The Yale expositor., 1905-05-19

| court of this state upheld the constitu.
| tionality OF the use of voting machines,
the necessity for the latter amendment
is NIT apparent.
Railway Bills Killed.
A couple of bills affecting railroad
! companies which have been generous
ly discussed during the past two
months have been put to sleep by the
senate comittee on railroads. One OF
| these was Senator Cooks measure,
! which had the endorsement Of the
state association of manufacturers. 1t
provided for reciprocal demurage
charges, as opposed to the present sys-
tenn of giving the companies the whip
hand in this regard. AS matters now
stand the shippers are heavily penal
lied if they hold car longer than a
specified time, but the companies can
delay the shippers for weeks and
cause the loss of orders of great value
without being held accountable in any
manner or subject to any penalty.
| The other bill which went to sleep in
the senate committee was the Simpson
| bill, passed by the house, which made
the companies common carriers of live
stock. The bill giving the right of
| eminent domain 10 electric railway
companies, thus placing them on an
| equal footing with the steam roads IN
this regard, has been passed by both
houses. In view of the passage of
| this measure, prominent legislators are
agitaing the question of requiring
all railroads, both steam and electric,
| to maintain farm crossings in all cases
where rights of way across farms are
| condemned.
For the State Fair.
The State Agricultural society is
meeting with marked success, in its
efforts in behalf of the state fair. The
house committee on ways and means
has favorably reported bills making
appropriations of $4,000 to apply on
the payment of premiums for the en-
suing two years, and $1,000 for re-
moving the Michigan building ut ST.
Louis to the state fair grounds and
reconstructiGg it there.
The ways and means committee, by
the way, appears to be adhering to
its discrimination 10 keep appropria-
tons down 10 he lowest point con-
slstent with safety. During the past
week determined efforts have been
made to secure the reinstatement Of
large items previously cut from the
bills making the regular bienial APP
preparations for the agricultural col
lege and home for feeble minded and
epileptic, but TO no avail. The great
est desire of the officials of the former
institution is q new engineering build
ing to properly provide for the rapidly
increasing number of students in the
mechanical course. The appropriation
bill embodied an item of $4,000 for
this purpose, but there is no show for
the Appropriation being made this year.
Many of the legislators take the stand
that the engineering department is
foreign to the original scope Of the
college and are inclined to insist that
it's work be kept within the lines Of
agriculture.
Attorney General Disguised.
Attorney General Bird and his aids
are considerably Disguised with the
action of the house few days ago in
refusing to suspend the rules so as TO
admit of the immediate passage of q
bill which gives the legal department
of the state access to the books and
records of railroad companies. Al
though there is nothing unusual about
the proposition, the house refused to
pass dhe bill as the senate had done,
but sent it TO a committee. 1t will
be recalled that the state is suing the
Michigan Central Railroad company
for some 100000 of taxes alleged
| to be due because Of the alleged false
reports of earnings made to the state
by the company named through a Sc
ries OF years. If the charge of the
state is correct, the company owes the
money. If the charge is false, then
the company is not indebted TO the
state on this account. An examina-
ton of the company's books would set
tie the dispute definitely one way or
the other, and it was for the purposes
of the pending suit that the state
desired the passage of the bill. The
state has the right to examine the
books of insurance companies and
other corporations transacting bust
ness within It's borders. What the
final fate of the bill will be is mat
ter of much interest.
To Govern Private Banks.
Governor Warner and Banking
Commissioned Moore are still pushing
their bill to bring private banks under
the supervision of the banking depart
ment. A hearing on the bill was had
Thursday evening. The indications
are that the bill will be passed
The slaughter Of liquor bills was
not monopolized by the senate commit
tee, neat job of killing having been
done by the liquor traffic committee
of the upper house. The measure
which met It's fate at the hands of
the senators was tie Lowell bill,
which prohibited the establishment of
a saloon within 100 rods of a school
house.
The bill providing for the exemption