Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-03-15
OPTION BILL IS UP
ASSEMBLY STATE AFFAIRS COM.
MiTTEE HEARS ARGUMENTS.
ONE POINT IN DISPUTE
Question of What Shall Constitute a
business BIock"-lnsurance Com
panes Will Oppose Recon-
mendations of Committee,

MdulSOn, MdfCn l4.-Ihp assembly
state affairs committee had a livel,
hearing on the Baker district option
bill, which is practically the Thayel
bill of two years ago. Prior to the
hearing the representatives of the Ii
quor and the temperance interests
reached an agreement on all the pro
visions of the bill except one relating
to the question as to what shall be
considered business block. The bill
provides that any district in a city
having from 100 to 1000 electors may
upon petition to the common council
be allowed to determine whether any
saloon Or place for the sale of liquor
shall be located in that district. Blocks
ed. The contest arose over the ques
ton as to what should be considered
a business block
Attorneys w. H. Austin and w. J
McElroy of Milwaukee, the latter a
regent of the state university, repre-
senting the liquor interests, insisted
that any block should be regarded as
a business block if one-fourth of the
ground floor space of the buildings
abutting on the street was used fol-
business purposes. The temperance
representatives insisted that a block
should not be considered as being
used for business purposes unless SO
per cent. of such ground floor space
was used for such purpose. The tenn
perance representatives We're 7. NJ
Hare of Milwaukee, Aid L. B. Rowley
Rev. P. B. Knox, Rev. E. G. Updike
Aid. L. S. Smith, DR.. S. w. Trousdale
Aid. Halle Steensland, all of Madison
and H. A. Larsen of Waupaca The
committee took the bill under consid
Grafton.
Vital Statistics Measure.
DR.. Bading of the public health de-
partment of Milwaukee and his clerk
Cargill, appeared before the assembly
committee on public health and santa
ton and urged the passage of the bill
requiring more accurate registration
of vital statistics. DR.. G. A Harper OF
Madison, secretary of the state board
of health, also appeared for the bill
Aid. Henry Smith and Aid A. e
Braun of Milwaukee appeared before
the assembly committee on cities in
support of several bills affecting the
Cream city. One of the measures en-
powers the common council to issue
bonds to establish parental school
for children.
Candidates for Judges.
Attorney Henry T. Scudder of Mari
nette filed nominating petitions in the
office of the secretary of state as a
nonpartisan candidate for associate
justice of the Wisconsin supreme
court to succeed Justice r. D. Mar.
shall, who is a candidate for reelec.
ton. The latter filed his papers sew
eral days ago. Attorney Scudder's pc.
titions contain 2,181 names. So far
as known these two men will be the
only candidates for the office. The
term of the office is ten years and the
salary is $4,000 year. The election
will be held next month
Petitions nominating Attorney Mar
tin L. Lueck of Juneau as a nonparti-
san candidate for judge of the thir-
teenth circuit were filed in the secre-
tary of states Offices by former State
Senator William C. North of Fox
Lake 1t is reported the former state
senator, Ernst Merton of Waukesha,
will also be candidate for this posi-
ton. The vacancy in the office was
caused by the death of Judge James
J. Dick of Beaver Dam.
Judge Samuel D. Hastings of Green
Bay, Judge in the Fourteenth circuit,
who is a nonpartiSan candidate for re-
election, will have an opponent in At
torney Lafayette A. Calkins of Green
Bay Both filed nominating petitions,
Hastings having 900 and Calkins 44S
signatures. Calkins also is a nonpar-
tisan candidate Judge z. B. Belden
of Racine has filed nominating peti-
tions as a nonpartisan candidate for
reelection in the First circuit His
petitions contain 1874 names.
Insurance Companies Protest.
At the first of the legislative COM
mittee hearings On the Insurance reg
ular bills before the Legislature, the
representatives of the insurance COM
panies made it plain that they mean
vigorously to oppose most of the meas
ures embodying the recommendations
of the legislative insurance investiga-
tion committee as well as several 9th
ers not introduced without the sane
ton of that committee. Some of the
bills were characterized as being
most radical in their provisions and
one of the speakers expressed the
opinion that if they were placed on the
statute books his company might be
compelled to withdraw from the state
1t was also limited that the insurance
companies do not believe that some
of the bills will, If enacted into law,
stand the test of the courts