The independent., 1907-02-21

state officers, they did not leave the
legislature with power TO confer upon
the governor the right to use house
owned by the state. the state TO fur
nish light and heat and servant IL
addition to the governors salary.
The suit is on behalf of the state
to recover from Governor George l..
Sheldon 500 rent for the month OF
January for the residence set aside for
him by act of the legislature. II IS
argued by the states attorneys that
the governors compensation is limited
by the constitution to $1,000 year
and he cannot lawfully receive any
additional. The case is presented to
the court on demurrer by Governor
Sheldon who is the defendant TO the
states petition The argument of the
attorney general contains the follow
ing statements.
House rental ligh, heat and services
of an employe, when gratituitously FUR
nished by the state for the individual
use and benefit Of the governor, arc
perquisites of Office or compensation,
and acceptance thereof. N addition TO
his salary is a violation of the consti-
tuition.
The Wisconsin railroad commission
decides the passenger fare matter by
ordering the railroads to establish a
rate Of two and half cents mile,
instead of the fiat two cent rate that
had been largely demanded. A further
request is made that family books De
sold at the rate Of 500 miles for $10
or Two cents mile. Like Nebraska,
Wisconsin has a large area Of thinly
setteld territory as well as a consid-
erabie area where the people are ru-
merous and the towns are populous
and prosperous. When the commission
comes to the decision that it cannot
enforce a two cent fare generally, and
is willing to take the next best thing.
the decision is at least hint to Ne-
braska not to make the rate law so
drastic and infexible that there is
danger of losing it all. 1t is best not
| to risk everything on single throw.
One of the first lessons in the text
book of philosophy which Nebraska pu-
| pills were put to studying When that
subject was first made compulsory for
public schools. sorlc twenty years ago,
| Illustrated the transmission of energy.
Let several ivory balls be suspended
by strings SO as TO hang in a straight
| row touching each other, said the book.
| Raise the ball at one end and let ii
drop against the second ball. The sec
| ond and the third and the fourth balls
| will not be moved, but only the last
one in the row. CrOquet was a popular
/ game in those days, and all children OF
scientific mind proved the assertion tr
/ their complete satisfaction by testing
/ it with a row Of croquet balls. An in
teresting effort to divert this Jaw tc
uses hardly anticipated by the students
of those days is now being made by
| the opponents of the two-cent railroad
| fare. A two-cent fare for South Dakota
and Nebraska, they argue, is impossi-
| BILE because these states have a less
dense population than Iowa and Mis-
souri, and the other states east. Iowa
and Missouri should not hope for a
| two-cent fare, their legislatures have
already been told, because their popu-
/ lation is not SO dense as that of Iii
nois and other states east. Mr.. FELTON,
president of the Alton road. has just
| finished explaining that Illinois has a
| less dense population than the states
/ farther east. a complete bar to two
| cent fares. Indiana, of course, has a
| less dense population than Ohio, and
/ should not aspire to two-cent fare
| While Ohio, which already has the
! two-cent fare in successful operation
| is distinctly the last ball in the row
Ohio alone flies out Of line from the
| impetus started back on the Rocky
mountain slope and transmitted
through the intervening states 1t is
not yet certain. however, that the in
termediate states are to remain as
ouescent as croquet balls
/ "At prevailing prices few farms are
paying per cent on the investment OF