Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-03-21
WISCONSIN LAW MAKERS

refuses 10 appropriate $4,000 to hire
]. /, OConnor and actuaries to as
| SiSt the committees on banks and in.
! STRANGE in the hearings on the life
Insurance bills, Senator Hudnall
and other senators objected to the
| attorney on the ground that the com.
| mit,ee was practically made up of
attorneys, that the state maintained
an attorney generals department
and that the services OF an attorney
to be secured at this time would be
unnecessary. They also objected
on the ground that the proposition
| involved most dangerous preSe-
| dent, and that ii set at this time
would eventuate in most important
committees in the future demanding
! ing the services of expensive at.
torneys in the process of framing
and pertecung legislation.
Senator c. H. Smith of Markesan.
PROPOSES to disregard the opinion
of tue attorney general. holding that
| it would be unsafe to elect a success
or to senator Spooner until the va
! eanCy actually exists after May /,
Senator Smith introduced a joint
resolution providing that the legis.
lature begin balloting for United
| States senator on March 10. The
resolution was referred to the com.
mittee on judiciary, The proposal
meets with general favor.
The Barker hotel sanitation bill,
o -nerwise known as the wide bed.
sheet bill, was advanced to engross.
ment and third reading in the SEN
| ate.
The feature of a three-hour session
of the assembly was a parliamentary
Slirmish and freeIor-an debate on
a sembly bill Ga to amend the PR.
/ mary election law. The bill came up
for engrossment, recommended for
! indefinite postponement. MIR. O'Neill
democrat, the author of the measure,
asked that the bill be not postponed,
contending that il was aimed to pro,
tect the large, intelligent, independ-
ent vote in this state The bill, he
pointed out, was designed to make
| it possible for voter at a primary
to vote a split ticket" and cast his
/ vote for the nominee of another
! party besides his own. In this way
man who realizes that a candidate
| for one particular office on the op-
! POSING Iarty's ticket was better than
| the one on his own party ticket,
could assist in nominating that man,
said Mr.. O'Neill. Mr.. Roycraft, re-
( publican, chairman of the committee
on elections, pointed out the fallacy
/ of the idea that the primary was in.
! tended for any other than partisan
purposes. He declared that the In.
dependent voter still had his oppor.
tunity to vote efor a good man at
| the general election, and 1t would ba
| inadvisable to permit the voters or
one parry to come In and influence
the nominations of another party.
Mr.. Potter, democrat, followed Mr..
Roycraft's remarks with an earnest
plea for the ONeill amendment.
calling upon Senator La Toilette as
an authority of the statement that
the independent vote Of the state
should be respected and protected,
| Assemblyman Burke of Brown
county called attention again TO the
fact tina. primary was intended only
to serve partisan purposes to sup
rlant the old caucus system. This
country will always need parties and
party caucuses of some kind II Ii
should progress and all the progress
| in reform in this state is directly
due to strong partisanship. Eighteen
! democrats and five republicans, A
S. Baker, Grassie, Jones, Norcross
and Roethe voted for the bill but 1t
was rejected by 60 to %.
] Another bill recommended ar In.
definite postponement was the
Hughes "antl-tights" bill. The author
earnestly urged the assembly to
give him an opportunity to be heard
on the bill and present some facts
which would tend to make the legis
lature view the bill in a less hiari.
Jus iiobu. MI ONlCI tlOuutully
named the anti-tights bill as "the
most important piece OF legislation
which had yet come before the as.
] sembly, and desired that 1t be re.
ferred to the committee on public
health and sanitation The Assem-.
bly,, almost unanimously, voted to so
refer the measure.
/ The memorial introduced by Mr..
Palmer, the cclored assemblyman
/ from Milwaukee, relating to the dis.
/ charge of negro soldiers invilved in
the brownsville affair came up for
| ergrossment and despite the recon-.
/ mendation of the committee in favor
Of the passage, was voted down The
oil provided that congress should in
vestigate the matter and exonerate
such soldiers as seemed TO be guilt
| less and unjustly punished.
Madison, March I3.-The senate
passed the bill introduced by the com
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