The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-02-23
Minnesota Legislature


which have been working hard for
some time is beginning to bear fruit,
and the house and senate are passing
quite few bills. The code report is
expected to be reported to both
branches of the legislature very soon
and then the lay members will get
busy with the much discussed code.
It is hard to tell what the final out
come will be but the opinion is that
the legislature will make hard effort
to get the code in shape for final pas
sage, though there are some who pre-
dict that the code will not pass.
Some very important legislation is
being disposed of, though progress is
slow, but it is better that it is. The
bills for the care and maintenance of
the new capitol were before the house
last week and created considerable
discussion. After hard fight the
bill to allow the governor to appoint
a superintendent was indefinitely post
pOned and the house took up the Hor-
ton bill that the senate had passed and
with some very radical amendments
passed the bill. The bill strikes out
the compensation of $4,000 annually
for the custodian: and there we're sew
eral other amendments to the bill so
that it's author will hardly be able to
recognize it. The fight is not ended
yet.
The house committee on public lands
decided to kill the bills providing for
increasing the minimum price of State
lands and thus is disposed of two bills
that were causing much criticism.
The committee has appointed a SUBJ
committee to draft a bill providing
for some suitable means to market
State lands. A bill by Representa-
tive Mill providing that the State
lands shall be offered bona fide SET
tiers as homesteads under certain pro-
visions has not been considered by
the committee as yet. A bill to regu-
late the sale of public lands and tim
Der and combining the desirable feat
ures Of all the bills before the legis-
lature has been decided upon by the
house committee on public lands. A
special subcommittee composed of
Representative r. H. Jefferson, L. H.
johnson, Asher Murray, J. G. Lund
and A. L. Cole has been appointed to
amalgamate the bill by Senator Will
son, establishing timber board with
Increased powers; the bill by Repre-
sentative Jefferson, making timber
trespasses a criminal offense, and the
bill by Representative Asher Murray,
regulating the appraisal of State lands
and allowing rebates of interest to set
tiers making improvements. The bill
will be drawn after consultation with
the attorney general.
The drainage legislation will be re-
enacted in the shape of new bill that
will be introduced in both houses the
first of the week. It will be substituted
for the new code which copied the
Illinois drainage laws. The proposed
bill will be a copy of the old county
drainage law with several important
amendments. The law which is sub
stituted makes the following changes
in the present county drainage system:
First-When proceedings for ditch
fail on account of lack of notice or for
any other technicality in the law, the
original survey may be used in the
construction Of the ditch later.
Second-Individua who wish to
construct ditch at their own expense
are given the right of eminent domain.
Third-Provision is made for the
drainage of meandered, shallow lakes.
Fourth-County commissioners are
authorized to widen streams or outlets
to lakes into which several drainage
bitches run, if it is necessary to keep
the level of the lake or stream at it's
normal height.
Representative Mannix of Minneap-
oils has introduced bill that is de-
signed to encourage the teaching of
agricultural topics and home making
in rural schools. The bill will en-
courage the consolidation of rural
schools and place them on a footing
where they will be of more practical
benefit to the farming community.
Such school districts must contain at
aeast sixteen square miles, own ten
acres, have a substantial building of
at least three rooms, at least two
teachers, make provisions for convey
ing pupils to and from school, main
tain garden plots for the pupils and
other features for instructing pupils
in farming and homemaking. The
bill appropriates $4,000 for 1905 and
$4,000 for 1906, to be distributed
among the first ten consolidated rural
schools meeting the standard pre-
cor,ihn1 h1y nj l.