The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1905-02-03


know, the republican state platform
pledges just such privileges as the
people of the fourteenth judicial dis
trict have been given through this bill,
and certainly am in favor of carrying
out all the pledges made in our plat
form. But it seemed to me and to the
others who voted as did ON the four
teenth district bill. that it would be
much better to give this privilege to all
the counties and districts of the state
through one bill rather than through
this Observation-Disclosures provision.
This Muskegon Oceana bill will of
course be made useless by the bill which
the legisl ,ture will surely pass giving
to every county and district in the
state the privilege of controlling their
own nominating methods. But the ma
jority of the senate and the house did
not agree with me-" concluded the sena-
tor from Saginaw, "and perhaps the
best thing has been done. But do not
think that those who favor the position
taken by the republican state platform
will have reason to find fault with my
votes and my work when the business
of the session shall have been complet-
ed"
Proposals for the reduction and re-
striction of a state board or commission,
and protests against unnecessary state
control Of local affairs, and individual
rights do not seem quite in harmony
with proposals for extending such con-
troll by the creation of additional board,
such as is provided in bill for exami-
nation and license of butchers, intro
duced by Senator Baird, of Saginaw.
But why not butchers, as well as bar
bers and horseshoers, and why not COOKS
and launderers as we'll as butchers and
barbers2 There is no limit to which
this fussy interference with the every
day affairs of the people, might not be
carried, except the limit of impertin-
ence and absurdity, and some think
that has already been reached
The house passed on Tuesday, by a
very large majority, bill to permit the
Muskegon. Oceana judicial circuit to
nominate candidates for the bench pri-
mary election, and gave it immediate
effect, to permit its employment this
spring. There were but four votes in
the negative, one of which was cast by
the speaker, who explained that he be-
lieved the measure unconstitutional
The bill went to the senate, where it
received prompt consideration and
passed with the immediate effect clause
by 81 to g.
The sportsmen are also on hand with
measures relating to game, but from
standpoints quite different from the
farmers. The farming industry is the
greatest of all our industries, and the
foundation of all. We have no other
material interest to be compared with
it in Importance, not even the Fish and
Game League, which wants five year
closed season for deer in the lower pen
insula, so that the sportsmen can have
more sport killing the beautiful crea-
lures afterward, and under which a
homesteader must be fined if he finds it
necessary to kill deer in order to save
his cabbage crop, as one man up country
realized last fall The fve-year closure
for quails which the farmer ask is be-
cause Of the value of the birds as insect
destroyers, rendering their preservation
important to the prosperity of the state,
and not to provide in TIER slaughter a
qualification of what is called the
sportsman's instinct. Instinct is per-
haps good name for it. We could
hardly class as one of the high attributes
of enlightened humanity, that quality
that finds pleasure in the infiction of
suffering and death upon the innocent
creatures with which the Creator has
beautified the world and pleasure the
keener in proportion to the frantic ter
ror inspired in the doomed victim, so
that it shall struggle desperately for it's
life. That is called gaminess, and is
said to make the sport more worthy of
the true sportsman.
The farmers organizations, the
grange, farmers clubs, live stock breed
ers association, dairymens association,
state agricultural and horticultural So
cieties, and state board of agriculture,
are all represented upon committee to
promote the passage of certain laws,
among which are now named Bill for
direct nominations, for appointment of
dairy inspectors, for protection from
adulterated feed stuffs, for regulation of
automobiles, for proper galvanizing of
wire fencing, for five years closed season