The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-01-20
LEGISLATURE IS
FAIRLY STARTED
Standing Committees APP
pointed and Bills Be-
gin to Arrive.
BURROWS REELECTED SENATOR
Primary Reform Measures At.
tract Attention OF the
State Lawmakers.
Proposed Amendment to the Banking
Law-Opposition To the Score
tary of the State Board
Of Health.

Lansing. Mich. Jan. 17.-Both
branches of the legislature are now
fairly under way, last week having
witnessed the appointment of standing
committees, employees, etc, and the in
PRODUCTION of fifty or more bills. These
mea sures have all been referred TO
committees which will commerce their
sittings mt once. Thus far no very i'm
portant general bills have been in
PRODUCED most of those in the hands of
the committees being local in their
application.
Today, in compliance with the
mandate of the constitution, the two
houses in separate session voted for
United States senator, and at high
noon tomorrow the senators and rep
resentatives will meet in joint conven-
ton to ratify and confirm the vote
cast today. Senator julius Caesar
Burrows received every vote cast in
the two houses ard was. therefore. re-
elected for the full term of six years
commencing March next.
IAeioTUi
Now that the committees have been
appointed. the legislators are COM
mencing to discuss primary reform
measures to some extent. 1t is yet too
early to predict exactly what shape
the legislation to be enacted on this
important subject will take, but it is
evident that as in former years. there
is likely to be a sharp disagreement
between the two houses as to the
terms of the bill. As the matter
stands at present, the senators. or
majority of them at least. seem In
clined to stand on the party platform
declaration in favor Of local option
law. while many members of the
house show n disposition to go sled
length and stand for primary meas
ure that will be general for the entire
state. There is little doubt that be-
fore the matter comes up for final
action an amicable understanding will
be reached by the two houses.
The recommendations made by Gov
ernOr Warner in his Inaugural that
provisions be made for fostering and
extending the dairy interests of the
state will probably be acted upon at
an early day so that the dairy and
food commissioners may enter upon the
work MS soon as possible.
Bill of Representative stone.
A bill drafted along the lines of the
governors suggestions has been i'm
troduced ny Representative Stone OF
Lenawee. The measure provides for
the appointment of two dairy instruc-
tors TO be alta ched TO the dairy and
food commissioners staff, whose duty
ii shall be to attend farmers Institutes
and kindred gatherings throughout the
state and give instruction in butter
and cheese making and kindred
branches. The bill seeks to provide
for the collecting Of more authentic
dairy statistics. to regulate the sale
of milk and cream in cities and vii
lagos having Il population in excess of
1000. and prov ides severe penalties
for keeping COWS in filthy stables.
selling milk from diseased COWS. etc.
Governor Warner is cheese manu-
facturer and he proposes to make every
effort to put Michigan in the front
rank rs n dairy state
Detroit legislators and other citi-
zens have started little agitation i'm
favor Of establishing certain of the
state departments in Detroit in lieu of
providing additional quarters for these
departments in Lansing. The need
for more room is very great. but the
present administrations program of
economy is likely to prevent an APP
preparation being made for this pur-
pose at this session. The people Of the
state have never taken kindly to the
removal Of any branch of the states
business from the seat OF government.
so there is small probability that the
Detroit idea will meet with much
favor among the legislators.
Opposition TO DIR. Baker.
1t appears that another attempt will
he made this winter to dispose Of Dr.
III. Il. Baker, who has been secretary
Of the state board Of health ever since
It's organization. There is consider
able opposition to Dr. Baker and al
ways has been for that matter. on the |
part Of physicians throughout the state
whom he has vigorously prodded from
time to time for failure to comply with |
the laws relative TO the reporting and |
treatment OF dangerous communicable |
diseases. There are others who OBJ
ject TO the secretary because he wears |
n somewhat dilapidated pair of slippers |
during office hours and does not keep |
his desk in apple pie order. The leg
isature will doubtless dispose of this
matter as Its wisdom suggests, but II
may not be amiss to observe that the
slipper and desk counts i'm the indict-
ment are not altogether worthy Of con-
sideration. and furthermore that the
complaints Of derelict physicians are
not always the best grounds on which
n Il ~ nj |