Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-21
lF3i ~ W
SENATE

Il
House Bill No Is occupied the at
1 tention Of the senate yesterday and after
4 being pelted with a few more amend
n1ents was passed and clinched. One
Iof the amendments was as to the man.
4 ner Of computing the fares under the
/ bill and another provided that the rate
4 should apply to distances exceeding six
miles, thus excepting street car lines not
altogether il, cities from the provisions
/ Of the bill. Another amendment struck
out the penalty clause Of the bill and
i substituted another, making the matter
of punishment for violation Of the law
more definite in terms. When the bill
A had been thus amended it came tip for
i final action on motion Of Senator Pierce.
i When it was asked if there were any
4 further amendments to be offered to
4 the bill Senator LaMoure proposed that
!. the bill be amended by striking out the
4 two-cent provision In support of his
motion he said that during the past
1 ninety days it had cost the railroads
4 seventy-fve cents mile to haul pas
4 sengers, through the state and SIS a ton
/ to haul coal for delivery He thought
/ the senator's were playing politics and
that they were voting for a two cent
!. rate without information as to the cost
I Of operating railroads OF carrying pas
sengers. He recalled the fact that in
1 1896 two or three men were commits
stoned to make maximum freight and
1 passenger schedules. They were not
only going TO make rates but schedules
4 and classifcations. They would not lis
! ten to men who took the opposite
i ground, and the result was that it cost
! the state about $4,000 to educate man
who afterWard became judge-he hoped
! he made "a good judge The state got
y Inc benefit otherwise. Nor did any of
4 1. the men who. sought to establish rates
Il become either governor or senator He
thought this would be the result with
q the present legislation unless reason
a able rate were fixed. For one he in
Il tended to vote against the bill as it now
4 stood, unless it was amended as he pro-
4! posed. He asked if any senator had in
formation on the subject that would
u Justify him in voting for a reduction Of
a rates to a maximum Of two cents If
Z. SO, he would like to hear it, as he did
3 not want to be all alone voting against
q the bill. s.,. i. r.. III; @
n Mr.. Rice said he had had several let
q tiers from friends of his asking him to
vote against the bill, as. they feared a
u tWo-cent rate on branch lines would
81 mean riding in box cars-that it would
mean a tWo-ce1lt service.
{ Mr.. Crane said he would vote with
/ Senator LaMoure against the Bill. The
y maj ority Of the senate committee had
4 reported in favor of a two and half
n cent rate, with a provision for mileage
books at two cents a mile. He agreed
Y that a two-cent rate would mean bust
i ness at a loss and he did not think the
courts Of the state would sustain lit.
4 To a question Of Senator Macarthur as
to whether he had any information that
3 would show that a two cent rate would
il mean loss to the companies, he said
n that none Of the senator's could have
much technical information on the sub
Eject, but he did know that it had been
decided that a two-cent rate could not
"A be practically enforced in Wisconsin
u and Minnesota, and if it was not profit
4 able in those states it certainly would
Il not be in North Dakota, which was
more thinly settled and where business
II twas done at a greater expense.
q Senator Pierce said he stated his po-
q sition in the matter on the previous
4 day. The majority OF the railroad COM
rnittee favored mileage book PROPOSE
4 ton that It was said would be practi-
q cally a two-cent rate If this was the
\ lease, he favored a fiat two-cent rate
bill
Senator Regan suggested that the
4 amendment favored by the majority Of
4 the railroad committee, changing the
3 rate to two and a half cents a mile and
4 providing for the issue of mileage
\ books at two cents, be adopted SEN
ator Pierce made the point Of order
i that this was the minority report de-
feated on the previous day but the
lschair held the point Of order not well
taken. Both the amendment offered
gllby Mr.. LaMoure and that offered BY
\ Mr. Regan were voted down and the
bill was passed with four votes against
i it Messrs Albright, Crane, Kelly and
j IA NIoure. II now goes to the house for
1 the concurrence Of that body
The Salary HlIl,
The senate had more fireworks on
4 the bill increasing the salary Of state
officers This came up in committee Of