Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-20


such easy picking" The Judge called upon
the governor and gave him some friendly
! advice.
c. Z. Burnham OF Norfolk is here to look
after the Appropriation for the jamestown
exposition, he being chairman Of the COM
mission, and also TO impress upon the legis-
lators that the insane hospital there needs
buildings which will cost In the aggregate
I $4,000. The railroad company which
handles the freight into Norfolk has told
the state Board of Public Lands and
Buildings that II will construct a side track
to the asylum IL the board will secure the
right-of-way. At this time the board has
an option on the right-of-way for $500 and
the Appropriation will be asked for to pay
the cost. Mr. Durham said the asylum
authorities are now paying 50 cents a ton
for hauling coal to the asylum and all OF
the freight used there has to be hauled two
and one-duarter miles. Since January II
has cost $3.50 for hauling coal alone to the
asylum. Mr.. Burnham believes the state
should lose no time in buying this right-of-
way as it will soon pay for itself TO say
nothing of the convenience.
] An interesting spectator at the 2-cent rate
hearing in the senate this morning was
| Burlington Lobbyist Frank Young. He
heard 1t all. but whether he got any Salts
| faction out of it of course is not known,
except to himself and his corporation en-
ployers. 1t is passing strange, however,
| that this man helped to put that splank
| through the democratic state convention.
Among others who are on railroad pay rolls
who listened part of the time to the
debate were Edison Rich of the Union Pa
cifc and Carl Wright of the Northwestern.
Straws point to a ''b-ow on in Lincoln
4 Is
liable to be a lot less people hanging around
! the Legislature who have no apparent bust
ness here. but who from appearances have
been sent for to influence legislation. Mr..
Dodge, in his talk last night. indicated that
he had something to say about conditions
/ here and other members are getting dis
gusted at the frequent appearance of
prominent citizens who come lust to
visit and look around" move was
started the first part of the session to com
pei lobbyists to register and tell what they
were here for. They were to be permitted
to remain just long. That move was
stihed at its inception. Time has shown 1t
would have been the best course to have
adopted. The hotel Hobbies and the corri-
doris of the state house are overrun with
people who have no business here and moth
ing is being done to prevent them from set
moving along now the pledges made by
the republican legislators to the people
will have hard shedding because these
visitors have been suggesting to members
amendments to nearly all joint committee
bills. The object of the lobbyists is to
create dissatisfaction and jealousies among
the members. 1t is going to take good
common sense to prevent wrangle among
the majority members, so some of the legis-
lators believe. Only one pledge has so far
been kept, the election of Norris Brown to
the senate and thirty-three days of the ses-
sion has gone by.
Clark Perkins and Ross Hammond, the
former secretary to the republican state
committee, were in Lincoln last night. Mr..
Perkins went to Omaha to attend the, meet
ing of Nebraska editors and It is presumed
Mr.. Hammond went too, as he said he had
no special business In Lincoln.
Former State Treasurer Peter Mortensen,
who came here at the personal invitation
of Chairman Thomson of the senate COM
mittee on university and normal schools,
who wrote at the request of the commit
tee, to tell what he knows about the needs
and the finances of these schools, will
/. leave town tomorrow morning without hav-
/, ing appeared before the committee. He
has been here two nights and one day.
He reported to Senator Thomson this
morning and to other members of the
committee. No meeting was held and the
inference drawn is that Mr.. Mortensen S
appearance before the committee would
have been very Objectionable to the normal
school lobby and the university lobby,
hence there was no meeting.
Mr.. Mortensen would have told the COM
mittee that the bill now pending in the
house to make the state treasurer ex-offcio
treasurer of the state university is a most
vicious measure and 1t should be killed.
The constitution, he would have told them,
provides that all state accounts must be
audited and investigated by the state ad-
ditor. This bill provides for an evasion
, of this section of the constitution. He
/. would havS told them, in his opinion the
present statute permitting the auditor to
isoue warrants on the certificates filed by
the regents is unconstitutional. He would
have Illustrated his remarks by citing that
on one occasion which he recalled a pro-
lessor in the state university and his wife
made a trip out in the state and a war
rant was issued on a certificate to pay the
expenses of both The expenses, he said,
may have been legitimate, but IL the au-
ditor had followed the constitution he
would have Investigated the claim Had he
been given the opportunity, Mr. Mortensen
, would have told the committee the Peru
Normal did not need a new $4,000 heating
plant. but that by the purchase Of one
new boiler 1t could get along nicely for
the next two years. He would have said
the normal school at Kearney could easily
get along with an additional wing at a
cost of $4,000 instead OF the 10000 addi-
ton asked for. He would have said, had
ne been given the opportunity, that the
Norfolk asylum really needs a new cot
tage but that would not cost more than
SS5C0o. But Mr.. Mortensen was not given
! an opportunity He wasted his time In
the interest OF the taxpayers and good man
! agement of state institutions.
The claims committee tonight took up
the bewhiskered claim of Mrs. Hoxie for
something over 5000 and trimmed it down
TO some 500. This is paying her at the
rate OF s25 a month for the time she Is
alleged to have worked at the Kearney
Industrial school Postmaster Ed Sizer has
been pushing the claim.
The appropriations committee has about
decided there will not be enough money
to give Kearney the 100000 for the addi-