The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-05-05
CHILL ON EARLY
ADJOURNMENT
Status of Business in the
Senate Is the Cause
of It.
NAV dim I'LL ClQoI 0E lime
MAY RUN TILL FIRST OF JUNE
Upper House Is Graphing With
important Measures, but
Progress Is Slow.
Rate Bill Still in Hiding-Milwauke
and Plauteville Get New NOrmals-
Comment on Senate's Action
In Suspending Eaton.

Madison. Wis, May 2.-The latest
report of the chief clerk Of the senate
on the condition of business in his
house has cast decided chill on the
advocates of an early adjournment of
the legislature. According to the re-
port made by him last Thursday the
senate was only half a bill beyond the
halfway mark, in other words. it Still
had 257 bills to pass on while the total
number of bills introduced was 515.
At the present rate of progress it is
difficult to see how adjournment can
be effected much before the LIST of
June. This condition of things has set
the rural legislators by the ears; they
point to early adjournment in previous
sessions and to the fact that the Min
i nesota legislature went home over a
! week ago. However, Minnesota does
not have the eyes of the nation upon
it, and does not feel the responsibility
Of pointing the way along SO many
lines as Wisconsin is reputed doing.
/ suspension of Eaton.
Wisconsin senate in suspending one Of
it's members, Barney A. Eaton, Of Mil
waukee, for having reflected on the
dignity of the senate by his testimony
during his recent trial for bribery. is
receiving wide comment in the public
press and naturally of a favorable
character. The Minneapolis Tribune
state senates as we'll as the federal
senate, but in this trial Wisconsin has
set up very high standard for other
legislative bodies. We imagine that
public business would be INSTRUCTED
for want of a quorum in many of these
if every member who took money for
legislative campaign expenses were eX-
pelled.'
The dispatch with which the senate
disposed of the Eaton case was quite
a surprise, and gave ground for hope
that the session would thereby be
shortened. 1t was felt by not few
that the case might drag out for a
week or two.
Another week has gone by and the
much discussed railroad rate bill has
not yet emerged from the darkness of
the committee room. The senate COM
mittee is still wrestling with it, and
the report is that substantial agree
ment has been reached by both sides
and that measure will be reported in
this week.
Thayer Option Bill
Liquor legislation came in for much
notice last week. The Thayer option
bill, which aimed to bar saloons from
residence districts by means of remon-
STRANGE. was buffeted from pillar to
post and has again sought refuge in
! the committee room. Mr.. Thayer sue
ceeded in putting it through the as
sembly Tuesday, but his hard earned
| victory was wrested from him the fol
| lowing day. when the measure was re-
| called from the senate, reconsidered,
emaSculated by having the remOn-
| STRANGE feature cut out of it, and the
wreck sent back to the state affairs
| committee with instructions to draw
up a measure providing for special
elections on the proposition in place Of
the remonstrance feature. The assem-
| bly, also killed the Stevens county OPP
| ton bill. the anti-liquOr members Oe-
ing willing to let this measure go if
they could but see the Thayer bill en-
acted. The enactment of the latter is
now extremely doubtful. A big fight
has also been on over the Stout bill,
which would bar saloons 300 feet from
school buildings.
The normal schools are beginning to
see light ahead. An agreement has
been practically reached on what to
do in the cases of Milwaukee and
Platteville, whose Anticipated struc-
lures have long been under the ban, 1t
is now proposed to sell the buildings
and sites in each instance and put up
new buildings. An assembly commit
| tee visited Milwaukee to inspect the
| building there and reported in favor Of
| selling it and appropriating $1S5,OOO
! for new building, while the Platte
vile appropriation is cut from $4,000
to 100000.
University Bill.
The committee on education has
/ finally made a report on the bill in
| troduced in the favor of interests CT
| the university. President Van Hise
asked the legislature to pass law
giving the university a two-fifth mill
tax on all taxable property. Consid-
cradle opposition developed against the
bill and the final report was in favor
OF the university contention, with the
exception that the rate was reduced to
two-sevenths Of a MILL
The appropriation bills will be COM
ing in early this week. The way the
maintenance bill for the state institu-
tons have been delayed has caused. it
is said, a great deal of Inconvenience
to some of these institutions. The