The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1907-01-09
BURKE NAUGURATED THIS AFTERNOON
With Pomp md Ceremony
Governor Sarles Retired and
a Democrat Takes the Office

election law In view of the alo.ost
unanimous sentiment in fayur tf a
primary election law in thei state, 1t is
our plain, simple duty at this session
to give to the oeople !. primary cleo
tion law that viii enable them 80 go
to the polls on primary election Gay
and vote for the nomination II all escc-
tive state and county officers In this
connection might also cali gcIr atten-
tion to the growing sentiment in this
state in favor of non" artisan ;ldi-
ciary and school officers. One ,f the
political PARTIES recommending in its
platform that the names of the judges
of the supreme and District courts, the
name of the state SUPERINTENDENT and
of the county superintendent Of
schools be placed Upon thu ballot with
out party designation ana the eiCction
for such officers he hold a.; a oiffel ent
time than that upon which the s;en-
eral election is held. The S ate super
intendent in his recent biennial report,
has made q similar recoprncndalica in
reference to the election of county SUI
perintendents. The purpose Of such q
law would be TO AXE the Judiciary end
the schools cut af politics, ana no such
position would thea come Il, any tne
as reward for political services, hut
rather on account of special fitncss and
qualifications, and. believing as j 10
that the enactment of such law is in
the interests Of 10Th tbs judiciary and
the school, / therefore heartily recon-
mend it to your most caref,ll and con-
scientious consideration.
Pure Food Law.
call your attention to the necessity
of amending the pure food law, viz.
chapter / of the session laws of 1905.
Since the passage of this law your
pure food commissioner, Professor
Ladd of the agricultural college, dis
covered that certain packages or cans
containing food were short in weight,
and, while the subject matter of the
law was broad enough to cover such a
contingency, it was not expressed in
the title and therefore it is possible
that the act, in so far as IL relates to
short weights, Is unconstitutional, and
therefore recommend to you the re-
enactment of the law with an amended
title which clearly expresses all of the
subject matter of the act including
shortage in weights. This / regard as
one Of our most wholesome laws and I
take this opportunity for commencing
the faithful and efficient efforts Of
Pure Food Commissioner Ladd in the
Ienactment of this law under great dis
advantages and an insufficient appropri
alton And | further recommend a
more liberal appropriation, in ,rder
that the valuable services of Professor
Ladd may be retained by the state. and
the law strictly enforced.
The School Laws.
The school laws need revision The
state superintendent, in his second BIZ
ennial report, calls attention to the
necessity of revising the school laws,
i and states that 1t has been tinkered
with SO much that it is very difficult to
tell what the law is. There is !; great
deal too much OF it and there are rasts
of 1t that conflict with other parts 1t
ought to be revised and simplilied
The special district, the independent
district, and the general school district,
should be governed and regulated by
the same general laws. There is no
necessity for different laws except for
their organization. A revision with
this end in view would simplify the
law, cut 1t down to one third in f.ngth,
and make it definite and certain And.
while l am upon this subject, I
recommend that all legislation which
you enact be simplificd oy using simple
language, incapable Of more than Que
construction.
The Retiring Governor.
Governor Sarles, who has possession
| Of the facts and figures, has given to
you the financial standing Of the
state and the condition Of our different
state institutions. The people of the
state are justly proud of these insti-
tutions, and 1t will be your duty, as. the
Representatives Of the people, to ap-
propriate such sums as may be neces-
sary for repair and Improvement, con-
sistent with the financial condition of
| the state.
The constitution provides that the
senate shall be composed Of not less
than thirty nor more than fifty MEM
bers, and the house of representatives
lof not less than sixty nor more than
one hundred and forty members. AT
the time Of the last apportionment our
population was largely In the eastern
part of the state, since which time the
central and western parts of the state
have increased in population, so as to
he almost without representation in the
Legislative assembly, when compared
with the legislative districts in the
eastern parts Of the state, while, at the
same time, we have almost reached
1.-THE constitutionaI limitation. For
comparison, call your attention to the
county Of Cass. with three legislative
districts. represented by three senator's
land nine representatives, while the
counties Of Ward and Williams, In one
legislative district, represented by one
senator and three representatives. The
county Of Ward Is the most D0pulous
county in the state. and Williams coun-
ty one of the largest in the state, is
Ialmost as thickly populated as Wand, in
proportion to It's size, ana yet. the two
lcounties have only one-third represpn-
ltation In the legislative assembly that
\ has 4 a.