
schools may not be removed, but that
would be as much of an Endorsement Of
the board of control as anything else.
ll-planned attacks on the public eX-.
aminer have been nullifed, and he has
been indorsed for his work. The gross
earnings bill will be passed without oppo
sition, and eventually a tax amendment
will be adopted, and those are the only:
nor made. -.
1t is interesting to review the year and
a half of the anti-merger campaign and
see how it has grown in dignity and re-
spect. When Governor Van SAINT declared
war on the great combination. the people
stood aghast at his audacity, and their
encouragement and applause was like the
crowd gives the little man who is going
in to get licked. When he went to Helena
to meet the governors he was pictured
as don Quixote and Attorney General
Douglas as Sanclo Panza. 81. The suit was
brought in the supreme court and thrown
out for lack of jurisdiction, and the
"knockers' howled with glee. All at once
the federal government stepped IN, and
with the backing of President Roosevelt.
!'Don Quixote" became a more dangerous
antagonist for the combination. An att
tempt to organize the, state against his
denomination failed ingloriously, showing
| that the people were with him. They in
dorsed him again at the polls, still igno-
rant of whether his anti-mergers contest
was going to accomplish anything. Now
comes four eminent federal judges, one
| a. townsman ard personal friend Of Presi-
dent HILL They declare the merger a
combination in restraint of trade and a
violation of the Sherman law. a &=4.
The merger is more plainly a. violation
Of the state law against consolidation of
parallel and competing lines. and the only
thing that can prevent such a decision
by the same: court is the question of juris-
diction. Whether that comes Or not, the
fact is proven that Governor Van SAINT
started the warfare on an unlawful combi-
nation which accomplished results.
The railroad committee of ;. the senate
gave the Ward Stone rate bill the same
kind of treatment as the house commit
(tee, but the senate sustained the commit
tee and killed the bill, which the house
i had passed. The vote showed that the
1 wholesalers Of the twin cities had made
a tremendous appeal to their friends in
the Legislature, for the bill did not get a
vote from either city. ~55a5z ~55a5z :.5. a.
/ The house Killed the highway commits
sion bill, and for another two years the
internal Improvement fund will be put in
the grab bag. It will be voted out to the
different counties according to the pull
their members have, and members will
be clubbed to vote for bad bills for fear
Of losing their bridge appropriation. The
fund will, as before, make no impression
whatever on the roads of the state, and
the scientific improvement of the roads OF
the state, a matter worth millions of dol
lars to the farmers, is again postponed
by the prejudice of farmer representatives
against commissions"
The house then adopted a measure pro-
viding for local option on dogs The Ru-
[lffson BILL as amended yesterday after
noon, would have each town vote or
whether or not it would license dogs o1
pay sheep damages. While villages vote
wet. or dry" towns would vote dog
or "anti-dog.''
-; Il ..ss. @s Carries B. Cheney. /