Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1907-02-28
Dehate on Rate Bin. Other Meas
urss Discussed. Appropriation
Committee Reports
One Bin Passes the lower House A.
ter Warm Debate. Senate Pass
an Insurance Measure.

ter Warm Debate. Senate Pass
an Insurance Measure.
Bismarck, Feb. "a. Especially 1t
may be that the house will defeat
the passage of the senate fiat 2 cent
passenger fare bill, which passed that
body, ia the White bill. The fear is
that it will be found unconstiCution-
al by the court on the grounds OF be-
!. ing unjust. In the. debate in the SEN
ate on that bill, much interesting
4 matter was brought out. Senator
4 La aMoure, who frankly opposed the
II bill said: ..
Il :'If the members of the senate are
3 through pIaying.politics and ready to
consider this thing on business ba-
sis, will suggest..a few reasons why
this bill should not be passed but /
suppose these candidates for governor
who favor it will not listen to reas-
on
\ The senator then Diseased the
n cost of carrying passengers. During
. the past ninety days it has cost the
/ railroads.&c. the state from IS cents
I to one dollar pei mile to carry everv
y passenger who has been hauled in the
state; every ton of coal which mas
been rushed to the relief Of people
/ who were alleged to be freezing, had
cost the railroads SIS to haul. In the
face of this, these gubernatoria can
didates were going to do the unbusi-
ness-like Injustice of forcing two
cents mile passenger rate on them.
The legislature was re-enacting the
farce OF 1896. At that time the peo-
pie were wild in theiI demands for
drastic railroad legislation. They
demanded that everything be regu.
lated; passenger and freight rates;
schedules and classified tion Of freigh! ::
everything was attempte What
mad been the result. A law or series
of laws had teen enacted covering all
these points. They had done nothing
they were intended to do, not even
to making q. S. senators, congress-
men and governors. The laws cost
the state some 100000 and the only
result was that one man who was a
prime mover in the rate legislation
reached the supreme bench of the
state. That was pretty expensive
Judge. Tie senator seemed tO.appre-
hend that some OF the present guber-
material timber In the senate, of
which he seemed to think there was
an abundant supply, would also fall
by the wayside.
TIE senator did not wish to vote
alone against the measure, and he
hoped the senators would drop poll
tics to give the matter fair consid-
GRAFTON. There was not senator on
the floor who could give reason for
voting as he intended to for two
cent measure. They had no kn0wl-
edge of the cost of cars, 1oadbed, mo-
tive power, maintenance, etc. In
brief they we're not voting on the
subject as business men but as poll
ticians. If one of the senators could
give valid 1ea son for voting for the
two cent. bill, he would be with him.
He believed in giving the people a
fair deal; but he would bet all he
had that there was not senator who
could give valid reason for his vote.
Senator Crane alleged that the sen
ators supporting the bill were either
ignorant or purposely voting for the
bill, knowing that it would be uncon-
stitutional. He believed that the
courts Of the state would hold it an
unreasonable regulation. He agreed
that it was hard.Jo 80 back and face
constituency after having voted
against what seemed to be the peo-
ple's interests in connection with the
y bill. However. he did not believe it
was against them. The bill would be
unconstitutional and the state would
I revert to the three cent fare.
Senator Pierce. said that tbs gen.
tleman from Griggs was making an
unjust and unwarranted statement
when he impugned mems motives for
voting for this bill. He said that
the situation 10 Wisconsin vas that
the commissioners had tried to force
u two cent mileage b6ok and two
cent and one half cent rate on the
Milwaukee and that road was fight
4 ing IL. Why not let them fight q flat
T rate and not hand the people the gold
bsioki which the mileage book and
two and one half cent rats would
III d grove IL thu Il slAtare Wss goinG