The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-02-15
WITH The LAWMAKERS
Work Accomplished BY the Stass
Legislator.

Both houses of the legislature,
though without quorums, finally de.
cided to hold sessions for the introduc.
ton of bills, and as result five bills
were introduced in the senate and
sixteen in the house Thursday. The
house bills included one by Haugen of
Trail permitting any peace officer, on
information and belief. to seize and
confiscate any liquor which he believes
is being imported into the state for
sale as beverage without warrant,
and also making it the duty of the
states attorney, upon being informed
of such seizure, to arrest and prose
cute importers and destroy the liquor,
the fact of finding it to be presumptive
evidence that it was imported for sale.
Another, by Sorley of Grand Forks,
creates the office of state fire marshal
ct salary of $2,4O0, the expenses of
the office to be paid by tax of one
Ea!f OF per cent on the gross receipts
CT all business written in the state by
insurance companies organized under
the state laws, except farmers mutual
sirc companies. A bill by Mr.. Buttz
elbows car fare and So day expenses
to district judges.
1t is thought that the appropriation
Eills Of any consequence are all intro.
Guccd in the legislature. The aggre.
gate in both houses is S1O,9S4, 1874, the
largest amount ever asked for in the
history of the state. They are classi'
Ted as follows:
For penal and charitable institu
tons, $630,634
Educational institutions, sS77,511.
Miscellaneous, $277,9OO.
Miscellaneous, $277,9OO.
Introduced in house alone, $19S,749
1t is estimated that there will not
Je more than $1,3OO,00O available fos
special appropriation, so committees
will have a job adjusting the wants OF
the various state institutions, and the
real trials and tribulations of the
statesmen are now at hand.
The house passed Friday bill which
| will help largely to subdue blind pig
ging. The bill was introduced by
Haugen, and provides fines and impris
onment for any one renting buildings
for the sale of liquor, and in case the
| offender is an ofticehoider causes the
| forfeit of his office. While this is not
:; local measure. it affects two promi
reat officials of Bismarck and Burlcig!
county, and if the senate passes the
bill, as it probably will, other virtuous
citizens CT Bismarck and elsewhere
| will suffer.
The house had a lot of talk over
Rcse's bill requiring elevator compa
MES transacting business in this state
to return a certificate of inspection and
a weighmaster's weight, certificate tC
the local grain buyer; penalty, forfeit
ure of the right to do business in this
state. 1t was said OH the floor that
elevator and grain buying companies
are in the habit of returning false GER
tificates to their agents showing low
err grades than the grain actually re-
ceived and heavier dockage, with the
result that local agents, in order to
hold their jobs, were compelled to low
er their grades in buying, and in this
way farmers were robbed OF their dues
Some old grain buyers told of de
mands made by them for reinspectioll
which resulted in raising the grade OF
the consignment, but that their compa
MES held them to the loss on the orig
inal inspection. The bill was passed
by a large majority.
Steps for making material amend
ments to the state constitution were
begun In the senate yesterday after
noon when Senator Simpson introduced
resolution reciting the inadequacy
of the present constitution" with re-
spect to the taxation of franchised OF
foreign corporations. and calling upon
the secretary of state to submit at the
election of 1908 the question of hold.
ing constitutional convention in the
following year. The resolution was re.
TERED to the judiciary committee.
canotor Rica introduced current